Key Words

Look at the words on the Key Words Mat.

Circle each word when you see or hear it during this lesson.
What Do You Know About This Animal?

What is
it called? Which animal
group does it
belong to?
What
will it grow
into?
Are they born
as live young
Does it look Please click or in eggs?
like its adult for some
when it is question
born or not? prompts.
What Do You Know About This Animal?

Which animal
group does it
belong to?

Please click Can you name

for some any of its
question body parts?
prompts.
 Chicks

Imagine that you could hold a chick.

Chicks are fragile and small, so it’s important that they

are held gently and with lots of care.

What do you think they might sound like?

How do you think the chick would feel?

 Eggs
Did You Know…?

A group of eggs all laid at the

same time is called a ‘clutch’.

Before chicks are ready

to hatch from their eggs, Some eggs are kept
the eggs need to be kept warm by the mother Some eggs are kept
warm. hen sitting on them. warm in an incubator.

An incubator is a special
container that eggs can be
kept in before they are
ready to hatch (after around
21 days).
The incubator keeps the
eggs warm.
Eggs
Did You Know…?
Chicks are ‘flock animals’, which means they
like to be with other chicks. There should
always be six or more eggs that hatch together.

Every day, the eggs must be

gently turned over to help
the chicks to develop
properly and to stop them
from sticking to
the shell. Hens would
do this to the eggs in their
nest too.
Eggs

This soft white part of the

inside of an egg is called the
inner membrane.

After about 19 days of the

egg being in the incubator,
the chick
uses its beak to break this
membrane.

Did You Know…?

Chicks can be heard chirping
from inside their shells just
before they hatch.
 Hatching

Around 12 hours after the chick has pierced

the inner membrane, it will start to use a sharp
part of its beak called the ‘egg tooth’ to tap the
eggshell.

The chick will keep tapping the same part of

the egg until it cracks. The chick will have to
crack the shell all the way around until the
whole shell breaks into two pieces.

Click on the photo to

The chick will now watch the chick start
start to push the to hatch!
shell away so that it
can hatch.
 Hatching

It can take around 40 minutes for the chick to

fully hatch out of its shell.

Breaking free from the shell is very hard work

for the chick, so it will be very tired by the
time it finishes hatching. The chick will be wet
when it first comes out, too!

It can take about six hours for the feathers to

dry out and for the chick to start moving.

Click on the photo to

watch the
chick hatching!
Hatching

The noise and movement

from the hatched chicks help
the other chicks still in their
eggs to hatch too.

They all stay in the

incubator to dry off. Then,
12-24 hours after the last
chick has hatched, they are
all moved to a brooder.

Did You Know…?

Not all chicks are yellow.

Some are black or brown.
 After the Chicks Have Hatched
A brooder is used to keep the chicks warm and
dry once they have all hatched.

A brooder is a special box which

has a heat lamp inside. This keeps
the chicks warm.

Newspaper or wood shavings are

used as bedding for
the chicks.
 After the Chicks Have Hatched

Chicks need water and food in their

brooder.

They eat a food called ‘chick

crumb’, which is a special grain
that gives them all the nutrients
they need to grow and be healthy.

Click on the photo

to watch the chicks
eating.
After the Chicks Have Hatched

Once the chicks are around

five weeks old, their feathers
have grown.

They can be moved out of

the brooder and into a
chicken coop.

Did You Know…?

A cockerel is a male chicken and a h

is a female chicken.
 After the Chicks Have Hatched
A chicken coop is often made of wood. It gives the
chickens a safe place to sleep, rest and lay their eggs.

There is often a chicken run

attached to the coop, which is an
outdoor space where the chickens
can exercise, eat, drink and get
some fresh air.

At around 20 weeks old, a hen can

begin to lay eggs. It can lay about
one egg every day.
 Incubator Timeline
Click on each point on the timeline to see what happens at different times during
incubation. X
The chick is ready to Once
hatch,the
so chicks
the are all
The eggs are gently egg no longer needs tohatched,
be turned.
they are moved to
turned, regularly The chick breaks the ainner
brooder, where they have
each day. X membrane of the shell.food and water.
X
Day 2 - 18 Day 19 - 21 Day 21 - 22

Day 1 Day 7 - 10 Day 21 5 weeks later

The eggs are put‘Candling’

into X the eggs involves The chicks X begin to hatch.
TheItyoung
can X X
the incubator. This
shining a light onto the eggs to
take
seebetween 1 and 24 hours
chickens
andare
is known as ‘setting’
if a chick can be seen. Any eggs
they should be left alone
moved
whileto a
the eggs. that are damaged will be removed
hatching. chicken coop.
from the incubator.
 Incubator Timeline
Can you put these photos in the right order? Click to see if you are correct.

1 2 3 4 5