Questions for Teachers Doing Classroom Hatches

[Faraday40]

Would it be possible to set up a camera on the incubator area sothat participating teachers can access as desired, like whenever candling occurs, and hatch?

My son did this as part of his 4H poultry science project. He got a grant from the farm bureau to purchase a webcam. He made his own website (a computer science project) where he described 4H and his past and present poultry projects. The highlight was a livestream of the incubator on hatching days. When in-between hatches, he had links for past video clips. He set up posters throughout all the schools in our district which listed the hatch dates, website, & QR code. He had 2 incubators going and hatched all sorts of poultry for other people to perfect his hatching skills.

This whole idea came from the fact that we haven't done classroom incubations due to Covid. Honestly, I think he just missed getting a day off school to come with me for poultry presentations.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Teachers here spend out of pocket $$$ enough as it is.
Donating would be much appreciated I'm sure.

 

[Solanacae]

Teachers here spend out of pocket $$$ enough as it is.
Donating would be much appreciated I'm sure.

This. I’ve yet to meet a teacher (including myself) that didn’t spend any money out of their own pockets. Especially elementary school teachers.

 

[Faraday40]

I'm a primary school teacher and I plan to do this as a project with my class in the spring. I plan to use eggs from my own hens, since I do have two roosters, and another teacher at my school with lots of hatching experience will help with the incubation etc. I'll bring the chicks home with me once they're a day or so old. It's a HUGE deal at school, everyone wants to come see, everyone wants to come and be a part of the new life The trick is to keep the noise down, the hands off before students are taught how to handle a chick, and then you end up with a class full of kids who want to be chicken-people when they grow up it's LOVELY!

The incubation is pretty easy. Place the incubator in a place where it won't get bumped or be in draft. Mark the cord with a note so custodians know not to unplug it. Make sure kids know not to touch incubator.

My fav incubator for classrooms is the NR360. (Harris Farms Nurture Rite 360) It's easy to set up, can hold 22 eggs, turns automatically, and easy for multiple kids to watch- very important. IncuView is another easy incubator for beginners. Before that, Hovabators were a good option. The newer models have better viewing. The older ones had small windows so one child would lean down and block everyone's view. (Too much risk of pushing / bumping) I have a Hovabator from the 1990s that still works. Just had to replace the wafer thermostat when it wore out. There are a lot of Hovabator look-alikes which are risky. Sometimes they work fine but they frequently break down and cook precious eggs. You want an incubator to last for more than a year. Brinsea is of course the luxury incubator brand, but most schools want a more affordable option.

If you don't have an incubator, you can always ask around. I was always amazed at how many families have an incubator sitting up in the attic. Usually there's a story of some science project or home-school activity that was done one time. Borrowing for free is great

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

My son did this as part of his 4H poultry science project. He got a grant from the farm bureau to purchase a webcam. He made his own website (a computer science project) where he described 4H and his past and present poultry projects. The highlight was a livestream of the incubator on hatching days. When in-between hatches, he had links for past video clips. He set up posters throughout all the schools in our district which listed the hatch dates, website, & QR code. He had 2 incubators going and hatched all sorts of poultry for other people to perfect his hatching skills.

This whole idea came from the fact that we haven't done classroom incubations due to Covid. Honestly, I think he just missed getting a day off school to come with me for poultry presentations.

That is very awesome! So, your son did this and is still in school? Wow! impressive young man. watch out world

 

[HeatherKellyB]

All of the 2nd grade classes at West End Elementary hatched eggs several years ago. Three classes hatched chicks and one class hatched ducklings. All hatchers were sold to the families for a price that depended on the breed, with a minimum purchase of 3 birds. All of the birds sold quickly. Proceeds went to the school, if I'm not mistaken. A small farm in Pinebluff donated everything. They even created information sheets that explained the process of incubation, the different breeds and what to expect from the birds as they mature. The farm even shared their information and contact number to call with any issues for families that purchased or to ask any questions before purchase. She stayed in contact with the teachers throughout the process. I'm not sure who owned the incubators but they used the Little Giant Styrofoam incubators. Like others have mentioned, covid put a stop to this for a while, but I'm not sure if it's resumed or not.

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

I'm not a teacher, but I did supply eggs this year. They were free, for FFA to start a flock. I chose the breeds I gave eggs from and the deal was that I took any extras back as payment.

Our FFA started incubating eggs this fall. I know the teacher very well and he asked me about getting some eggs. He asked in October and I wasn’t getting many but managed to get him some and along with some other locals providing eggs I think they hatched about 50. I didn’t charge anything. It’s a good learning experience for the students. Will probably donate some more in a couple of months.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Our FFA started incubating eggs this fall. I know the teacher very well and he asked me about getting some eggs. He asked in October and I wasn’t getting many but managed to get him some and along with some other locals providing eggs I think they hatched about 50. I didn’t charge anything. It’s a good learning experience for the students. Will probably donate some more in a couple of months.

I think they ended up with 8 out of 40 hatching. So extras will probably only males. Oh well. Thinking it was something during incubation because my natural clutches directly before and after were just fine hatchwise

 

[3KillerBs]

I wasn't considering getting involved in setup, etc. Just looking for what teachers might need in hatching eggs to see if me offering an alternative source to buying eggs from eBay, etc. would be a viable idea.

For biosecurity purposes I wouldn't want to take chicks back.

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

I think they ended up with 8 out of 40 hatching. So extras will probably only males. Oh well. Thinking it was something during incubation because my natural clutches directly before and after were just fine hatchwise

He said mine had the best hatch rate of any he got. He let go and see them after they hatched.