Lost 14 chicks in one go.

[SourRoses]

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

Tell them what actually happened. Honesty is the best policy.
One of the key lessons in animal husbandry is assessing what went wrong and making solid plans so they don't occur again.
Your students could each draw up different blueprints for safe & appropriate chicken housing. There's a wealth of information in the coops subforum, so you can find square footage guidelines and general ideas that you can present to your class and see what they come up with.

 

[2 chiks n a roo]

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.

Oh no.. I hope the kids forgave you.
I feel bad when mine don't manage to get out of the shells..