Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

September Newsletter

Student Study Guides! + LEVEL-UP WORKSHOPS!! +

Fundraising updates + Amazon wishlist + OCTOBER events sneak peek

First Up…

Student Study Guides are available for purchase!!

Hooray! These are awesome new additions!

Do you want to know more about what your student is learning here at Cheyne Ranch? Did you know we follow a curriculum that has about 300 mounted lessons and about 200 UNmounted (ground care) lessons? This awesome curriculum also has STUDENT STUDY GUIDES!!

  • PRINTED books, coil bound: Ranging from 40 - 75 pages, each student study guide is a wealth of information, illustrations and practice exercises.

    • I worked with Staples Print shop (it was hours of work actually) and we are getting a HUGE discount! So I am passing along that savings to you!

      • RAINBOW level Study Guide (coloring book): $20 - Even the bigger kids want this!

      • RED level Study Guide (mounted): $25 - must be current student at Cheyne Ranch

      • RED level Study Guide (UNmounted): $25 - must be current student at Cheyne Ranch

LEVEL-UP Workshops are ready for registration!!

That awesome curriculum we follow - it has LEVELS! We are offering an opportunity for students to earn their RAINBOW level ribbon this Sunday, Sept 8th.

We have planned MORE Level-up Workshops!

  • Currently scheduled for some Sundays at 11:15 AM - 1:15 PM

  • Staying the entire time is not required

  • Workshop fee is $30 each student

  • Students need to earn ribbons in order, starting with Rainbow

  • One ribbon each workshop. Meaning, if your student is wanting the yellow ribbon, they will need to attend the following workshops:

    • Rainbow

    • Red - Mounted

    • Yellow - Mounted

Questions? Please text Sally (407) 680-3348

Bonfire t-shirt - AMAZING - THANK YOU!!

Thank you so much for participating in our Bonfire t-shirt campaign! Bonfire is a very cool company that allowed our community to purchase high quality Cheyne Ranch t-shirts and sweatshirts with a minimal processing fee. I ordered t-shirts for the Cheyne Ranch teenagers and they are really nice quality! We love them!

  • Cheyne Ranch received a $350 payout in donations from 17 community members - THANK YOU!!

  • We will open up another Bonfire campaign right around Thanksgiving!


Pampered Chef fundraiser - THANK YOU!!

A big thank you to Tammy of Tastes and Twists for helping me host a Pampered Chef party! I have never done that before - and I didn’t even have to clean my house! It was all online. On a Facebook group actually :)

I know we hit the required sales so that Cheyne Ranch earned 30% of the total sales! That is incredible. Thank you all so much. Our Pampered Chef party is closed now, but if you love their fabulous kitchen tools, please reach out and contact Tammy O’Hara.

Amazon Wishlist :)

Did you know Cheyne Ranch has an Amazon wishlist? We serve approximately one zillion granola bars and 2 gazillion Gatorade slushies each month. And frozen peanut butter & jelly sandwiches - those go fast (when will Amazon sell frozen food?) I do like to make sure people are fed - so that is fun.

We also go through an extraordinary amount of non-fun things like trash bags, cleaning supplies and toilet paper. And some fun things like rubber duckies!! (not even kidding - ask your child if they have rode the horse with rubber ducks on their toes). And dry erase markers are fun.

Our biggest expenses (besides insurance, taxes, administrative software) is animal hay and feed. Wait - we actually say… animal haaaaay. :) Which we buy at Tack Shack in Oviedo. Our hay & feed costs about $3,000 each month.

All that to say, please consider a donation. We are a nonprofit which means we serve our community as a passion project. We rely on donations to keep in operating and to keep ensuring we can offer our high quality programs for a low cost. If you could see the joy on the kids’ faces and how much they learn, grow, gain independence and confidence. I wouldn’t change this job for anything. It is incredible.

October Events!

What a fun and busy time of year! We have some super fun stuff coming up!


Speaking of upcoming fun stuff…

We have some improvements planned. It is ongoing. As soon as there is some money leftover each month, we look at our priority list for what needs to be fixed. We certainly have big love for Todd & Son Tractor Service, he has been helping us with his fleet of super cool land moving machines since we moved here in 2016. He is going to address this big muddy mess in our riding area. Big relief for many of us - probably a little disappointing for some of the kids that LOVE playing in this mud.

Todd is also going to bring down some trees that are very dead. Maybe they were struck by lightening? Its a big job - and I’m thrilled to put this in someone else’s expertise.

Lastly - we are getting a BIG sand area in our playground area. That is going to be super fun. It will be where the trampoline used to be.

More reason to donate! I do love taking care of this land. But it is expensive.

Trip Advisor - Family Visit / Barn Tour experience

Guess what? You can help us for FREE!!!

It would be so helpful if you would leave us a review on Trip Advisor.

We were recently listed on TripAdvisor for our Family Visits / Barn Tour experience! This offers Cheyne Ranch an additional revenue stream so we can continue offering scholarships to our community to support our mission!! And it also helps feed & care for our animals!! It is exciting.

One BIG benefit to offering these Family Visits / Barn Tour experiences is that we are achieving another goal - giving volunteers and workers an opportunity to develop their customer service and work experience! Do you know how much these kids are learning when they are faced with a new family at Cheyne Ranch and they have to think on their feet for all kinds of different questions?

What this post is actually asking for is - It would be so helpful if you would leave us a review on Trip Advisor.

Travelers often tell us how helpful it is to read past travelers' reviews before selecting their own experiences. And we're always eager to hear what you liked and how we can improve.

**For local families - we offer a MUCH cheaper Family Visit. Please schedule online through our website: chra.us/f

A few photos and videos from August ;)

Thank you for reading this far.

We have some photos and videos to share from August. Well, actually - they are on Instagram. And apparently they are called Reels now. I’m catching right up on this new technology. Kind of. Where are all these Cheyne Ranch teenagers to help with this Generation xyz alpha sigma technology?

Lastly - some love to share

The BEST thing about Cheyne Ranch is all the incredible people. The students, their families, the vets, farrier, hay store, our neighbors, the tractor guy. I could go on and on. Oh! Actually I did… here is a link to a bunch of people I want to say thank you to…

🐎 Helpful links 🐎

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

Cheyne Ranch is a nonprofit that provides a safe, inclusive and accessible way for people of all abilities to learn about animal care & connections.

We serve our local community through providing scholarships to our lesson programs, caring for the many farm animals that have been donated to us, and advocating for inclusive, accessible experiences for all individuals.


Please donate and help us with our mission: chra.us/donate

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Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

Welcome to our 2024 FALL SEMESTER!!

We just had our first day of our FALL SEMESTER today and it was AWESOME!! I'm so thrilled to be outside caring and connecting with the animals and you all - this job is truly a dream. This is our 7th year operating and our 5th year offering these classes.

This post is intended for families with confirmed spots on our Fall schedule of classes. Interested in learning more about our classes? Please start here

Please please take some time to read this. Expectations are SO IMPORTANT.

CLASS OPENINGS: (Our programs generally sell out)

We outlined a weekly calendar with 48 individual lesson spots + 48 group class lesson spots and I can't believe that is 96 total student spots!! ALL 96 of those spots are FILLED!!  Whew! that took some maneuvering, thank you all for your patience while I got that together.

  • AVAILABLE Classes!

    • PALS: Our animal care 1:1 time is so much fun. We can hopefully find something that works with your schedule!

CALENDAR / DATES!

Fall 2024 | 16 weeks = two 8-week sessions | chra.us/p

  • Monday. August 19th - Sunday, October 13th

  • Monday, October 21st - Sunday, December 22nd

  • Consider bookmarking this weblink (chra.us/p) for your future reference. The next 12 months of Cheyne Ranch dates can be found here.

RAIN or SHINE!

Yes! Our classes meet rain or shine! Please only drive in safe conditions. We are committed to caring for the animals and our barn is nice and dry to keep on learning and caring! Our instructors have ahhhmazing and important rainy day lessons planned.

  • There are no refunds for missed classes

  • There is 1 make-up lesson offered every 8 weeks for individual classes (Riding lessons and PALS). 

  • There are no make-up lessons offered for group classes such as Nature Club and Treasures

  • In the case of an instructor absence, a make-up will be offered

PAYMENT | chra.us/pay

  • Invoices will be emailed soon - I HAVE AN ASSISTANT NOW!!!! YAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!! That means you will actually receive invoices before the end of the semester - ha!

  • You do NOT have to wait for an invoice, please feel free to pay anytime, here is a link for all the ways to pay: chra.us/pay

    • $400 for 8 weeks of

      • Horseback riding lessons

      • PALS

      • FRIDAY Nature Club

    • $320 for 8 weeks of WEDNESDAY Nature Club

      • If you read this far in the email, please note I'm changing the WEDNESDAY Nature Club price to lower the cost. The new cost is:

        • $40 each week for the 1st kid ($320 every 8 weeks - you can make payments)

        • $20 each kid after that ($160 every 8 weeks - also you can make payments)

    • Other costs & timelines:

      • Shawna’s Farmyard Explorers ($300 for the first 6 week session)

      • Equine Bridges ($520 for the first 8 weeks)

      • Speech Therapy ($120/hour)

      • Mental Health Counseling appointments ($120/hour)

Is your child on the FES/UA scholarship? If so, all of our Cheyne Ranch classes are reimbursable. Our invoices are all set up with all the requirements to receive reimbursement. You need 2 things to submit for FES/UA reimbursement

    • The invoice we provide to you

    • Receipt for proof of payment

WHAT TO WEAR

  • Our lessons meet rain or shine, please have your child dress in layers for working in varying weather conditions

  • Hiking / work boots are so helpful!

    • Old tennis shoes are also an option

    • Rain Boots are not very comfortable for any extended walking or animal care and they are not great for riding

    • Ariat is my family's favorite brand of work and/or riding boots - they are expensive, but they last a long time

    • Tractor Supply has boots to try on and purchase

  • Please consider bringing a change of clothes. We get really dirty and/or wet out here working sometimes. 

WATER! and snacks!

  • A refillable water bottle is SO ESSENTIAL! we have cold filtered water available to refill

  • Snacks are welcome, no eating in the barn please. We eat on the playground, the garage, or the pool patio

HORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS | chra.us/hbr

  • If your child is in horseback riding lessons, PLEASE read our FAQ. Keep scrolling on the web page to read about our:

    • Instructor policy

    • Lesson horse policy

    • Rider level policy

    • Small group lessons

    • Horsemanship philosophy & emphasis

LEARNING LEVELS Curriculum!

Do you know about the awesome curriculum we follow? We have been following it for over a year now, and slowly incorporating more and more parts into our program. This fall we are offering 2 new things!

  1. Printed student study guides - $25 (which is my printing cost)

  2. Level-up days! A 2-hour workshop on the weekend where students earn a ribbon when they have completed all the objectives in the level! $30

This is optional! You do not have to participate in the ribbon and leveling up part of our program! Either way you receive the same high quality planned lesson.

This is a LONG TIME in the works, and I am so excited to finally be rolling it out. I had a LOT of help from a couple very supportive mamas. THANK YOU JESSICA & JOCELYN & SHAWNA!!!!

FAMILY VISITS! KIDS NIGHT OUT! BIRTHDAY PARTY! FIELD TRIPS!  |  chra.us

  • If you have family or friends in town and want to show them our animals + each kid can have a horse ride, please bring them to Cheyne Ranch for a family visit!

  • Kids' Night Out is SO FUN!! Ages 5 - 12ish, once a month during the school year:

  • We LOVE hosting birthday parties, they are small, laid back and REALLY FUN! 

  • FIELD TRIPS!! For Scouts, homeschool groups, clubs - the itinerary can be modified to your groups’ needs. 

LAST (but not least) PLEASE DONATE |  chra.us/donate

We LOVE sharing our animals with the community. We believe so wholly in our mission to teach people of all abilities animal care and connection. Horses, animals, staff wages, insurance, software - it is all SO EXPENSIVE! There are so many ways to contribute, here are a few ideas:

  • Read the above expectations and participate in our incredible community with patience and compassion

  • Donate to Cheyne Ranch, Inc - $10 HELPS us!!

  • Find out how your employer might match your donation

  • Follow & interact on Facebook / Instagram

  • Volunteer at Cheyne Ranch

  • Purchase things from our Amazon wish list 

  • Spread the word to friends and family about Cheyne Ranch - help us continue our mission as we continue to learn and grow together!

Please let me know if you have any questions, thank you for being part of our awesome community!

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

Cheyne Ranch is a nonprofit that provides a safe, inclusive and accessible way for people of all abilities to learn about animal care & connections.

We serve our local community through providing scholarships to our lesson programs, caring for the many farm animals that have been donated to us, and advocating for inclusive, accessible experiences for all individuals.

Please donate and help us with our mission: chra.us/donate

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Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

Thank you! We are so excited you found us!

There is so much to tell new folks! Here is our Top 10…

Hello! We receive a TON of inquiries - reaching out through all the fancy phone and computer ways and that is SO EXCITING! But I’m not doing a great job responding. So here is the Top Ten list I want you all to know…

  • 1: Thank you for the inquiry! I’m so happy you found us!

  • 2: Cheyne Ranch our home. We live here, this is our home on 5 acres, these are our personal animals, who are also part of our family. We are a family of 6 (now 7!), dad, mom + 4! homeschooled teenagers + an awesome bonus kid.

Cheyne Ranch is a passion project. It has evolved over the past 8 years from creating a place for our 4 children to grow up, to building a barn to take care of a couple retired horses, to welcoming a special needs adult class to our barn once a week, to now we operate as a full time education and therapy barn.

  • 3: I’m difficult to reach: I (Sally) am the main instructor, the curriculum designer, the business administrator, the complaints & billing department, the failing accountant, the volunteer coordinator, employee manager, the haaaaaay manager, feed manager, scheduler, the website designer, and I really really am not good at getting on the phone. I’m SO MUCH better at email and text. Although sometimes texts get lost 85 messages down. Emails are easier to manage believe it or not. Actually…

  • 4: IN-PERSON is the BEST way to see our location, meet our animals, meet a few of our workers, is to schedule a Family Visit.

    We don’t charge an annual registration fee or orientation fee, so family visits are required for first time guests before you can secure a spot on our lesson schedule.

    Family visits serve a way to see where we are, who we are, how we are - an orientation, a safety briefing, and just a great way to spend time together with our animals. Family visits are just you and your kids! (and any other adults you want to bring).

    Family visits are a total of $50 for the first 2 kids (adults are free) and can be scheduled online Family Visits — Cheyne Ranch

  • 5: LESSONS, CLASSES & CAMPS!! (Our programs generally sell out)

    • 🦄 FULL Classes, the following classes are full for FALL 2024:

    • 🤠 AVAILABLE Classes!

      • 🤠 Wednesday AM Equine Bridges - this is a mini Nature Club - but has a group therapy approach with our amazing Mental Health therapist intern, Karah. This is a passion project for us and gets to the heart of why we work so hard to share all this with our community.

      • 🤠 Wednesday PM Afterschool Nature club. What is up with these openings? I think it has something to do with most of our previous students aging up into middle school ( I'm not getting older - just they are, I'm not crying - you're crying.).

      • 🤠 (Adaptive) Horseback riding lessons & PALS: There a few spots remaining - we offer lessons Mon / Wed / Fri morning & afterschool. Friday evenings & Saturday mornings are full:) We follow an amazing mounted & unmounted curriculum, we document each lesson, and our instructors all have over 1,000 hours of training, and are in current lessons for their advanced selves ;) Ask me what adaptive means. 🤠

  • 6: AGES:

  1. YOUNG KIDS: As much as we LOVE babies, toddlers & preschoolers, currently the only classes for little tiny people is PALS or a Family Visits! We have plans for future classes - but not quite yet.

  2. ELEMENTARY AGE KIDS: About 60% of the kids in our Cheyne Ranch programs are between the ages of 6 - 12. We love the elementary & middle school age kids. What a great time to help kids learn about compassion, responsibility, practice a little work ethic and succeed at pushing through hard things! There is so much to learn here.

  3. TEENAGERS: We love teenagers! The Cheyne Family has 5! teenagers. Whew. Yes, you read that right. You will see most of them here working with us. We do try and put our teenage students’ horseback riding lessons and PALS on Friday evenings. But you will also find teen students & volunteers here on Monday & Wednesday evenings, as well as Saturday mornings.

  4. ADULTS: Adults come here too! We have 2! different classes of special needs adults who have regularly scheduled programs. We are also happy to teach adults with special needs PALS or horseback riding lessons.

  • 8: SOCIAL MEDIA: I don’t visit social media much these days (see point 3 - ha!) but I certainly attempt to post important and sometimes entertaining stuff. Please follow us to learn about all the latest happenings:

  • 9: CALENDAR: Our lessons run on a 3 semester calendar and that calendar is published here!

    • Fall - 16 weeks

    • Spring - 16 weeks

    • Summer - 8 weeks

  • 10: Join us! or contact us! or checkout our Amazon wishlist! or lots of things - but this is only a Top 10 and we have reached the end:

  1. Still have questions? No problem! Please see my contact info below. I do love talking about Cheyne Ranch.

  2. 🤠There are 2 next steps, the recommended order is… it depends:

Thank you for reading this far! We do love our community so much.

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

Cheyne Ranch is a nonprofit that provides a safe, inclusive and accessible way for people of all abilities to learn about animal care & connections.

We serve our local community through providing scholarships to our lesson programs, caring for the many farm animals that have been donated to us, and advocating for inclusive, accessible experiences for all individuals. Please donate and help us with our mission: chra.us/give

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Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

July Newsletter

Our July Newsletter just went out via email! There are so many great things to share:

  • our summer recap

  • t-shirt fundraiser

  • Equine Bridges is registering now!

  • Fall classes sign-up

  • Year calendar posted

  • Donations

Read more here. Sign up to be included on future newsletters here:

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Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

Fall 2024 Classes!

tl;dr  If you would like to be scheduled in a timeslot for our fall weekly programs, please complete this 3 minute google form:  Google Form

**Unless you are a long time returning student (thank you!) and we talked about it already - then I just keep you in your same time spot


Read more:

Hello everyone! Happy July!

Summer Recap

  • The summer is flying by, we have just completed Week 7 of our 8-week summer session. 

    • **Then we give the animals and humans a well-deserved 3-week break from July 29 - August 19 (see our calendar)

  • We also completed 5 weeks of summer camps that were absolutely amazing. 

  • Checkout our summer recap photo album. **I am still adding more photos 

Fall Session Sign-ups!!

It's already time to start thinking about the fall session. We are so thrilled to continue our PALS, Adaptive Horseback Riding lessons, Nature Club, Farmyard Explorers, Equine Bridges and Treasures programs. Scheduling 80+ families a week into our program spots is like working on a giant puzzle that I (genuinely) look forward to.

  • The fall session is two 8-week sessions (16 weeks August 19 - December 21). 

  • The updated Cheyne Ranch calendar with our 2024-2025 session dates can be found here: calendar

  • Our prices remain the same: $400 for each 8 week session of Cheyne Ranch programs

    • **Equine Bridges, Farmyard Explorers and Treasures run on separate calendars and have different rates

Here is the important part of this post:

If you would like to be scheduled in a timeslot for our fall weekly programs, please complete this 3 minute google form:  Google Form

  • Google Form  (or copy and paste this link into a browser window: https://forms.gle/6i47dhm1g3tM7Hxa7)

  • If you are a new family - please understand completing this form is not a guarantee of a lesson time. We are so fortunate to have full programs and a waiting list. We do have some openings and we would love to get you in!

Helpful Links:

Thank you for being the best part of this incredible community!!

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


Cheyne Ranch is a nonprofit that provides a safe, inclusive and accessible way for people of all abilities to learn about animal care & connections.

We serve our local community through providing scholarships to our lesson programs, caring for the many farm animals that have been donated to us, and advocating for inclusive, accessible experiences for all individuals.


Please donate and help us with our mission: chra.us/donate

Read More
Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

Volunteers needed this summer!

Hello families who have a child interested in volunteering this summer at Cheyne Ranch! 

Did you know our summer camps are 50% - 75% less expensive than other competitive camps? As a nonprofit, it is important we offer our services affordably to our community. We rely on volunteers, they help keep our programs running safely, smoothly and add lots of fun. 

More info about our volunteer requirements and expectations here

There are 2 action items:

  1. Please have both you and your child read the info on this website (chra.us/vol), make sure you both understand the expectations. I am happy to talk to anyone with any questions.

  2. Let me know what your child's volunteer availability is this summer.  There are 2 ways to sign up:

    • Visit the scheduling website (scroll down) and sign up your child (you can click on recurring dates so you don't have to repeat the sign up process)

    • Email me the dates and I am happy to sign up your child (the scheduling system is a little confusing). 

Below are screenshots of the dates we need volunteers. 

  • Almost everyday the morning shift is available: 8:45 AM - 1:15 PM

    • If you are only available for a partial shift - that is ok too! Just let me know. 

  • Friday afternoons the afternoon shift is 4:30 PM - 8:00 PM

  • Summer Camp dates are listed here

Please let me know if you have any questions - we are excited to see you all this summer! 

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Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

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

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Sally Ann Cheyne Sally Ann Cheyne

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

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