2024 Spring Chickens! Baby Chicks - Part 4
Baby chick update! We have 26 baby chicks at the moment. I started off thinking we needed about 8 new baby chicks. And we ended up with 26. That is classic "chicken math."
Here is a breakdown:
4 of Falcon's blue eggs hatched on April 15th! There is 1 named Chipmunk, I'll let you guess which one that is
5 of Einstein's white eggs hatched on April 15th! We are hoping her babies are just like her previous baby chick - the famous Captain Sparkles!
15 baby white leghorn chicks arrived in the mail (via USPS) on April 16th!
1 Bonus / Charity chicken arrived from Meyer Hatchery on April 16th!
Also - photo of our chickens as of April 1, 2024. There are 29 adult chickens in this photo.
Captain Sparkles has been sitting on a nest of eggs and 1 of her baby chicks hatched!! Well, it was a brown egg actually - but she was sitting on it. It hatched on Tuesday, April 23rd! We put it in our chicken brooder, because it was randomly cold Tuesday evening
2024 Spring Chickens! Baby Chicks - Part 3
Monday, April 15th update: 10 of our eggs HATCHED!! 5 eggs from Falcon, 5 eggs from Einstein. The 5 baby chicks from Falcon are all different looking, 2 black, 2 brown, and 1 looks like a chipmunk! The 5 baby chicks from Einstein all look almost identical - they are yellow chicks with 5 toes and bright orange feet. We are REALLY hoping Einstein’s baby chicks grow up and look like Captain Sparkles! Or at least I hope they have her very friendly personality!
Here is a link to some videos of the baby chicks hatching - it was pretty incredible to watch. It takes a few hours to hatch. They come out very wet. It reminded me of baby turtles the way they flopped around while they figured out their footing. Within an hour or so of hatching - they were up walking. Different chicks had different energy levels after hatching.
Here is a 4 minute video of one of Einstein’s eggs actually hatching: Click here
2024 Spring Chickens! Baby Chicks - Part 2
Incubator update: We rechecked the egg growing activity on Monday (which was Day 15) and we have 7 eggs that are definitely still viable. They will start hatching this Sunday or Monday. the fabulous nature club kids and I moved the incubator out to the tack room - into the baby chick area actually. The tack room is much more conducive for students to observe baby hatching activity - much better than my living room.
2024 Spring Chickens! Baby Chicks - Part 1
Do you ever look at your pet chicken and think, "I sure wish there was more of you?"
It all started because we are all in love with this chicken named Captain Sparkles. And she happens to be the offspring of one of our other most favorite chickens - Einstein! And Einstein happens to be one of our best egg layers. And in a long story, the rooster around here is (probably) the offspring of the dad that was half the creation of Captain Sparkles... I can explain better in person if needed
So then I did a lot of research and purchased an incubator. And now we are on day 8! And 13 - 15 eggs might hatch! (out of 22).
I'll keep you posted. We are all kind of obsessed around here.
Happy SPRING!! April Newsletter :)
Spring is here!!
Spring is here!! On March 20th, we had (roughly) the same number of hours of daylight as darkness! I love the daylight and I love everyday that it gets lighter later and later.
HAPPY St. Patrick’s Day!!
We had so much fun celebrating St. Patrick’s Day during a special spring break Friday Nature Club. We helped with morning animal care, held baby chicks, searched for hidden leprechauns, did a fancy experiment with leprechaun stones, painted rainbows and decorated yummy cupcakes! We also had pony rides and fabulous fruit snacks all on a very green day.
STUDENT SHOWCASE!!
May 19th, Friday evening
SAVE THE DATE
We are hosting our first ever student showcase!! On Friday night, May 19th from 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM! Each student in horseback riding lessons and PALS will have an opportunity to complete a rehearsed pattern for parents, grandparents and our Cheyne Ranch community. More details coming soon.
End-of-School year PARTY!!
Wednesday, May 31 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Come celebrate the end of school year with us at Cheyne Ranch! We will have fun with the animals, do some water activity, craft, outdoor games and a pony ride. We will eat lunch together on the playground.
Wednesday, May 31st 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
$40 first kid in family / $25 sibling
Our Summer camps are open for registration! We have such fun stuff planned! We have 3 adults + 4 teenage workers + volunteers. The campers are ages 5 - 12. We will take care of the animals, spend time learning about animals and nature, play outdoor games including water games, take ponies on a walk and tons of fun activities.
4 different weeks offered, sign up for 1, 2, 3 or 4!
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Worker Spotlight - TATIANA!
We have such a phenomenal community of people here at Cheyne Ranch. Since earlier this fall - we’ve had the honor of having TATIANA volunteer here then work here! She is so bright, her smile, her intelligence, her friendliness, her knowledge of people, nature and animals, everything brightens when Tatiana is here. We are so lucky to have her.
Summer Nature Club!
4 Mondays | 9 Fridays
Nature Club is so fun! Summer schedules are so varied with many families traveling - so our nature clubs are “drop-in” (sort of). What this means is you can select the dates you plan to attend and only pay for those particular dates. We are offering Nature club on 4 Mondays and 9! Fridays. Mix and match whatever dates work for your family’s schedule. $40 each Nature club, sibling discount available.
Each nature club will be unique with a focus on animal care, animal connection, outdoor fun and nature learning.
4 Mondays 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM | June 12, 26, July 10, 24
9 Fridays 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM | June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, July 7, 14, 21, 28
Baby Chicks! & Family Visits
Our 10 baby chicks are growing so FAST! They are already just over 3 weeks old and they seem huge! Here is a phot of them at 16 days old. They will be in their heated coop for only 3 more weeks - then we will move start their slow transition to the BIG coop.
We would love to see you for a family visit!! That is when we spend about an hour up-close with our animals learning about them and interacting with them. Kids age 21 and younger get a pony ride around our property.
and finally…
Donate
Cheyne Ranch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to teach animal care and provide a community of inclusivity for people with all kinds of neurodiversity. With your donations, we keep our classes affordable and accessible to special needs members of our community.
We accept money all the ways ;) We love Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, and credit card (through our website)
Sally Ann Cheyne
Founder & President
Cheyne Ranch, Inc.
nonprofit 501(c)(3)
Located in Oviedo, FL
Call / Text: (407) 205-7744
email: Sally@CheyneRanch.com
Website: www.CheyneRanch.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CheyneRanch
Instagram: instagram.com/CheyneRanch
Baby chicks moved to barn
We moved the baby chicks to the barn, more specifically, the bunny zen room. Through our local free Facebook group, we found an old playpen and after a few modifications, we moved the chicks in! My lovely friend is letting us borrow a chick warmer, it is like of like a pancake skillet, but the heat comes out of the bottom of the plate. I ❤️ the bunny zen room (now aka the chirping baby chick room)
Me, napping in the bunny zen room to the lovely (loud) sound of chirping baby chicks