Good Morning RhibaFarm fans! We are sharing a special blog today, with corroboration from first grader Jackson Kirby. Jackson recently made a visit to ChickenTown for help with his Tempe elementary school science project. Jackson wanted to demonstrate the life cycle of a chicken egg. With help from the Mayor of ChickenTown, Mark Rhine, Jackson began his journey. Below are excerpts of Jackson’s background research report.

“I wanted to learn where chickens came from. I wanted to learn how a chick grows in an egg. I chose to do a demonstration for my science project. I will demonstrate the life cycle of a chick egg!

All girl chickens are hens, and all boy chickens are roosters. The rooster fertilizes the egg. It is called mating. Not all eggs can become a chick. The eggs we get at the store are laid by hens, that did not mate with the roosters.

First, I got fertilized eggs from ChickenTown. ChickenTown is a happy farm where chickens live. Then, I brought the eggs home and put the eggs in an incubator to keep them warm. Last, I put X on one side and O on the other side so I could remember to flip the eggs two times a day. I flipped them every morning and every single night!!!

On day 1, the chick is a very small white spot. I had to keep it warm so it would grow. The chick grows inside the egg everyday!
On day 2 the white spot turns into an EMBRYO. It is growing blood vessels!
On day 3, it looks like a question mark backwards. Its heart is beating! It eats food and water from the yolk.
On day 4 you can see the eye! I looked for it with my special flashlight to see it growing. I turned off all the lights and put the egg on the light. A sac full of clear water grows around the chick. It is called the AMNIOTIC SAC. It protects the chick.
On day 5, it's wings and legs start growing! Another sac called the ALLANTOIS MEMBRANE is growing. It helps the chick breathe.
On day 7, it's been 1 week. The chick is now called a FETUS. It has all its important parts now. It has a brain, heart, stomach, eyes, ears, and a beak. It even has its toes!
On day 8, the wings and legs get bigger!
On day 9, it starts to look like a chick and not an alien.
On day 11, it grows eyelids. The beak can open and close! It also is growing its feathers.
On day 14, it has been 2 weeks. It is a lot bigger. It has claws now! Pretty soon it gets very crowded in the egg.
On day 18, almost all the yolk is gone.
On day 19, there is only a little bit left. The chick is almost out of food.
On day 20, it practices breathing. I can now hear it peeping.
On day 21, it's hatch day. It uses its egg tooth to get out of the shell. The egg tooth is a hard bump on the chicks beak. First the egg pips that means breaks the shell. Then it zips! That means it gets all the way out of the egg. The chick is very tired.

I interviewed Mark Rhine the Mayor at ChickenTown. He said raising eggs to chickens is very important for the farm. I am helping him by hatching eggs. He said that makes me a farmer too. He will take the chicks when they are two weeks old. They will have a happy life laying eggs and roaming free.”

Jackson successfully hatched 6 chicks, and 2 turkeys. What an adventure! Sadly, participating in the life cycle of something as simple yet truly magnificent as a chicken egg, is not a common experience children get to have these days. It is our responsibility to show our children more than a television. The usefulness of man is dying, but not on our watch!.

If you ask Jackson what his favorite part of his science project was, he will say when the eggs hatched of course. Then he says simply, learning about life. Jackson received 20 points out of 20 points and a first place purple ribbon. Way to go Farmer Jackson!