Sign of spring: Time to watch the baby chicks hatch on OSU Extension’s livestream

CORVALLIS, Ore. (KTVZ) – The eggs are ready to shake, rattle and roll.

For the ninth year, the world can watch chickens hatch via the Oregon State University Extension Service livestream.

The livestream started Friday and will document the chicks as they hatch. The cameras will remain on until 5 p.m. March 31.

Faculty and staff at the OSU Extension office in Astoria set up cameras to bring the livestream to the public. Once the chicks hatch, they move from the incubator to a brooding pen where they remain until they are able to regulate their body temperatures, according to Julie Scism, education program assistant with Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program in Clatsop County.

The camera will rotate between the incubator and brooding pen until the chicks are ready to move into an outdoor environment. Once they’re big enough, the chicks go home with OSU Extension 4-H members, who care for them and show them at the county and state fairs.

“The chicks are well taken care of,” Scism said. “After the chicks get big enough, they’ll be rehomed, so that local 4-H youth continue learning about raising chickens, egg production and showmanship.”

Since the annual livestream launched in 2014, more than 80,000 people from around the world have watched chicks hatching on the OSU Extension website and more have watched on TV station websites.