incubating in the classroom

[addicted2chickens]

I am a teacher and want to do incubating with my kids in class, I will add the chicks to my current flock. Not sure what to do with the incubating eggs on the weekends, do I have to bring them home? Worried about their safety during transit

 

[Ridgerunner]

The two things I'd be concerned with is humidity and temperature. I don't know what incubator you have, but most should hold humidity over a weekend if you fill the reservoirs on Friday. Most should hold well enough over a three day weekend. You can test that before you set eggs. Maybe work the test in your lesson plan?

How cold does your classroom get over the weekend? I assume your school district saves money by turning off the heat. Most incubator manufacturers say to keep them in an area that stays 70 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. Most can handle room temperatures cooler than that, but they have to set a lower limit somewhere. The real problem is big rapid temperature swings. That heater is not real powerful and it takes it a while to react.

With my grace and talent, I'd personally try to avoid transporting them at all, but these are the two things I'd look at, then probably decide to leave them in the classroom anyway.

Unless you are going into the classroom on a weekend to lockdown, I suggest you start them on a Thursday morning. If the average incubation temperature is a bit high, they can hatch a day or two early. If the average is a bit low, they can hatch a bit late. A Thursday morning start gives you a pretty good chance of having your classroom totally disrupted by hatching activity while the kids are there. Another option is to start them end of class Wednesday and go into lockdown Monday morning. If your average incubating temperature is high, you might run into problems doing that, but most people would be OK.

Thanks for doing this.

Rebel’s Thermometer Calibration
http://cmfarm.us/ThermometerCalibration.html

Rebel’s Hygrometer Calibration
http://cmfarm.us/HygrometerCalibration.html

 

[addicted2chickens]

Thank you for your advice, I will probably just leave them over weekend, really worried about transporting them. I will be doing this once the weather breaks so the heat in classroom shouldn't be an issue. Thanks again!

 

[vickie2133]

I once donated an incubator and eggs to the grade school to use and hatch out chicks for Easter. We had one problem, the janitor unplugged the cord to use the outlit and forgot to plug it back in so it affected the hatch. Word to the wise, either leave a post it on the cord or beside outlight or let the janitor know in advance.