WATCH: Chicks Hatch At Hillsborough Schools

Hillsborough, NJ -- More than 200 fluffy chicks hatched before the eyes of kindergarten students in Hillsborough last week.

The students watched as the eggs were incubated for 21 days before they hatched.

On March 14, 17 dozen eggs were delivered to Hillsborough by Blue Moon Acres Farm in Pennington. One dozen each were given to the 16 kindergarten classes and one was looked after in the school board office.

The eggs were kept in incubators that were equipped with humidity pumps to regulate the ideal temperature for hatching and a device to turn the eggs.

Along with the watchful eyes of the kindergarten students, the eggs in the board office also had a live camera to keep a close eye on their progress.

After 21 days, the chicks began hatching on April 4.

“The kids were very excited,” said Dr. Kim Feltre, K-12 Science Supervisor, HMS STEM Supervisor at Hillsborough Township Public Schools. “The students typically hover around the incubator as the chicks hatched.”

Once born, the students were able to hold the chicks and learn to hold them carefully.

“They learned about the life cycle and needs of a living organism and care of the organism,” Feltre said. “One of the big things is that they learn that babies look a lot like their parents but not exactly like their parents. They can make the correlations with themselves and their parents.”

• Watch as the chicks hatch from their eggs in the school's live feed:

(Photos provided)