Chickens at school?

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Not sure if this is the best forum for this situation, but it's the closest I can find!
So, I'm in a local chicken club, and everybody in the club is working on a specific goal/project this year. This ranges from education about chickens to caroling with chickens.
Mine is to get chickens at my school. We have a large garden that we could house them in/near, and the resources to build a coop. I've also talked to the teacher that works most with the garden about it, and she's on board. However, there's a few kinks that need to be worked out, and I had some questions.

1. If we were to get chicks, where would it be best to house them? I want students to be able to interact and bond with the chicks during the school day, but I don't know if the school would allow a heat lamp overnight unsupervised. And if I wanted to take them home at night I'm worried the transport would be stressful

2. How would I go about getting people to take care of them over the summer break? I would imagine I could form some sort of "chicken care club," where people a part of it could take turns caring for the birds. And if so, how would I form this club/gain interest in it?

If I have any more questions I'll be sure to ask this thread, but these are my main issues!

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Not sure if this is the best forum for this situation, but it's the closest I can find!
So, I'm in a local chicken club, and everybody in the club is working on a specific goal/project this year. This ranges from education about chickens to caroling with chickens.
Mine is to get chickens at my school. We have a large garden that we could house them in/near, and the resources to build a coop. I've also talked to the teacher that works most with the garden about it, and she's on board. However, there's a few kinks that need to be worked out, and I had some questions.

1. If we were to get chicks, where would it be best to house them? I want students to be able to interact and bond with the chicks during the school day, but I don't know if the school would allow a heat lamp overnight unsupervised. And if I wanted to take them home at night I'm worried the transport would be stressful

2. How would I go about getting people to take care of them over the summer break? I would imagine I could form some sort of "chicken care club," where people a part of it could take turns caring for the birds. And if so, how would I form this club/gain interest in it?

If I have any more questions I'll be sure to ask this thread, but these are my main issues!

I can't answer your other questions, but I just wanted to point out that you may want to raise the chicks at home until they're at least slightly feathered.

Chicks are pretty fragile during the first few days (and weeks) of life, and the constant touching, handling and overall noise and environment of the students and school might be too much for them at that age. You could raise them up a bit, then bring them in once they're a bit more sturdy (and less prone to getting ill or stressed).

I hope this helps and hopefully others can answer your other questions!

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

I can't answer your other questions, but I just wanted to point out that you may want to raise the chicks at home until they're at least slightly feathered.

Chicks are pretty fragile during the first few days (and weeks) of life, and the constant touching, handling and overall noise and environment of the students and school might be too much for them at that age. You could raise them up a bit, then bring them in once they're a bit more sturdy (and less prone to getting ill or stressed).

I hope this helps and hopefully others can answer your other questions!

That definitely helps! I would hope high schoolers would be able to handle themselves around small animals, but I'll definitely take this input into consideration

 

[Weeg]

This is a fantastic idea! It will be a great opportunity for high schoolers to learn about animals, and get them excited about farming, and homesteading. It can be hard these days to get some teens excited about things like that, and I think that getting chickens is a great way to make it a positive fun experience.

1. If we were to get chicks, where would it be best to house them? I want students to be able to interact and bond with the chicks during the school day, but I don't know if the school would allow a heat lamp overnight unsupervised. And if I wanted to take them home at night I'm worried the transport would be stressful

I agree with Rosemary, its probably a good idea to raise them up a bit before taking them to the school. The kids will be excited, and the constant excitement, and inconsistent environment will be stressful. They're very fragile and its probably a good idea to raise them at home until 2-3 weeks of age.

2. How would I go about getting people to take care of them over the summer break? I would imagine I could form some sort of "chicken care club," where people a part of it could take turns caring for the birds. And if so, how would I form this club/gain interest in it?

I think that you'll catch interest of some of the kids pretty quickly. There will be those who aren't as interested, but also a good handful who will be willing to spend lots of time with them. I think you may want to start by bringing the idea of chicks up with the students, and finding those that are interested/excited about it. Then say to make it work you will need some kind of group that can help care for them over winter break. Maybe put up some kind of sign up sheet somewhere in the school.
If you don't get enough interest, you might have to rethink that part. Maybe a way to bring them home during the summer, or to another location were someone can take care of them. Hopefully you will get enough interest in the subject to make it work though.

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

This is a fantastic idea! It will be a great opportunity for high schoolers to learn about animals, and get them excited about farming, and homesteading. It can be hard these days to get some teens excited about things like that, and I think that getting chickens is a great way to make it a positive fun experience.


I agree with Rosemary, its probably a good idea to raise them up a bit before taking them to the school. The kids will be excited, and the constant excitement, and inconsistent environment will be stressful. They're very fragile and its probably a good idea to raise them at home until 2-3 weeks of age.

I think that you'll catch interest of some of the kids pretty quickly. There will be those who aren't as interested, but also a good handful who will be willing to spend lots of time with them. I think you may want to start by bringing the idea of chicks up with the students, and finding those that are interested/excited about it. Then say to make it work you will need some kind of group that can help care for them over winter break. Maybe put up some kind of sign up sheet somewhere in the school.
If you don't get enough interest, you might have to rethink that part. Maybe a way to bring them home during the summer, or to another location were someone can take care of them. Hopefully you will get enough interest in the subject to make it work though.

Okay, thank you so much for your input! Do you have any advice on keeping them warm after the 2-3 weeks?

 

[Weeg]

Okay, thank you so much for your input! Do you have any advice on keeping them warm after the 2-3 weeks?

True. You could always raise them to adulthood, I guess it just depends on wether or not you want the kids to be able to help when they are young.
If not then I'd just raise them until they're old enough to go without heat.
But, you could always see if the school would allow a heat plate. They're much safer and aren't nearly as risky as a heat lamp. They're also more natural for the chicks. They are expensive, but worth it. If you do buy one, just make sure its a reliable brand. Brinsea is a good, reliable brand.

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

True. You could always raise them to adulthood, I guess it just depends on wether or not you want the kids to be able to help when they are young.
If not then I'd just raise them until they're old enough to go without heat.
But, you could always see if the school would allow a heat plate. They're much safer and aren't nearly as risky as a heat lamp. They're also more natural for the chicks. They are expensive, but worth it. If you do buy one, just make sure its a reliable brand. Brinsea is a good, reliable brand.

Oh yeah the heat plate is a good idea! Thanks

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Your biggest obstacle is going to be care. They require feed and water everyday and that feed shouldn't be left out overnight or you're attracting more than usual rodents and predators. It requires a person to let them out of coop every morning and shut them in every evening. That's a lot of responsibility for some unfortunate parent to drive a student to and from school every night and twice a day every weekend and school breaks. I honestly don't have a solution for that inevitable problem unless they will be cooped their entire life.

 

[TwoShepherds]

Heat plates are much safer than heat lamps (in my opinion). I prefer not to use heat lamps as I've read too many horror stories about them. I use the heat plate from Premier1.

There are automatic coop door openers you can buy that will eliminate the need to open or close the door manually. I LOVE mine.

Perhaps someone could take the chickens home in the summer; otherwise a group of interested students/staff/teachers would have to commit to taking turns and checking on and caring for the flock everyday.

Good luck! Let us know what happens!

 

[meganblake81sz]

I am really curious if you did it? The idea is great, I hope everything went well. Please share some more details about the project!