‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ For students in Mrs. Walter’s class at Parish Elementary School in the Altmar-Parish-Williamstown School District, that answer would be, ‘why the egg, of course.’
As a class project, the students have an incubator full of eggs which will, in a short while yield quite a few baby chicks.
A special guest from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Center, Debbie Holliday, visited the class to talk to the students about the incubation process and development of the chicks inside the egg.
She explained the different parts of the egg and their function as the chick grows until at last, 21 days later, they peck or “pip” their way out of the shell.
The students will need to monitor the eggs, and turn them several times a day to ensure proper growth of the chick inside.
Holliday brought a special craft project for the students to complete that featured a paper egg with a shell that can open to reveal a paper baby chick that the students could color.
She also gave the students an information brochure they could take home and share with their family about the process.
The Tractor Supply, located in Pulaski, generously provided the incubator for the project and with the donation of special eggs from a local farmer the class is eagerly anticipating the arrival of baby chicks in the very near future.