Annual Rhode Island Red Chick Hatch
Friday, July 02, 2010
If you’re looking for a unique local activity for the Fourth, stop by the South County Museum from 10am-4pm to see our own state bird, the Rhode Island Red, hatch before your eyes. Watch the chicks break out of the eggs, and hold the chicks that already have. It does not get cuter (or more Rhode Island) than this.
This is the third year that the RI Red Chick Hatch has taken place on Independence Day weekend – an idea hatched when overseer of the RI Red Heritage flock, Dr. Wayne Durfee, mentioned that the eggs didn’t have to hatch in late spring, and could hatch in the summer instead. So things were shifted a bit later in the season, and as Jim Crothers, director of the museum, says, “Why not give folks a chance to bring the whole family down for a short while and see Mother Nature at work?”
So far, it’s been a great success. People come from all over to see the chicks, and often combine a visit with a weekend trip to the beaches. “Everyone, young and old, enjoys it,” says Crothers.
So what happens to the chicks after the Fourth? The Museum sets aside a certain percentage of the hatch that they think they'll need to maintain a healthy, vibrant flock for next year – which is usually about half – and sells the others. People can also place "reservations" on the chicks because they are considered "standard" (think American Kennel Club if it were a dog) and they are good egg layers. By December, folks will be having fresh eggs from their own Rhode Island Reds.
South County Museum, 100 Anne Hoxsie Lane, Narragansett, 783-5400
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