Oregon State livestream of chicks hatching is back for 10th year

ASTORIA, Ore. (KPTV) - A sign of spring: Oregon State University has turned on its “Chick Cam” for the season.

For the tenth year, people can watch chicks hatch via the OSU Extension Service livestream. The livestream started Friday and will continue until March 16.

As of Friday morning, no chicks have hatched. OSU says the expected hatch day is March 14.

Once the chicks do hatch, staff at the OSU Extension office in Astoria will move them from the incubator to a brooding pen where they will stay until they are able to regulate their body temperatures.

The livestream will rotate between the incubator and the brooding pen until the chicks are ready to move into an outdoor environment. Once 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,” Julie Scism, education program assistant with the OSU Extension 4-H Youth Development Program in Clatsop County, said. “After the chicks are born, we brood them for a couple days in the office, then 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 83,400 people from around the world have watched chicks hatching on the OSU Extension website and more have watched on TV station websites.

To watch the livestream, click here.

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