This week our chicken eggs have hatched and we have 5 new chicks. One is yellow and there are 4 black.
A chicken story
The process takes 21 days
The eggs
Eggs have slightly moist, protective coating or bloom when first laid. This should not be washed off as it prevents micro-organisms getting in through the pores of the shell and infecting the egg.
First crack
After three weeks the chick is fully formed and ready to hatch. An egg-tooth on the beak helps the chick to break through the shell.
Chick breaking through shell
Once the egg shell is cracked air gets into the egg which stimulates the chick to further activity.
Newly-hatched chick
The process of hatching is very exhausting for the chick which emerges looking bedraggled and weak. Within a few hours it can stand and take notice of its surroundings.
Day-old chick
After 24 hours the chick can stand up straight, run about and feed itself. Its downy feathers have dried out providing a well insulated jacket to keep the young chick warm otherwise it would lose heart very quickly
First adult feathers
This chick is ten days old and the first flight feathers are beginning to grow.
Tips for Incubating and Raising Chicks with a Mother Hen: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html
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