There were no squawks about it, but it was pretty "fowl."  On Friday, April 16, John W. Decas Elementary third-graders and parents celebrated the hatching of chicks after the students tended the eggs in the classroom for three weeks.

"They were taking the place of the mother hen," said teacher Heidi Simms.

The eggs were incubated in the classroom with heat lamps. Students turned them twice each day so they would heat evenly, Simms said. Nine chicks hatched on April 12.

It was quite a learning experience.

"We learned about the embryo, how it develops," said 8-year-old Isaiah Borges.

The project was part of the class' study of the life cycle. "[Students] can see the whole process, the whole life cycle of the chicken," Simms said.

And some students will be able to watch the cycle continue. "We have four different families that are taking [the chicks] home so we're making four farms," Simms said with a smile. Whether the chicks are hens or roosters can be determined once they're about a month old.

Laureen Decas, whose daughter, Kylie, took home some of the chicks, was a little apprehensive about the new members of the family.

"[I'm] not exactly sure how the mix is going to go because we have a dog, two cats, and a two-year-old," she said, adding that the chicks will live in the house for four or five weeks before migrating to a neighbor's house that has a comfortable chicken coop.

Students in Simms' class raise chicks every year. Wareham resident Richard Potter donates the fertilized eggs.

At the party, cake was shared, chicks were compared, and chirps were heard all around as students said farewell to the fluffy friends they'd helped raise.  They ended the festivities appropriately with the "Chicken Dance."