Just in time for Easter, a Bradford West Gwillimbury kindergarten class is about to get first-hand experience with hatching baby birds.
Kate Centracchio’s class at Chris Hadfield Public School has 36 quail eggs in an incubator, and the birds are expected to hatch sometime next week.
Not only will the birds provide an extra dose of cuteness in the classroom, but they will help teach the kids a variety of lessons, including math (how many eggs hatched), natural life cycle (how birds develop and how many eggs did not hatch), and how to care for the birds and distinguish between them using their markings, said Centracchio.
“Our kids think because there are so many they’ll be named after them,” she said, with a laugh.
“We do a lot of outdoor education,” with a forest next door to the school, so “we thought it would be neat to bring some into the classroom.”
This is the second year Centracchio has had her students keep bird eggs in an incubator in the classroom. Last year, it was baby chicks.
“The kids are so good with them. They knew enough to be quiet. They knew enough to hold them gently,” she said, adding they could even hear the birds chirping inside their eggs, signalling they were ready to hatch.
This time around, Centracchio got quail eggs from a BWG hobby farmer, who will take the birds back a couple weeks after they hatch to give the kids time to learn with them, she said.
The eggs, about an inch long, are three times smaller than a single chicken egg, she said.
For 18 days, the eggs sat on a yellow egg turner, which looks like a large yellow egg carton without a top, which would move the eggs so the embryos do not stick to the eggshells, she said.
The egg turner has now been removed, which will give the eggs time to settle so the birds can prepare to hatch early next week.
If the birds hatch early on the weekend, they will be OK for up to 12 hours in the incubator and Centracchio said she plans to check on them.
Once the birds have hatched, they will be transferred to a brooder box — a large plastic tub fashioned with wood chips in the bottom, food and drink areas, and a heat lamp on top to keep them warm.
The kids will learn how to take care of the birds, even helping dip their beaks into water to show them how to drink, Centracchio said.
With hatching only days away, many of the students already have name suggestions. Friends Moriah, six, Scarlette, five, and Jia, six, shout out ideas: Rosy, Heart, Rosalinda, Cutie, Cutiepie, Lulu.
“I wish we could hold them because they’re going to be so cute,” said Jia.
“I like the eggs because they look so cute,” said Moriah, adding the birds will move to the “pet house” once they have hatched.
“We do get to keep them for a while (so they can) try to get bigger,” added Scarlette. “We’re so excited for the quail eggs!”
