Lost 14 chicks in one go.

[LuWis]

Hello,

I'm a teacher and our class has been incubating some silkie and showgirl chicks and raising them. They hatched last week and I bring them with me on the weekends to care for them. I stayed with the 16 chicks all day yesterday, looking at them and making sure the little coop I had for them was predator proof. They were kept in a shed with a lamb and the little coop had roofing... to make sure they were kept extra safe I put them inside a hamster cage inside the coop with their warm heat lamb. They were all snuggled and happy, full of life. I left for my birthday dinner, that night for about 1 hour. It hadn't rained all day but while I was gone, it rained a huge downpour. Where I was it didn't rain as much and so I didn't put much mind to it since they were covered by the shelter and coop roof. Well, when I got back, the whole hamster cage had flooded due to a leak, drowning all but 2 chicks. The 2 chicks were blow dried and are doing fine. I'm just super devastated on the way the little ones died and how I'm going to explain this to my students...

I just wanted to share this terrible experience, a real life nightmare.

 

[GreenJay]

So sorry, that's just awful. Extra hugs for your students too

 

[LuWis]

So sorry, that's just awful. Extra hugs for your students too

Thank you, idk what to tell them but I'll stall for time.

 

[aart]

YIKES!
The roof leaked over the hamster cage that must have somehow held enough water to drown the chicks?

 

[LuWis]

YIKES!
The roof leaked over the hamster cage that must have somehow held enough water to drown the chicks?

Exactly what happened, 2 little ones were tall enough to keep their heads above water but if I arrived any later or didn't check on them as soon as I got back, they too would have died.

 

[N F C]

So sorry to read about the chicks. How old are the kids in your class? That might make a slight difference in how you explain it to them. It's not going to be easy no matter what. So sorry!

 

[LuWis]

So sorry to read about the chicks. How old are the kids in your class? That might make a slight difference in how you explain it to them. It's not going to be easy no matter what. So sorry!

The students are in 6th grade.

 

[N F C]

The students are in 6th grade.

They should be old enough to understand a short, simple explanation and to accept that accidents happen. Maybe you can turn their attention to the 2 survivors to give them something positive to focus on?

 

[LuWis]

They should be old enough to understand a short, simple explanation and to accept that accidents happen. Maybe you can turn their attention to the 2 survivors to give them something positive to focus on?

For sure, I'll focus on the miracle that 2 survived

 

[N F C]

For sure, I'll focus on the miracle that 2 survived

Good luck!