Week 3 Update - Ms. Tammy’s Explorers
The chicks have arrived!! We now have 40 new birds on the farm!! We have converted our green chicken tractor into an awesome brooder, where they can be raised safely as laying hens for our flock. Feel free to come take a peek and say hello.
Fun facts we discussed:
Baby chicks need to be kept warm (95 degrees the first week, then 5 degrees less each week after that) so we’ve installed heated mats for them to hang out on as they grow.
They also require protection from predators so the tractor has been fortified with solid flooring and 1/4” mesh all around. Once they graduate to the outside world (in about 6 weeks,) they will stay in this fenced area to protect them from the other flock until they get big enough to defend themselves.
A newly-hatched chick will be wet and covered in the remains of the egg yolk that he or she did not eat while inside. The chick will be about the size of the egg it was just in; so you can definitely call it a tight fit.
Chicks are born with a single “tooth” at the end of their beak which is how they are able to break out of their shell. This egg tooth falls off after a few days. Chickens have no teeth and cannot chew their food. Grinding action occurs within the gizzard, with the aid of gravel. We will give the babies grit along with their feed so they can digest properly.
Both male and female babies are called chicks. As they grow and differentiate, the females are called pullets (then hens after 1 year.) Males are called cockerels (then roosters after 1 year.)
Our Theme of the day was: Caterpillar to Butterfly.
I told a story similar to “The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar” and then we walked the farm to see if we could locate any eggs, caterpillars or butterflies. The butterflies were everywhere! Since we discussed what the butterflies eat (nectar), we did an experiment to see if we could safely catch them. We dipped cotton swabs into sugar water and sat down near the flowers to see if the butterflies would land on the swab for a drink. Talk about an engaging meditative activity. Imagine a group of 5 year olds sitting very still and quiet amongst the flowers watching the butterflies fly all around them. It was magical!
In the Herb beds, we harvested some more California poppies, Chamomile flowers and Calendula flowers to dry and then add to our Medicinal herb apothecary. All the kids wanted to take the flowers home :-)
We also worked on our sunflower house, raking the mulch out of the way, laying down compost and planting mammoth sunflower seeds. Then we finished with watering. Each week we will visit and watch our sunflower house grow!
What a day together! See y’all next week.
Ms. Tammy