HATCH!

The last time my mom and I visited the nature center farm, a whole bunch of baby chicks had hatched. They were so cute! I wanted to hatch some chicks of my own. So I made a nest and filled it with eggs from the grocery store. Eggs are where baby chicks come from.

"Hatch!" I said.

"Melissa, I don't think those eggs are going to hatch," said Mom.

"Oh," I said. "I forgot. I need to keep them warm. Like the hen does when she sits on them. Then they'll hatch." I put a little blanket over my nest.

"Baby chicks don't grow in the eggs you get at the grocery store," said Mom.

''Why not?" I asked.

"Grocery store eggs are laid on farms with lots of hens, but no roosters," she said. "A hen can lay an egg almost every day, but unless there is a rooster around for her to mate with, chicks can't grow in her eggs."

"So, hens are the mother chickens, and roosters are the father chickens?"

"Exactly," said Mom. "How about if we make cupcakes with the eggs instead?"

Mom measured out the flour and sugar and milk.

"I'll put in the first egg!" I said. I tapped it on the side of the bowl and cracked the shell. I looked at the yellow yolk floating in its clear egg white.

"See that tiny white speck on the yolk?" asked Mom. "In an egg where the hen has mated with a rooster, that speck would be a little bigger. That's where the chick would begin to grow."

"Can we get eggs like that anywhere around here?"

"Maybe at the nature center," Mom said.

We drove there the very next day. Mr. Evans, my favorite teacher at the center, showed me the hens sitting on their nests.

"Are they hatching their eggs?" I whispered.

"Yes," he said. "They finished laying their clutches of eggs just this morning. Now, they'll sit on the eggs for 21 days. On the 21st day, their chicks will hatch."

"Wow," I said. "The hens sit there all that time?"

"Pretty much," said Mr. Evans. "But look!" He pointed at one of the hens. She was turning her eggs gently with her feet and beak. "Hens turn their eggs a few times each day. That keeps the growing chicks from getting stuck to the sides of the egg."

"Do you think I could hatch some chicks myself?"

"You'd be a great hatcher," said Mr. Evans. "Let's collect some eggs for you. The hens won't mind, as long as we're quiet and don't frighten them."

We gathered up six eggs and put them gently in an egg carton.

"I'll put them in my nest as soon as I get home," I said. "Will my blanket keep them warm enough?"

"Not as warm as a mother hen," said Mr. Evans. "The best way for people to hatch eggs . . ."

"Is to sit on them!" I joked.

Mr. Evans laughed. "The best way is to use an incubator to warm them." He showed me how to work the small one he sometimes uses in his classes. And he gave me a chart that showed how my chicks would grow.

As soon as Mom and I got home, I set the eggs in the incubator. We plugged it in and switched on the built-in heater.

Every day I turned my eggs over, just like a good hen. Then I checked the incubator's thermometer. The temperature had to be exactly right. I added water in the special container so the air wouldn't become too dry.

As the days went by, I crossed them off on my calendar. The eggs always looked the same on the outside, but I saw on the chart that lots was going on inside.

Finally I made an X on the 20th day. The next day I would see my chicks! I could hardly sleep that night. I crept out of bed early and tiptoed to the incubator.

"I think I heard a peep!" I cried.

Mom came down in her robe and slippers and leaned her head close to the incubator.

"It IS peeping!" she said.

One of the eggs had a tiny hole in it. The egg rocked as the chick struggled to get out. Soon we could see the chick's beak pecking at his eggshell from the inside.

Two hours later, Mom and I were still watching. It's hard work getting out of an egg! Finally the first eggshell was cracked all the way around. I could see the chick, but he had stopped moving.

"He needs help!" I cried.

"Be patient. He can do it," said Mom.

The chick gave one last kick and his shell fell away. The poor wet, scraggly thing flopped over on the incubator rack and closed his eyes. He looked awful, but Mom said he just needed a little sleep. Soon the other chicks were slowly pecking and kicking out of their shells, too.

"They must be hungry!" I wanted to take the lid off the incubator and give them some chicken feed.

"They aren't hungry yet," said Mom. "The chicks have been using their yolks for food. Right now they need to rest and let their feathers dry out."

The next day my chicks were wide awake, and their feathers were yellow and fluffy. We took them out of the incubator and put them in a warm, safe box. I sprinkled some chicken feed in a tray for them. Peck, peck, peck. They sure were hungry now!

I couldn't wait to show Mr. Evans what a good hen I had been. Now there were six more babies for the barnyard at our favorite nature center!

Copyright Carus Publishing Company Sep 2004
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