Kids Trader Joe's eggs hatched! - Update on Joey on post #147

[GardeNerd]

We ordered chicks from a hatchery. But my 8 year old daughter wanted them from eggs to get to see them hatch. We live in the city and no one that keeps hens has fertile eggs around here. I told her about how I read about Justino's experiment and got Sunny. She thought that sounded like a great science project. So for fun, she built an incubator, with my help on the scavanging of parts. She loves to create all sorts of stuff. Four days were spent getting the right temp and humidity using water trays and holes.

Well, one Saturday we drove to 4 local natural food stores trying to find the most recently packed grocery store eggs. We ended up with Trader Joes white organic Fertile eggs and brown Fertile eggs from Sprouts. I kept telling her not to get hopes to high. A lot can go wrong. Well, it is now the 13th day. We have 8 embryos developing from the Trader Joes eggs. The brown ones were tossed on Wednesday. Zero development in those.

Now I'm starting to worry. What kind of chicks are these going to turn into if they manage to hatch? Feb. 3rd, 2009 we found out.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/20741_100_1620.jpg
Joey the chick from Trader Joe's Fertile eggs.
Read on if you want to see the progress as we did the science project.

Here is a video diary about the chick's first year:

 

[Mahonri]

There is a trader Joes close to me.

I'm gonna try it... once the bator arrives.

I'm guessing you'll get Hy-Line W-98 Leghorns.... hope they are all pullets for ya!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

This is fantastic!

I hope you have successful hatches, and if you do, you should create a BYC Page out of the experience with pictures of the carton, eggs, hatchlings, etc! I'd love to have this kind of stuff added to the site!!

 

[GardeNerd]

Here are some pics of the start of the project.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/20741_100_1287.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/20741_100_1307.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/20741_100_1293.jpg

 

[redhen]

maybe leghorns....

 

[GardeNerd]

Don't most of the commercial operations use hybrids?

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Robbdogr,
What a terrific little girl!

How wonderful is this... 8 years old and for fun she builds her own incubator. I hope the eggs hatch for her.

As for what type of chicken, I haven't the faintest.
Please keep us updated as to what's happening. And tell your daughter I'm so impressed with her pluck and ingenuity!

Carla

 

[AHappychick]

you have a very cool kid! props to you, and good luck!

 

[GardeNerd]

Thanks. Both of my kids are the real treasures in my life. I have been enjoying her enthusiasm for the project.

The incubator she is using is the second version. We tried an old fan (no heat) from an old fashion salon style hair dryer. Bad idea. Really loud.
Now it has an aquarium air circulation pump. We tried to get a small fan, but apparently they aren't in season in January.

If we end up with any chicks from this, she is aware she can't keep more than one or two since the others from the hatchery will be here soon after, too.

Does anyone local know how to vent sex day old chicks? I know it's not 100%, but I would hate to let her keep two and have them turn into roos, then make her give it up due to the city banning roos. She's spent so much time on this.

Her brother was not that interested when she started, but now he is and wants to use this for his school science project. He says he wants to try to do more batches and determine how old is too old for the grocery store eggs to develop since the brown ones at 12 days after packing didn't work, but after 3 days did.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/20741_100_1297.jpg

 

[Fresh Eggs]

That is awesome!!!! I will have to try too!