"EGG"traordinary Find
by Theresa Farris
October 31, 2011
“EGG”traordinary Find
It was last March when the 2011 Kindergarten class was successful in hatching baby chicks from eggs they gathered from SVCA chickens. We ended up with 4 hens and 4 roosters.
The Kindergarten students for the 2011-2012 school year took over care for the 8 chickens. The chickens spent the summer with Mrs. Farris and were moved to the school chicken coop the first day of school.
As a class, we found research that said chickens normally start laying eggs by 3 to 4 months of age. Our chickens should have started laying eggs in July, but it was well into September and still no sign of any eggs.
We found information that also said stress could delay egg production. The class was in agreement that the move to SVCA probably created enough stress to delay egg production.
Even with all the research the kindergarten students had been anxious everyday, since the first day of school, to make our trip to the chicken coop in hopes of finding our first egg.
It was early in the morning when excitement broke out followed by giggles and screams when we spotted the perfect elliptical shape lying in the straw on the floor of the chicken coop. Then a silence followed when the students realized there was something very different about this egg.
We had talked about and expected our chickens to lay brown eggs but this egg was definitely not brown, nor was it white…..it was GREEN.
One of my students made the comment, “I know what will hatch out of that green egg….. a dinosaur!" I knew at that point more research was in our near future.
Check back for the answer as to why SVCA chickens are laying green eggs and….. what is inside the green egg. I hope we find the answer before the egg hatches.
