Success Story: 2021 Virtual Chick Incubation

Written By: Dawna Jace Peters, 4-H Youth Development Agent for Leslie County 

COVID-19 shut down our in-school programming which led to virtually programming. In 2021 we did our first ever Virtual Chick Incubation in Leslie County. All schools within Leslie County were made aware of the Virtual Chick Program via social media, newsletters, and email. A series of interactive lessons were taught via Nearpod. Nearpod is an online tool that uses slide-based teaching in classrooms or in your home. There was also a recorded demonstration video sent to teachers to share with students. A total of 210 youth in Leslie County participated in the series of interactive lessons! ?According to the 2012 CENSUS of Agriculture, Leslie County has declined 35% since 2007 in number of farms. ?This data raises concern for agricultural production in Leslie County, making our lessons possibly more valuable than ever! 

One lesson was made available each week while we patiently waited for the 21 days to pass. Our Chick Incubation lessons begin on Embryology. The?term was discussed along with the Needs of Living Organisms: Air, Water, a Habitat/ place to live, Protection (from predators), and a proper climate. 

Next, we presented the incubators which holds 7 eggs each. The incubator is refereed as “The Hen”. ?Each egg was labeled depending on their breeds. The incubator is plugged in and begins to heat as we place the eggs inside. The eggs were placed on March 3, 2021 which gave us the anticipated Hatch Day of March 23, 2021.? We discussed the importance of adding water for humidity and keeping watch to make sure that the temperature stays at about 99.5 degrees F. ?We discuss why it is important to be responsible for taking care of these living animals. ? 

We discussed the many functions of eggs and youth was given the opportunity to label PARTS of an EGG. ? We covered the nutrition of the egg and made a video to demonstrate a delicious baked egg cup. Students were provided with the recipe to take home and use. They were encouraged to make observations and hatching predictions. Our last lesson on “Hatching” reminded students how to properly care for the new baby chicks. Several students took home the chicks to join their preexisting flocks.

The 2021 Virtual Chick Incubation Project was a huge success! A total of 38 eggs were placed inside the incubators and 34 eggs successfully hatched. This lesson is more than science, it is leadership, responsibility, communication, and fun. Youth who participated have an excellent start on their knowledge of chickens. ?4-H truly empowers youth to reach their full potentials and this project has truly touched their Head…Heart…Hands…and Health!