Hatch a Lovely Chick™ for Libraries

A Month of Wonder in Your Children's Room

Some library programs last an hour. Hatch a Lovely Chick™ gives your community a story that unfolds for 28 days — eggs arriving, a first glimpse of life inside the shell, hatch day, and a week of fluffy chicks to visit. It's a screen-free, educational experience that brings families back through your doors again and again, and we manage every bit of it for you.

Why Librarians Choose It

  • Fully managed — no burden on your staff. We deliver, set up the incubator and brooder, and place the 12 fertilized eggs. The daily routine takes about 5–10 minutes, and we guide the whole program personally, from setup day through hatch week. On Day 28, we return for pickup and handle all cleanup — your space goes back to normal the moment we leave.
  • A contained, tidy setup. The incubator and brooder stay exactly where we place them — one designated spot in your children's area, with simple hygiene routines we set up with you: handwashing before and after any chick time, and supervised handling only. Our flock is NPIP Certified.
  • A built-in programming arc. Setup day sparks the questions. Candling (around Day 8) gives patrons their first look at the chick developing inside the egg. Hatch day, right around Day 21, is the event everyone has been counting down to — and the brooder week that follows (Days 21–28) is a full week of return visits before the chicks head home to our farm.
  • Educational to the core. Life cycles, embryo development, observation, and responsibility — a living science display that pairs beautifully with your children's collection and gives families something real to talk about at the desk.

The Practical Details

One flat price: $479, everything included within 60 miles of our farm in Southampton, NJ — delivery, setup, 12 fertilized eggs, all equipment and supplies, our Hatching Guide and activity pages for young patrons, support throughout, and pickup. Booking 3+ setups (for branches or partner locations) saves $50 per setup. The Lovely Hen is a local family farm — NPIP Certified, Veteran Owned, 10 years of experience — and a registered NJ vendor (Lovely Hen LLC, NJSTART Vendor ID V00107842), with purchase orders accepted.

The standard program runs 28 days with the setup living in your children's area. If your programming calendar works differently, talk to us about the format that fits — we'll work with you on timing so the big moments land when your families can enjoy them most.

And when it's over? The chicks come home to our farm for good — read what happens to the chicks after the program, the question every patron will ask.

Funding: Library program budgets and Friends of the Library groups commonly fund visits like this one, and invoices are provided for your records. See how the program works for the full picture.

Bring a Hatch to Your Library