The California Academy of Sciences has a new hatchery exhibit going on, where you can observe chicken eggs as they incubate and eventually hatch.
Chicken eggs hatch 21 days after fertilization; an incubator keeps the eggs uniformly warm and moist leading up to hatching. The right temperature and humidity keeps the embryos developing normally with proper levels of fluids and gases. Once they hatch, chicks are then kept in the hatcher for the first 24 hours to rest and dry. They are then kept in a brooder for 5-8 weeks until they grow feathers.
And no, these little fuzzy lovelies won’t be dyed with fashionable colors like some chicks during this Easter season.
The exhibit will be on display in the Academy’s Piazza from March 14 – April 24, 2011.
Sarah B.
What a great exhibit! Does anyone know what happens to the chicks after they grow feathers?