This month, 4-H’ers and their families picked up their baby chicks as they started their journey in the 4-H Feather Classic Program. The Feather Classic is an annual regional poultry project and show for North Carolina youth ages 5–18. Its goal is to help young people learn the fundamentals of animal husbandry in a hands-on, memorable way.

Each spring, participants receive six chicks to raise at home. By fall, they’ll select three of their young hens or pullets to exhibit at the regional show in September or October. Along the way, youth attend educational workshops, learn proper animal care, and complete a project record book that documents their skills and discoveries. There are also opportunities for participants to win awards for their efforts!

Chicks arrived on May 1st, marking an exciting start to the month. 4‑H’ers enrolled in the Feather Classic project tested their knowledge as they picked up their chicks from our office, showing off what they knew about embryology and chicken biology through a round of chicken trivia. Staff and guests stopped by to see the chicks, listening to their soft peeps as the chicks explored their new surroundings outside the shell.

While waiting for families to arrive on pick-up day, I spent a little time watching the chicks. Some guests and I noticed that some of them had tiny bumps on the tips of their beaks, while others didn’t. What were these little bumps?

These small points are called an egg tooth—though despite the name, it’s not an actual tooth at all. The egg tooth is a temporary, sharp tip made of keratin (the same material in beaks, claws, and even our fingernails). Hatchlings use it to break open their eggs from the inside. As a chick nears hatching, it uses this tool to pierce the egg sac and begin “pipping,” or tapping through the shell, until it creates a hole. This tooth is temporary and will fall off after 1–4 days. So if you notice an egg tooth on a chick, it’s a good sign that it hatched quite recently!

To learn more about the Feather Classic Program and Show, visit the 2026 Feather Classic web page.