The best things about raising poultry for a 4-H project is that it is one of the few livestock projects that can be done from the very start of the life cycle and continue to the end. 4-Hers can gather the eggs that have been laid by chickens they already own, tend the chicks after the eggs hatch, compete in the county fair with the chickens they've raised, and sell the birds at the market animal livestock auction at the end of the week. They can then start the whole project all over again the following summer.One of the best parts of hatching your own chicks is that you and your young 4-Her can candle the eggs together and watch the chick develop and grow inside the shell. Professional hatcheries candle eggs so that they can determine the health of the unhatched chicks.
- Incubator
- Fertilized eggs
- High-powered flashlight
- Cardboard
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Instructions
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1
Open the incubator.
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2
Gently remove one egg from the the incubator.
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3
Turn off the lights in the room where you keep your incubator and turn on your high-powered flashlight.
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4
Hold the egg against the hole on one side of the cardboard. The flashlight should be shining on the egg from the oppisite side of the cardboard. This will illuminate the egg and allow you to see the developing chick inside the shell.