Chickens in School??

[Iluveggers]

On the surface, I think it's a GREAT idea! However, this is 2021, not 1951, and I can't see a school anywhere getting into something like this for the liability issues alone.

Then there's the issue of cleanliness, and we all know birds are not very clean animals, upkeep of their living conditions, and feeding/watering. Who is going to take care of all of that? What happens when one of the students gets salmonella? See where I'm going with this?

Selling eggs? No way; they'd have the health department on top of them in a matter of days. If the health department didn't stop the practice, I'm sure you can imagine the lawsuits were someone to believe they got sick from "school eggs". The list goes on and on and on, but this is the screwed up world we live in these days.

The education is badly needed however. How bad is it? It's so bad that there is at least one member of our US Congress, a current member, that said we don't need farms because we have grocery stores...

Good luck though. I'd like to see you make it work; I just think you're facing an uphill battle.

Which Congress person said this? Do you have a link to this? I would love to share w family as we have a small farm.

 

[springvalley123]

The local public high school where I live was looking to do that, but then covid hit and they are just now getting back to in person classes.
The adult had contacted me looking to buy as many of my amberlinks as possible.
The idea was, they'd get the younger birds, and weigh them at certain intervals, and know when they started to lay, etc. So it was more of a rearing project, and when they were done, the birds would be homed by the classmembers, faculty, staff, etc.
The project didn't get off the ground either because of the covid timing, or something else I can't recall, but a project starting with day-olds or younger birds and going up to point of harvest (which might not necessarily be done at school or even during the program), or point of lay might be very educational.

 

[DickMidnight]

On the surface, I think it's a GREAT idea! However, this is 2021, not 1951, and I can't see a school anywhere getting into something like this for the liability issues alone.

Then there's the issue of cleanliness, and we all know birds are not very clean animals, upkeep of their living conditions, and feeding/watering. Who is going to take care of all of that? What happens when one of the students gets salmonella? See where I'm going with this?

Selling eggs? No way; they'd have the health department on top of them in a matter of days. If the health department didn't stop the practice, I'm sure you can imagine the lawsuits were someone to believe they got sick from "school eggs". The list goes on and on and on, but this is the screwed up world we live in these days.

The education is badly needed however. How bad is it? It's so bad that there is at least one member of our US Congress, a current member, that said we don't need farms because we have grocery stores...

Good luck though. I'd like to see you make it work; I just think you're facing an uphill battle.

+1 to all of this.

getting past all of the “aww wow wouldn’t that be swell?!” comments, you’ve gotta consider the liability issues the school would be taking on.

i’ll add another one: kids are jerks and peer pressure is one hell of a motivator. what happens when one of them thinks it’s funny to throw rocks at the chickens? or convinces their friend to let them run free?

i agree it’s a cool idea and it has plenty of merit. but i wish we still lived in a world where things could be that simple.

 

[Kiki]

Hello, everyone! I hope you all are doing well!
So, I wasn't exactly sure where to post this, but this was the closest forum I could think of regarding this topic. (Let me know if I should move it somewhere else!)
As you can probably tell from the title, this is regarding chickens & school. I'm working with a local school on trying to incorporate having a resident flock on campus. I think that this school (which has classes from traditional subjects, such as arithmetic, to making soap and building small homes), could really benefit from having some chickens. For example, eggs could be sold, used in cooking classes, studied for science classes, or donated to those in need. Not only that, but I think that children might greatly benefit from learning where their food comes from and also grow in different virtues, such as responsibility and empathy for animals. The school is located in the middle of a fairly large, bustling town, but the campus, while not huge, has a good bit of land where the chicken coop could be placed. Having chickens on campus in the school district has never been done before (with the exception of a chicken being brought in for a brief lecture), and I know that it can be scary to try something new.
So my question is, what are your thoughts? Have you ever heard of chickens being kept in schools? Have you heard of any schools, online or in person, that keep chickens? What are your suggestions for this, and what do you think I need to think about as I propose this plan? Any advice, experience, opinions, or anything else could be really helpful! Thank you so much!
-Starburst

There are numerous schools in Houston that have coops.
Here is one.
https://www.houstonisd.org/Domain/52247

 

[Kiki]

Another

https://thebuzzmagazines.com/articles/2021/11/awtys-egg-tastic-friends

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I hope you can make this work and would love to see weekly reports on it. BYC should be an active supporter/ participant / sponsor or something. Provide newsletters for the students or something. Jackets, T-shirts.... SOMETHING! Patches? I can see it now: Schoolyard Chickens! Yah!!!!

 

[Iluveggers]

+1 to all of this.

getting past all of the “aww wow wouldn’t that be swell?!” comments, you’ve gotta consider the liability issues the school would be taking on.

i’ll add another one: kids are jerks and peer pressure is one hell of a motivator. what happens when one of them thinks it’s funny to throw rocks at the chickens? or convinces their friend to let them run free?

i agree it’s a cool idea and it has plenty of merit. but i wish we still lived in a world where things could be that simple.

I guess I can see where kids can be jerks HOWEVER I have seen the opposite with some of my students in similar situations. I work in an inner-city school and have had some very difficult students through the years. Kids that fought in class. We ended the year with a gardening unit and I showed them how to be gentle with the seedlings and young plants as they watered & grew. We would carry them outside during the day, water, & bring in before dismissal. My bada$$ students became protectors of the school garden plants, making sure everyone was careful and not watering too heavy so they wouldn’t die. I was shocked and it made my heart happy!
So it could happen that there are jerks but it could go the other way and kids you wouldn’t expect to be good with natural things could be awesome caretakers!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I guess I can see where kids can be jerks HOWEVER I have seen the opposite with some of my students in similar situations. I work in an inner-city school and have had some very difficult students through the years. Kids that fought in class. We ended the year with a gardening unit and I showed them how to be gentle with the seedlings and young plants as they watered & grew. We would carry them outside during the day, water, & bring in before dismissal. My bada$$ students became protectors of the school garden plants, making sure everyone was careful and not watering too heavy so they wouldn’t die. I was shocked and it made my heart happy!
So it could happen that there are jerks but it could go the other way and kids you wouldn’t expect to be good with natural things could be awesome caretakers!

Exactly give them a purpose and they flourish. These are meaningful and purposeful tasks that many don't get a chance to experience because the focus in school can be data driven. ❤
If you get a chance and haven't read it yet, read Last Child in the Woods.

 

[Iluveggers]

Exactly give them a purpose and they flourish. These are meaningful and purposeful tasks that many don't get a chance to experience because the focus in school can be data driven. ❤
If you get a chance and haven't read it yet, read Last Child in the Woods.

I have not but thanks I’ll add it to my reading list!

 

[Brooks_]

There have been several pros and cons mentioned and I hate to add to the con list. Bio-security. Who knows what could be brought in or taken home to a potential home flock. That being said, I love the idea and wish more schools did more things like this.