4-H hatches chicks in office, public invited

We’ve hatched a plan at the Extension office and the public is invited. In celebration of spring, the 4-H Program is hatching chicks and turkeys in the office.

The incubation process begins February 11th with a projected hatch date of March 4th for the chicks and March 11th for the turkeys. All are invited to view the eggs as they develop, watch the hatching process, and visit the birds once they’re born.

Embryology is a popular school enrichment program offered by Douglas County 4-H. Each spring, students witness the development of life through observation of incubated eggs. They learn about embryonic development, look inside eggs during development by “candling”, and view the hatching process.

One young student commented that he “learned a lot about the chicken life cycle”. Another classroom named their chicks Oreo, Peanut Butter Pie, and Cookie and was quite concerned that their hatchlings find other chicks to play with when they went to a new home.

“Embryology is one of our most requested enrichment programs. Last year, we placed programs into 28 classrooms in Douglas County,” said Mary Baldwin, 4-H Outreach Agent. “This year, I’m very excited that we were able to purchase new temperature-controlled incubators. Now we can work with more students as well as community programs that work with school-aged children.”

We expect our little peepers to come into the world beginning the week of March 4th, but as with all things in nature, this is only an estimate. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We are located on the Douglas County Fairgrounds at 410 Fairgrounds Road in Castle Rock.

For information on school enrichment programs available through the Douglas County 4-H Program, please view the website at www.douglascountyextension.com or call the office at 720-733-6940.