Classroom project - hatching eggs. Noooooooooooo!!!

[PunkinPeep]

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I hope you'll let us know how it goes. And i hope their hatch is successful!!!!!

 

[FireTigeris]

Since my mother was a teacher at the school we did this at in kindergarten she accidentally (years later) let slip that there are two incubators of chicks, one at someone's home (farmer) and one at school - if the days tick by the other hatch is due at the home on the weekend and flufballs are secretly dropped off at the school if "the call" is made.

My teacher put the eggs in a sealed baby food jar and shook after it was two days late and found a baby chick - she was more horrified then I was... *shrug*

Hatches should always be set to be on a Wednesday with no holidays or early releases.

 

[imusa76]

in my town my son's school does the Egg hatching for the 1st grade, they get the incubator's and eggs from a local farm, then after the eggs hatch, they go back to the farm, then a few weeks later, they had a field trip to see the chicks they hatched in class, and the chickens, how they collect eggs, how to clean eggs etc...

after the field trip my son asked if we can raise chickens in our Backyard.. a year later we care injoing fresh eggs from our 6 chickens..
he gets all exited when he gets home in the after noon, and picks all of the eggs.

I feel its great for the kids to see how things grow. its just not text book, its a live example.

just my 2 cents

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

When my daughter started at her school I found out that the 3rd grade does this every year. Then I heard some not happy outcomes for what happened to the chicks. I spoke to one of the third grade teachers about it, gently and as a means of offering help not judgement. The situation is better now. The teachers start looking for homes NOW in Sept but they don't do the hatch until May, the chicks are better off in spring and it gives everyone a chance to think about what they were doing. SO if your child's teacher is asking now, one of the questions would be - when is the hatch??

Now, the chicks they use are all sex linked. ANyone who says they want chicks must say chicks - not a chick. And they must show the teacher that they have housing for them. (usually they ask the kid to bring in a photo of the new coop.) After the hatch any "left overs" we take with us. We are also up front that since alot of them are roos they will have a wonderful 12 week life and then humanely turned into meat. All parents taking chicks are given this web site! and my phone number. (I am no expert and don't try to be, but at least I am willing to make myself available which is sometimes better than nothing._

I approached it as a problem to be solved, not as a horror to be condemned which is how I felt the first time I heard about how it was being handled. I am sure you will do great talking to her and maybe you can help the teacher make it a great experience. Sometimes the teacher will ask me to come in and answer the kids questions about what they eat etc. Maybe you can offer to do that??

 

[Keene's coop]

my cousin is an elementary school teacher and she does this every year and the kids love it. all the chicks they hatch go to her parents little chicken farm.

 

[bigdawg]

i take eggs to a preschool class twice a year. the kids are overly excited when they see them hatch. they all get to hold one and they all say goodbye to the little chickes. this year i plan to take the chicks back to preschool when there three to four months old and show them how much they have growed. of course i will have pics of them as day olds. its alot of fun for me and the kids.

 

[HeatherLynn]

I think its a good idea for you to call in a nice way. If she has never done this before maybe you can even point her in the right direction for information. If she succeeds she could inspire an entire class toward chicken addiction. Start them young.

I wish they did this around here. We invited my sons scout buddy and he was just amazed that our eggs actually came out of a chicken. He took some home with him to see if they taste different. He is being invited over again on hatch day for a sleep over so he can see how they all start.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

i would actually suggest that they have a broody hen do all the work of incubating the eggs! that way the kids also get to learn how dutiful the moms can be to their potential offspring at the same time learn how to take care of their potential 'pets' while caring for mom! i do understand that some children can be allergic to feathers and that may be a problem during the 3-4 weeks the hen would be there.

i remember my 7th grade science teacher was raising bob white quail and had a breeding trio and an incubator setup in his classroom. maybe they could do some button quail instead since those are a lot smaller and many people keep them as household pets in aquarium setups! and the eggs take less time to hatch too!

if they are planning on chicken breeds i would go with one of the heritage breeds. the bantam faverolles i raise are able to be color sexed after a couple of weeks and are a very good breed for children to help raise! d'uccles, cochins or silkies would also be good small breeds to use in a hatching project and usually don't mind confinement. that way the teacher could recommend building tractors to the parents that want to take a few chicks for themselves!

 

[mprivett]

I just got an email from my mother-in-law asking if we wanted to adopt a baby chick (we have a small flock of dominiques) that her co-worker's daughter brought home from school. Seriously? Now I'm trying really hard to be nice because I know some people just don't know any better, but I just can't believe the teacher would not have thought to plan out ahead of time proper homes for these chicks after they hatched out in the classroom!! And allowing kids to take them home?? I may be assuming too much, but that just seems a little irresponsible to me.

I'm all for these school hatching projects, and if it's done right, a classroom hatching project can be a wonderful educational experience for kids. But I think teachers really need to be fully informed and well-prepared before they embark on a project like this.

 

[sheila3935]

My sons fifth grade teacher(he is 22 now) approched me one day a few weeks ago about using my incubator this coming spring for a hatch project. She said the ones couldnt fins suitable homes for would be donated to our local zoo. They raise them for animal feed. They also accept chicks that was given out for Easter. She doesnt want to hatch alot so maybe I will take them. She will not let a child just take one home. The parents have to be able to accomidate them. So maybe asking the teacher what the plans are for the chicks and helping her with options. I think its a good project for children. My daughters class did this and now that we have chickens she was very involved and helpful when we just hatched our first.