Each morning, Ms. Carmen feeds the chickens. They eat a combination of pellet feed, grains and seeds, dried meal worms, and fresh foods like lettuce and fruits. 

Have you ever wondered how chickens eat? Do they make any sounds while they eat?

We set up a camera and went about the regular task of feeding the hens.

Meet Sweet and Sour, two hens that live their lives in the Kiddie Science Lab backyard. Below is a video sharing a little bit of what Ms. Carmen's care responsibilities look like.

Our hens free-range, meaning they spend their entire day outside, coming and going as they wish. Originally, they had access to just a portion of the backyard. That was a year ago. Now they have almost the entire backyard and seem much happier for it. Lots more places to dig holes!

Our hens live in a coop that has been modified slightly for the needs of the Lab. The bottom part is called the run, and on hot or snowy days, the gals prefer to hang out there. As mentioned previously, our hens are free-range, so they come and go at will. Up the stairs is the coop, which is the chicken house. Toward the back of the coop is the nesting box which is normally where eggs are laid. As you'll see, our hens have been laying their eggs in a different location for a few weeks now.

Here it is! The next Science Story Wednesday!

Did you know we have two chickens living in the Lab's backyard? Sweet and Sour are New England chickens who are part of the Lab's local ecology. Young scientists in the Brooklyn Chicken Club spend quality time caring for the hens and learning about their needs.

This week's story is My Life As A Chicken. Bawwwwwwk!

One of the highlights of having the Lab space has been the chickens. It wasn't that long ago that we reached out to our local community (and beyond) for support in implementing The Chicken Project. Our goal was simple: expose young children to the care and keeping of chickens and give them time and access to observe their behaviors and characteristics first-hand. You answered our call for support and the results have been far beyond what we could have expected!

First and foremost, everyone loves the chickens! Children and adults of all ages have been smitten by Sweet and Sour and have learned a lot in the process. As we learn about the classification of living things, we've been able to spend extra time exploring birds, chickens in particular. We have learned about chicken diet and made salad mix using Lab garden ingredients, while making direct observations about bird characteristics. We're always impressed by their diverse sounds and behaviors!

Living in Brooklyn, our connection with nature and living things is oftentimes limited. This is why providing city kids with access to chickens is of particular importance. Although extremely friendly, our hens still require the humans around them to be gentle and cautious in their presence. This has provided opportunity for young scientists to explore how our bodies/actions may affect the living things around us. We have learned what it means to be gentle and careful with our bodies (and voices) as we spend time in the backyard with the chickens. 

Our young scientists greatly enjoy feeding treats to the chickens which, as omnivores, could be anything from watermelon to meal worms. We've learned about the needs of living things and chicken physiology. Once the chickens reached egg-laying age, we explored how exactly an egg is created and learned it's basic parts. This has opened up a whole new world of discovery and it's a particular treat when a late egg is laid and we're able to hold it while it's still warm.

You can never go wrong with exposing young children to the care and keeping of living things. At the Lab, we prefer to expose young children to nontraditional animals in the hopes of instilling a love and appreciation of all living things, not just the cute and cuddly ones.