Egg Unit

General Information

Chickens exist in many colors, sizes and shapes. There are more than 350 combinations of physical features. Generally it takes 21 days for a chick to hatch from an egg and 28 days for a duck. The chick or duckling uses an egg tooth to break out of the egg’s shell. Getting out of the egg is hard work and can take many hours. The chick chips a circle around the egg to cut the egg in two pieces. The egg tooth quickly falls off.

If you are interested in hatching eggs in the classroom, a tremendously exciting and memorable activity for students, please check out some of the websites listed further below. You can borrow an incubator from your local 4H Club and get more information from your state department of animal science or cooperative extension services. The process of hatching eggs is not that simple and can be a lot of work (particularly if your incubator does not have an automatic egg turner-you will have to turn those eggs twice a day even on the weekends) but it is very rewarding. It is important to not allow the students to handle eggs at all. Too much movement of the egg will kill the embryo. If students handle baby chicks or ducklings make sure the student is sitting down and the area is enclosed. Allow only one child in the area at a time to minimize any chance of chicks or ducklings getting stepped on. Make sure children wash their hands before and immediately after handling the chicks to avoid any spread of possible bacteria.

Poultry Glossary:

All chickens are chickens!
They all hatch out as chicks.
Young males are cockerels, and become roosters at 1 year of age.
Young females are pullets. At 1 year of age they're called hens.

Broody -- a hen who has laid a clutch of eggs and is now sitting on them full time
Comb -- the fleshy red protuberance on the top of a chicken's head
Dewlap -- the single flap of skin below the beak of turkeys and some geese
Wattles -- the fleshy red things hanging under a chicken's beak

Introduce your egg unit in this way. Inside of colorful plastic eggs place various little plastic creatures (usually available at dollar stores) that hatch from eggs such as fish, spiders, ducks, geese, hens, frogs, caterpillars, snakes, and turtles. Give the eggs to students and invite students to guess what might be inside the eggs. Pop them open and discuss what all these creatures have in common-they hatch from eggs. Make a list of these creatures. Read a book on this topic such as Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones. Teach the following song and have students refer to and call out from the list when you sing the song.

Did You Ever
(Did You Ever See a Lassie)

Did you ever see an egg, an egg, an egg,
Did you ever see an egg and wonder what’s inside?

It could be a _____, or a _______ or ________. (duck, caterpillar, spider, dinosaur, snake, chick, robin)
Did you ever see an egg and wonder what’s inside?

1. It is fun to create a “Countdown to Hatch” poster. We make this out of simple poster board with 21 eggs traced on with the numbers 1-21 (or 1-28 for ducks) written in each egg. Each day a student colors one egg. This activity is a good way to reinforce teen numbers. You may also want to give students counters and or unifix cubes each day and have the students problem solve strategies to figure out how to get the number of the day. For example, students can make 21 with two groups of ten plus one, four groups of five plus one, etc.

2. You will want to plan a welcome celebration for your chicks or ducklings. You may also want to plan a special ceremony for those that die.

3. Strategically place chicks around the room and take photos (when the kids are not around) of a chick on a chair, next to some crayons and paper, by the water fountain, etc. When you have the photos developed tell the students that the chicks really had some adventures after the class went home. Then have students write stories to go with the photos and make a class book.

4. Once your chicks are hatched you will need a large box for them to live temporarily. A plain cardboard box will work just as well as any special chick home/brooder that is commercially sold. You will need to line the box with newspaper and paper towels. You will need to change the newspaper and towels twice a day to keep fresh (it will smell otherwise) for the chicks. You will need to warm the chicks/ducks. You can use a simple hanging 100 watt light bulb or even rig a desk lamp to shine in (what I did last year). The first week the temperature inside the box should be 100 degrees. The following week, raise the ligt bulb so it is only 95 degrees and the following week after that raise the bulb till it is only 90 degrees. If the chicks all cluster under the light then you know it is too cold. If the chicks are hanging out in the corners it is too hot. If they seem to be running around all over the place- then the temperature is just right. You will need to purchase medicated chick starter feed before hand to have ready.

Decorating the outside of the box so it looks like a house will be fun for the kids to do while they wait for the chicks to hatch. Chicks will need a special water dispenser (otherwise they can drown) but ducklings can use a small, deep pan of water. Keep the pan small as they will try to swim in it and soak the box. Visit the photo gallery to see our class pictures with ducklings.

5. Some farms will take the chicks back after they have hatched especially if you got the eggs from them. Be aware that the farm will likely kill the male chicks immediatly-that happens with most of the male chicks not just because you hatched them. This has to do with the fact that layers and poultry for eating are the females except for capons which are males who have had their sex organs removed. The strongest, feistiest males only are kept to breed with the hens. If you can't bear the thought of having any of your chicks killed find someone who will take the chicks and keep them on their property. Contact your local 4H or state department of animal science. They will know people who will take the chicks. It may be easier to raise ducklings because it may be easier to find someone with water on their property to take them. Make sure you have someone lined up to take your chicks or ducklings after they are born. Don't wait till they are hatched to try to find somebody. Don't give them to the students' families. They will not know how to take care of them. Hatching eggs in the class is a very rewarding experience your children will never forget -filling them with the mystery of life and its importance. BUT it is time consuming and a lot of work! Last year I was lucky enough to have a colleague who lives in the country take our ducklings; this way I was able to find out how our ducklings grew.

6. Purchase a very small inflatable swimming pool and let your ducklings swim in class!

7. It is important to reassure children that the eggs from the grocery store are not fertilized and can never be hatched into chicks.

Little Bird

(Write this poem on strips and put it into the pocket chart. Use it to reinforce adding, number words and color words. Provide birds of each color in the poem that children can use to match to the appropriate line)

One little bird with feathers of blue;
Flew beside the green one and then there were two.
Two little birds singing in a tree;
The red bird came to join them and then there were three.
Three little birds, wishing there were more;
Along came the purple bird and then there were more.
Four little birds happy to be alive;
Found a little yellow one, and then there were five.
Five little birds as happy as can be;
Singing beautiful songs-just for you and me!

Two Little Birds
(A good one to use if you are working on the –ill family)

Two little birds sitting on a hill;
One named Jack, the other named Jill.
Fly away Jack, Fly away Jill;
Come back Jack, Come back, Jill.

A Little Birdie
(A good one if you are working on the –op family)

I saw a little birdie go hop, hop, hop.
And I said, “Little birdie won’t you stop, stop, stop.”
I went to the window to say, “How do you do?”
But he shook his little tail and away he flew!

Hens of Different Colors
(You can use this poem in a pocket chart to reinforce color words and rhyming.)

This little hen is black.
She stands in the barnyard by the big haystack.

This little hen is red.
She is tired and won’t get out of bed.

This little hen is brown.
She is feeling sad and wearing a frown.

This little hen is yellow.
She’s friends with the rooster; he’s a handsome fellow.

This little hen is white.
She dances, oh what a sight!

This little hen is purple.
She spends her day running in circles.

This little hen is green
She’s the silliest hen I’ve ever seen.

This little hen is blue.
She lays eggs for me and you.

This little hen is pink.
She goes to the pond to get a drink.

All these hens live at the farm,
Out in the big red barn.

The Little Birds

Up in the sky (point up) the little birds fly (pretend to fly),
While down in the nest (point down) the little birds rest (pretend to sleep).
With a wing on the left (tuck left hand under left arm pit) and a wing on the right (tuck right hand under right armpit),
The little birds sleep (pretend to sleep) all through the night.
Shhhh. They’re sleeping! (Finger to lips)!
Quiet! (Scream)!!!!!
Then, out comes the sun (round arms overhead),
The dew falls away.
“Good morning, good morning,” the little birds say (open and close hands like a beak)!

Ethel’s Eggs

Ethel was a hen who laid 10 eggs. (Hold up 10 fingers)
Each chick hatched and had two legs. (Cup hands together and point index fingers up)
They would play and have their fun. (Wiggle all 10 fingers)
But when Ethan called, they would come! (Wiggle fingers and then clasp together again)
Ask: How many legs did ten chicks have? Let students draw 10 chicks to find out.

Peep, Peep, Peep
(Jingle Bells)
by Lisa Curtis

Peep, peep, peep!
Peep, peep, peep!
We are hatching chicks/ducks!
We have waited for so long
And now they have arrived!

Peep, peep, peep!
Peep, peep, peep!
We are hatching chicks/ducks!
Yellow, fluffy, and so cute
We have baby chicks/ducks!

I'm a Little Chicken
(I'm a Little Teapot)
by Susan Peters

I'm a little chicken,
Ready to hatch,
Pecking at my shell,
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
When I crack it open, out I'll leap,
Fluff up my feathers and cheep, cheep, cheep!

Peck, Peck, Peck

Peck, peck, peck,

On the warm duck egg,

Out comes a neck,

Out comes a leg.

How can a duck-

That's not been about,

Discover the trick

Of how to get out?

What Is an Egg?

What is an egg?
It's a special place.
It's warm and it's safe.
It's a cozy space.

What is an egg?
It's a place to start
Growing bones and a beak
And feathers and a heart.

What is an egg?
It's a place to grow
For a chick and a duck
And an owl and a crow.

What is an egg?
It's a place to begin
For all sorts of birds;
For rooster and hen.

by Lucia Kemp Henry

Quack Quack
(Everybody ESPECIALLY the teacher waddles like a duck around the classroom)

It rained all day
And we’re out of luck,
So let’s have fun
And walk like a duck.
Quack, quack, waddle, waddle,
Quack, quack, waddle, waddle,

“Eggs”cellent Game

Divide the class into two lines. When you say, “Go” the first played in each line passes a hard-boiled egg backward over his head to the second player in line. This continues to the end of the line. The last player in line runs it back to the front and gets to be the front-passing it backwards again. When the first player is back to the front again, that line is the winner. (You can try having the egg passed in different ways for variety.)

Chicken Nests

Place three or four hoola hoops around the room as nests. Play music and have the students chicken walk around the nests. Stop the music and call out, “Chickens to Your Nests!” The chickens run to get into their nests. Continue the game removing one nest at a time. Have a treat such as a handful of jellybeans to eat ready for those children who are“out” early.

Quacking Around
Use balloons to have students pretend that they are laying eggs. Let students pretend to be a duck/chick hatching out of an egg.

Create center activities with colorful plastic eggs.

Take a cardboard egg carton and write color words in the sections. Students match colorful eggs to the words. Alternatively, write number words in the egg carton and have students match plastic eggs that have that number written on them.

Write numbers on plastic eggs and have students count out that number of jellybeans and put the jellybeans into the eggs. Be sure to have extra jellybeans just for eating.

Give each student a basket and a bowl of plastic or jellybean eggs. Have students use these as manipulatives for addition and subtraction number stories.

Give each child a handful of jellybeans and graph the colors.

Fill a basket with plastic eggs (or a jar of jellybeans) and have students estimate the number contained inside the jar or basket.