THE BROODBOX
it’s all about the chicks!
Foreword by Mr Morgan
With Easter fast approaching and staff running around like Spring Chickens, it seemed like the perfect time to bring nature a step closer to the learning environment within Bellerive. Sister Brigid didn’t hesitate for a second when Mr Morgan texted her at 10pm on Friday evening to ask her if she would be in favour of 10 chickens eggs arriving first thing Monday morning. “That’s fine love” was the reply. “We’ll work the details out when they arrive”. And so, on Monday morning at
Monday 19th March
08:45hrs - Mr Morgan, 9S’s Form Tutor walked into 9S’s form room with 10 chicken eggs in an incubator. He had collected them from Southport on Saturday afternoon. He asked us, the ‘DT Assistants’ (unpaid and gruelling lunchtime work) if we would like to be the “Egg Monitors” for the next 2 weeks. We thought yaaaaaay … can we get out of lessons ? Mr Morgan said only before school, break, lunch and after school. We still said YES !
09.00hrs - Mr Morgan and Miss Bauml set up the incubator in the school Learning Resource Base.
09.30hrs - Mr Crease and Mr Skarrett set up a web-cam and a laptop so that teachers could show the eggs to their classes on the Interactive White Boards in all the classrooms.
12:20hrs – We (Aimee, Isobelle, Leah and Olivia, all in Y9) went to the resource base to see the eggs at lunchtime. Mr Morgan taught us how to look after the eggs, and then the chickens when they were born. We learned how to make sure the incubator temperature stays at 37 degrees, replace the water to keep the incubator humidity high (or the chicks can stick to the inside of the shell), not to spill water on the shell, keep direct sunlight off the eggs in case they get too hot.
13:15hrs - We left the resource base but NOTHING HAD HAPPENED !
15.20hrs – We all went home except Olivia who stayed to watch the eggs until 4.00pm. She topped up the water and started the display board of posters and information on eggs, chicks, hens and roosters.
Tuesday 20th March
08:00hrs - We came to the resource base and filled the evaporating dish with fresh water, and the temperature of the incubator had dropped down to 35 degrees, but the eggs still had not changed.
08:16hrs - the incubator temperature has gone back up to normal temperature which is 37.
08.25hrs - we left the resource base to go to form and plan to return at 12.00pm because we have early lunch this week.
08:30hrs – Mr Alty called us into DT to show us on the eggcam that there was movement on one of the eggs. We screamed and ran back to the resource base really eggcited BUT it turned out to be a reflection on one of the eggs off the water in the evaporating dish. Aaaaaagghh we thought it was a baby chicken hatching. We still got to form on time tho’.
12:04hrs - we came back to the resource base to check the eggs. One of them looks like it has been pecked at, the temperature remains at 37 degrees and the water is half empty.
13:15hrs - We leave the resource base and there was no change in the eggs.
13.50hrs - we had the Eggcam on in English and it started moving so we ran up to the resource base to see if any of them had any sign of moving but, it was only Ms Benson moving the camera.
Wednesday 21st March
08:08hrs - We walked into the resource base and no chickens had hatched but 4 had small cracks in them. We have checked the temperature and it is still 37degrees
08:25hrs - More cracks have developed and everyone is excited even teachers. Hope they turn out eggcellent.
08:45hrs - Mr Morgan came into 9S with a Saint Patrick’s hat with an ‘’egg’’ in he got Alex to hold the egg and before he placed it in her hand he dropped it on the floor, we were screaming thinking it was a real egg turns out it was a ball shaped like an egg. He told us he had done the same to the staff in their meeting this morning.
11:10hrs - the resource base was full with pupils at break. Mr Morgan was showing them the eggs, they had been pecked at even more and we think they might hatch at 6pm tonight.
12:26hrs - We returned to the resource base, and 6 eggs look like they have survived and have really been pecked at. 1egg has a really big hole in from being pecked at.
15:39hrs - We returned to the resource base and they started to peck at the eggs, Mr Morgan had a secret plan with the lady he bought them off that he was going to get more eggs off her and switch them round if our eggs didn’t hatch but thankfully our eggs have survived and are now pecking. We have had 753 views on our eggcam video up to now.
Thursday 22nd March
07:50hrs – We ran into the resource base to see that EIGHT little chicks had hatched out of 10 eggs. We screamed CHICKENS !!! Some of the teachers and other pupils were already there at ten to eight in the morning. Right now we all just can’t talk because we are all speechless with excitement. (We can’t say any more egg jokes because they're not eggs anymore).
08:17hrs – Loads of people have come to watch the chickens and are now naming them. Pupils and even teachers are asking why we don't take the egg shells out of the incubator. We have read the book that came with the eggs and it says not to take the shells out until the chicks are being moved to the brooder box. The book says that people will say the chicks are squished together. Loads of people are saying it looks wrong but the book says we need to ask those people to think of how cramped the chick was inside the egg compared to now and Chicks like to have things like other chicks and egg shells. Some of the chicks even put their heads into the shells to sleep and they peck at them. The book says they would be normally be under the mother hen happy.
10:14hrs – The ninth egg has hatched which is really good news, and thankfully the tenth one has started to pip we think.
12:30hrs – Pupils from each year group are going around their year at lunchtime with pieces of paper. (We cut thousands of pieces of paper last night at home when we were watching the eggs hatching on the school website). For 10p a go pupils and teachers can write down the name they want to give to a chick and their name and form on the back. We are keeping all the years separate. On the last assembly next week the year heads will pick out a piece of paper and 1 chick for each year group will be given that name. The winning pupil will be given the chick to hold during the assembly. The volunteers will be able to hold the chicks too as their reward. Money is going to the Good Shepherd. There is one chick for the staff to name too and one left over. Maybe Sister Brigid will name it.
12:46hrs – We are here at lunch time now. We have just changed the humidifier water and now we are about to clean the larger brooder box that the chicks need to go into when they are 24 hours old. all the chicks are fluffy and healthy, but look like they need some sleep. We are still waiting to see if the tenth egg will hatch.
15.26hrs – Still no sign of the tenth egg hatching but we are all still praying for it to come through. It's so funny every time they fall asleep and one wakes up they all jump up and start wrestling.
15:45hrs – the chickens seem to be very lively but after a while they seem to fall back asleep. We cant wait until 4:00 because are allowed to move them into the brooder and hold them
16:07hrs – We have just taken out two chicks and put them in the brooder. These were the ones that were born first. Mr Morgan had marked their beaks with ink when they were born. The first was a blue and the second was a red like in football !!!!!!!! They feel so small and skinny and fragile. They are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute.
16:17hrs - They have settled into their new home. They have food and water and sawdust and the Liverpool Echo to read and a 60 Watt light bulb to keep them warm. They huddle underneath it sleeping and are loving the freedom!!!
16:46hrs – All is well, but the tenth egg still hasn’t hatched but it’s still all good.
16:55hrs – All try #Eggcam on twitter and try the chickens Facebook account - newlyhatched@bellrivefcj.org
Friday 23rd March
08:12hrs – We came in this morning to find Mr Morgan had moved two more chicks into the brooder after we left yesterday evening.
08:25hrs – We have moved the rest of the chicks to the brooder. We put the chicks into a cardboard box when we are cleaning the brooder. They always go to the toilet as soon as we move them
09:30hrs – With Mr Morgan, we let some 6th formers and teachers hold some of the baby chicks and some teachers took pictures. We found out Kevin (we have given him this name because we think he is the only boy) is such a bully. We will need to clean the incubator. Apparently there can be bacteria from the eggs which can stay in the incubator and affect the next chicks that hatch in it. We don’t want that to happen. We don’t know if the 10th egg is going to make it.
09:50hrs – We set up a new webcam for the chicks in the brooder and we had to miss first lesson (yeyyyyy… Mr Morgan wasn’t lying)
12:44hrs – we returned to the resource base to see that Mr Morgan had 6th formers will him, they came to see if they could hold a chicken we gave them all a chicken each but Olivia kept hold of her Kevin.
12:10hrs – we left the resource base and we will be returning after school to clean them out again.
Monday 26th March
08:04hrs – We have come to the resource base and we were watching the chicks ALL weekend on the internet at home.
11:14hrs - People have been saying that they have grown big (which is true)
12:49hrs – One of the chicks has still got a dirty bottom; we might have to give it a bath!!!
12:52hrs – all of the chickens keep trying to fly.
13:14hrs – we cleaned the box again because all the chickens were rolling in all of their mess, and now they are all clean. J
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The first chipped egg
The hatching begins
Things happening now
All happened overnight
The first video diary from our 6 well travelled Liverpool chicks. Many thanks to Mrs Ford for taking the time to record the chicks for us. This is the page where all the updates we receive will be posted. We hope to have some pictures from the Lake District soon from the remaining three hatchlings. We hope you enjoy following the progress of the "Bellerive Belles"