The chicks are now at home with their family. We had so much fun last week! We hope you were able to enjoy as well.
There were a lot of cute fluffy moments with the chicks here at the library. We had to share our top five favourites!
Wiggles, Pips, and Zips!
Those first signs of life are so exciting. The eggs arrived April 21 and started wiggling on May 10, a good indicator that our chicks would be on time for their May 12 due date.
They were pretty quiet May 11 but when we arrived to open on May 12 we found that everyone had pipped through the shell. It was time to get ready for hatching!
The First Chicks are Live
Our first chicks hatched right on time on Wednesday, May 12. The process is always a wonder to see. It was fantastic to be able to catch the process on camera this year. We had people tune in to the YouTube livestream from around the TNRD as well as a virtual class visit from Vancouver Island. We even had one viewer from Manitoba!
Siblings Being Siblings
As soon as they hatched, the chicks were all over each other. Sometimes they were cuddling, sometimes they were more active. Sometimes they were just stepping and jumping all over each other!
True siblings right from the beginning! Here is one of our favourite pictures of the newly hatched chicks all cuddled up.
Photoshoot
We were thrilled when Julia asked to do a photoshoot with the chicks. We still use her incredible pictures from our 2019 hatching. As expected, she perfectly captured the fluffy perfection again!
She generously provided access to her work so we can share the cuteness with all of you. We truly appreciate it. Thank you so much, Julia!
Escape Attempts
We wanted to keep the chicks here long enough for people to visit. But 3-4 days is a long time for chicks to keep still!
Unsurprisingly, the chicks made some adorable escape attempts on Saturday. If you watch the livestream, you can see they are particularly aware of the spot we would open to give them food and water. Only a few days old and already so smart!
Those are some of our favourite moments! What about you? Did you enjoy a favourite moment with the chicks here or get a giggle from their antics online?
Thank you!
So many people came together to make this program happen. We’d like to say thank you to:
- Ros for lending us her egg/chicks, the incubator, and her chicken-mom wisdom
- Robyn for lending us the terrarium so the chicks could stay a few days
- Julia for the amazing photos of the chicks
- The Friends of the TNRL Merritt Library for their generous support of our programs
- All of you!
Thank you so much to everyone who came in or tuned in. This was a particularly fun program and we’re thrilled to be able to share the wonder with you.
Need some cuteness in your day?
The recorded livestreams will live permanently on our YouTube channel so you can experience the magic again and again!
Day 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li610X54_PI
Day 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpx3CAFSWuU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEQ5dyRazE