After a very active and vocal morning, Sour hopped up on the windowsill and laid an egg! The first eggs are normally small in size, roughly 2 inches. In an effort to encourage the chicken to lay its eggs inside the nesting box, we received egg-cellent advice and placed an object of similar shape as an egg inside the box. The hope was that the chickens would take the hint that this is where you lay your eggs.

Although it wasn't first thing in the morning, the following afternoon, Sour laid her second egg and this time it was in the nesting box. In time, both chickens will lay an egg per day and will eventually be earlier in the day versus the staggered times we have now.

Below you can see the three eggs we have so far.
​What observations can you make on how they have changed?

It's been a busy few weeks for the chickens at the Kiddie Science Lab. In addition to meeting all our young scientists and spending lots more free time in the backyard, the chickens also experienced the rain for the first time and had their first taste of watermelon.

Now that the chickens are settled in, it's time to name them!

As with the turtles, we asked our young scientists to make suggestions on what to name the chickens. We voted on top names and now we need your help to narrow it down to the top two!
Click here to name our chickens! Voting is open through September 24th.

It's been almost a week since the chickens moved into the Lab's backyard. Although their coop and run accommodates them quite comfortably, our goal was to provide them with adequate exploration time outside of the run. In addition to satisfying their incredible curiosity, wandering the backyard garden also allows the chickens to assist with pest control and diversifies their omnivorous diet.

For several days, we opened the run door for the chickens to come out and they never did. Most times they walked up into the coop and patiently waited for the door to be closed again. We continued to try until finally they came over to the coop door and and peeked their heads out. It took some more time before the first chicken wandered out...then jumped right back in again.

The second time one of the chickens hopped out of the run, it was gently picked it up and placed further away from the coop door. The second chicken quickly followed and the exploration began.

Thank you for making this possible! Your direct support has made The Chicken Project a reality! Over the last month, we've been busy working to get the backyard ready for the chickens so we can expand our learning space. We are pleased to announce that two hens recently joined the Lab. They're in their "teen" years so we have plenty of time to get to learn from them!

Again, thank you! Your tax deductible donation, your in-kind purchases from our wish list, your ti me and help assisting with the process, your words of encouragement, it has all created something wonderful for our children to experience. Thank you for planting the seeds of science.