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Quail hatching program captivates Landmark Village residents
Residents eagerly followed 18-day incubation before watching chicks emerge from their shells
7/20/2026
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Deron Hamel
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An engaging program “hatched” by Landmark Village's new maintenance manager began with quail eggs placed in an incubator and ended 18 days later with residents and team members watching chicks emerge from their shells.
Maintenance manager Bill, who owns the incubator, approached activity manager Brent Hart with the idea of bringing the eggs and incubator to the Sarnia seniors living community.
Quail eggs typically take about 18 days to hatch. Brent says the chicks arrived “right on schedule on the 18th day,” when residents and team members first saw the eggs begin to wobble.
“About 12 hours after some of the eggs began wiggling, and the quail began to hatch,” Brent tells S&R Today.
“Residents were so intrigued, and (they) huddled around the incubator to watch them. One by one, as they hatched, (the chicks) were transferred into a cage and, before long, they were hopping around.”
Brent says one of the program's greatest successes was the high level of resident engagement. Throughout the incubation period, residents regularly checked on the eggs' progress.
In fact, one resident was so interested that she insisted team members wake her if the eggs began hatching in the middle of the night, so she could watch, Brent says.
Brent says the program also sparked many conversations among the residents, especially those with farming backgrounds.
“In all my years at Landmark, this was the first time (I've seen) anything like this,” Brent says. “Not only were the residents excited, but staff were too.”
The chicks remained at Landmark Village for a few weeks so residents could watch them grow before going home with Bill.
“The excitement surrounding these cute birds was great to see,” Brent says.
If you have a story you would like to share with S&R Today, please contact the newsroom at deronhamel(at)gmail.com.
If you have feedback on this story, please contact the newsroom at deronhamel(at)gmail.com.
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