Chicks bounce, chirp and bring foot traffic to Bayport-Blue Point Library

A clutch of fluffy, bouncy, 3-week-old chicks is on display in the children’s wing of the Bayport-Blue Point Public Library.

As you might expect, foot traffic is up.

“Adults will come in, pick up their books and stuff, see the chicks, say ‘Oh my God,’ and bring their kids back to see them,” said library director Mike Firestone.

The chicks, which are being featured in a live video stream via the library’s website, were hatched from eggs provided by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County to give children an understanding of life cycles. The chicks will stay at the library until Monday, when they will return to the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Of the 12 eggs that incubated at the library, seven hatched into completely healthy chicks. Two of the eggs were unfertilized, one was born blind and another died after it struggled to break out of its shell. Another was born with a crooked neck and has trouble staying upright. It has been separated from the other chicks, said library staff member Ryan O’Rourke. “It was getting picked on. Or, should I say, ‘pecked on.’”

The chicks have gained many admirers — and not just the kids. “We’ve had staff members offer to bring the chicks home so they don’t get lonely,” said Firestone, who hopes the program is the first step to a ‘Discovery Center,’ a section of the library dedicated to hands-on, interactive learning for children.

“The program has really been a success,” he said. “We hope to do it again.”