Increasing Our
Knowledge - Grades 7-8
| Things to Learn |
Things to Do |
| How poultry are hatched commercially
|
- Visit a hatchery and see how birds are hatched commercially.
If a hatchery is not available, read a pamphlet or book about one.
Borrow slides from the Extension Office that show a commercial poultry
operation.
- Draw a chart comparing a commercial hatchery to how a hen cares
for eggs.
- Draw a map of Illinois showing where poultry is produced. Make
a list of state and national hatcheries.
|
| Study embryonic development |
- Break out fertile and infertile eggs and describe their differences.
- Incubate fertile eggs and candle them each day. Break out one
egg each day and preserve the embryo in a jar of alcohol.
- Keep a record of your observations and compare them to embryo
development charts.
- Give a demonstration on preparing embryo sets.
|
| Know incubation requirements |
- Write a list of requirements to consider when incubating eggs.
- Draw a chart with incubation requirements for several species
of poultry.
- Give an incubation demonstration.
|
| Know brooding requirements |
- Write a list of requirements to consider when brooding chicks.
- Make a brooder box.
|
| Feathering in growing birds |
- Observe feathering in growing chicks.
- Discuss what down looks like and how new feathers come in.
- Collect several types of feathers.
- List several functions of feathers in birds.
- Use feathers or "down" to make something useful.
|
| Give a demonstration |
- Demonstrate how to prepare an incubator for eggs, build an incubator
or candler, candle fertile and infertile eggs or prepare eggs in
a recipe.
|
| Record observations |
- Keep a journal, portfolio, or notebook on the life of an embryo
and/or chick.
- Write a short story describing development in embryos and young
birds.
- Prepare charts and graphs to show changes during incubation and
to record the information requested in the 4-H Record pages.
|
| Keep records |
- Use 4-H record to keep records of numbers of eggs set, broken-out
and hatched.
- Keep a record of chick mortality.
- Keep a record of incubation and brooding temperatures. Keep a
record of weather conditions and maximum and minimum temperatures
for each day. Keep a record of any problems encountered during the
incubation period.
- Observe and record the changes which occur before, during and
after hatch.
- Compare these changes to other birds and mammals.
- Prepare a report--journal, diary, portfolio of records kept during
incubation and after hatching.
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