Men Tenderly Hatch Eggs — Reap Rewards

A fun idea turned into a rewarding project at Jellison House this spring. Turns out, men love these chicks. 

When Audrey Ferguson found a farm online advertising fertilized chicken eggs for sale, she reached out to the owner and explained that Jellison House is a residential treatment program and the experience of hatching eggs could be very rewarding for the residents. The catch was that they couldn’t keep the chicks once they had hatched. Happily, the farmer offered to take the chicks back to live on her farm, so the hatching experiment was a go. 

Smiling with the chicks!

In short order an incubator was set up with 12 eggs inside. Over the course of 21 days the residents took turns turning the eggs 5 times a day. These men were eager to ensure they would hatch healthy and happy and would check the eggs each day. 

 

Audrey, Denise and Brianna, Jellison House staff enjoy the chicks too.

And on the 21st day they began to hatch! Everyone was so excited to come into the office and check on the chicks’ progress. They wondered how long it was going to take and guessed how many would hatch. Some even picked out names. Of the 12 eggs, we successfully have 8 hatchlings.

Audrey reports that the chicks are doing well. “We are enjoying their company and caring for them each day before it is time for them to go back to the farm. We hope to make this an annual activity to look forward to next year.”