Print these posters and assemble as a larger, 4-part poster

It may come as a surprise to people to realize that many birds hatch their young within a very short period – afterall, they only lay one egg a day.  Once you realize that most females don’t begin incubation until all are laid, the hatching synchrony makes sense.  A bird egg must contain enough food to supply the embryo with all the food it needs during the incubation process for it to grow to hatching size.  Therefore, an egg is proportionately quite large, unlike a mammalian egg at conception, and a full clutch takes time to produce.  As a youngster, I recall watching chickens being prepared for eating and was intrigued with the series of graduated yolks that were “lined up” and ready for laying within the body cavity of the hens.

Birds such as the doves, shorebirds, many songbirds, and swallows lay a predetermined numbers of eggs regardless of circumstances.  If some of their eggs are removed from the nest, these birds continue to incubate but do not lay any additional eggs.  On the other hand, birds such as penguins, ducks, chicken-like birds, and woodpeckers, can be induced to lay more eggs if any are removed from the nest.  In fact in one study, one female Yellow-Shafted Flicker (a kind of woodpecker) laid 71 eggs in 73 days when each new egg she produced was removed every day.  Seems kind of cruel, doesn’t it?  But this kind of research does show what some birds can do. 

This activity is not as simple as we usually share but it has enormous merit and is worth doing if possible.  Many schools or school systems have incubators that they can share with teachers so check this out to see if there is one in your system already.

If there is no incubator available, you may need to purchase one (they can be quite reasonably priced) from a science catalog.

NASCO
Home Science Tools
Carolina Biological Supply

You’ll also want to be sure to have instructions on the incubation process so you can maximize your success.  Be sure that you get fertile eggs – most grocery store eggs are NOT fertile.

Although setting up an incubator and waiting for the eggs to hatch may seem a bit long term, I can assure you that the students will find this process fascinating and it will be one of the highlights of their school year. 

Care for chicks after hatching!!! Once the chicks hatch, you’ll be responsible for caring for the babies.  Set a good example for your students by explaining that having “pets” requires that you be responsible with their care.  Most school, even home, environments will not be appropriate for raising the chicks so be sure you have a good home for them BEFORE you initiate this activity.