Today, Beth – the knowledgeable educator from Casey Farm – spent the morning with us. She brought with her twelve fertilized egg
s, an incubator, warming lights, and lots of different kinds of bird eggs! And she also brought with her another wonderful surprise: a hen – Henny Penny – to visit us! We were able to touch her and see – up close – her comb, waddle, beak, ears, feathers and claws. We were surprised to discover that Henny Penny felt so soft. We even fed her some corn!
After we spent some time with Henny Penny and learned more about chickens, Beth then invited us to see the eggs laid by swans, bluebirds, robins, grey catbirds, golden eagles, hummingbirds, and even ostriches! We learned that eggs are camouflaged to be either the same color as their nests or as their mothers.
Beth then showed us the incubator into which we will place our eggs. There they will stay (round side up, pointy side down) for 21 days until they hatch. We will have both Rhode Island Red and Black Ranger chicks.