Examples of schools with hens, like school gardens??

[michael75we]

School gardens have caught on and backyard chickens. How about school hens?

Do we know of any schools that are living examples of keeping hens at schools? Is it really practical?

I am sure it would be great for kids. But I am not sure a school - especially a public school - can do it. I'd love to talk to teachers that have school hens.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

My childrens' school will not even allow chicks to be brought in for show and tell.

 

[Billyj]

It is true. I am a teacher and we are not allowed to have, hatch, or bring chickens to school. This stinks because I have many lessons that deal with the development of embryo's and such. The children love watching the eggs hatch but that i snow longer. I hate it, but it is true.

 

[Ravishaw]

what's the reasoning behind it i wonder?

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
Some people think its unsanitary, their poor kid is going to get sick from the dirty animals

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I sold some turkeys to a lady last year who said she was taking them to the school in Altoona, Fl (northern Lake, southern Marion counties). Many years ago they used to have a school farm there with gardening and livestock. She tells me it has been reopened now as a charter school and they are trying to restart the school farm. Sure hope my turkeys worked out for them.

 

[silkiechicken]

There are schools where you can't bring home made goods to classrooms. They have to be store bought. Too many lawsuits and kids "getting sick".

 

[maizey]

Teacher here... have considered doing this and I don't think it would be a problem chicken wise. The science teacher used to walk around with a mouse in his shirt pocket, and we had a guinne pig and a ferret in a couple of other classrooms. The problem I see is the cost of the coop and run and the time necessary to get it all installed. It was all I could do to get my own coop started time wise, and spent a nice chunk of change on it to boot. We are getting ZERO money from the state. I do get some federal money but there is always something more pressing I need to spend that money on, and time is in even shorter supply than money! I just haven't been able to work it in. It would be great though if someone would call me up and volunteer their time and materials.. I would jump all over that like white on rice. I even bought a small little table top incubator with the thoughts of one day maybe I could use it in class. For now its just wishful thinking.

 

[Billyj]

Same here. I am a science teacher, and last year I had tons of animals in my classroom. Fish, snakes, rats, hissing cockroaches, millipeeds, just to name a few. I teach in NC and we cant have "farm" animals in the classroom due to salmonila. Oh well thank goodness for pictures.

 

[dwegg]

I'm a school teacher in the city of Atlanta, second grade, and we hatch eggs at school each year for our 'life cycles' unit as well as butterflies. I had two large turtles in my room, they are now in the entrance to the school and they are now our 'school turtles' as of this week. Many classes have fish and also a rabbit.
I took my two chicks into my classroom last year where they stayed for three weeks and the kids would get them out and cuddle and read to them ect, they both turned out to be boys and grew up very sweet boys because of the kids handling them all the time. My kids know I have chickens and always want me to bring them in. I haven't yet but am going to when it is a bit warmer.
I have toyed with the idea of pushing for a coop at school and having chickens as I built a vegetable garden with the parents this year. I don't really think I would be able to push it through the board.
Our local chicken group (Atlanta backyard chicken meet up group) has a competition to provide a school with an incredible coop and run with chickens as a prize.

So I guess it is possible in some places! Let ke see if I have some pics of my class with the chicks.