OMG! Please help! Classroom eggs didn't hatch!

[carbon county chicks]

I have incubated eggs in my home a few times and wanted to do another batch. Well my 9 year old son convinced me to put the incubator in his 3rd grade classroom this time. We put 24 eggs in and they were supposed to hatch on Wednesday 9-26 and I believe they are dead. No movement, no peeping, nothing. They were set on September 5th.

A lot of people have suggested I just buy some chicks and pretend but I can't find any. Anyone live in Utah that has young baby chicks???? Or have a suggestion on where I can get chicks this weekend? The teacher said that if they haven't hatched on Monday then it must not going to work. The teacher was super distraught and the kids were already distraught. All of the places that you can buy chicks locally only sell them in the spring.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I have incubated eggs in my home a few times and wanted to do another batch. Well my 9 year old son convinced me to put the incubator in his 3rd grade classroom this time. We put 24 eggs in and they were supposed to hatch on Wednesday 9-26 and I believe they are dead. No movement, no peeping, nothing. They were set on September 5th.

A lot of people have suggested I just buy some chicks and pretend but I can't find any. Anyone live in Utah that has young baby chicks???? Or have a suggestion on where I can get chicks this weekend? The teacher said that if they haven't hatched on Monday then it must not going to work. The teacher was super distraught and the kids were already distraught. All of the places that you can buy chicks locally only sell them in the spring.

Only thing I can think of is ASK on craigslist! or search for your local state thread on here and ask... so sorry! did u candle? : (

 

[Big A Chickens]

You can try posting on your states thread in https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you there may be someone there that can help you or on CL

 

[Sally Sunshine]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/24/utah

 

[CluckyCharms]

I'm sorry this is happening. I mean no disrespect, so please don't take it that way. However, third graders are usually between the ages of 8 and 9. That is plenty old enough to either learn or already know about life and death. Why doesn't the teacher simply write a letter in regard to the recent "demise" of the eggs and send it home with children, explaining to the parents what happened (so they understand why their children may be sad or need some gentle conversations, etc).

I do remember being that age, and if someone lied to me and replaced a dead chick/egg with live chicks to ease my emotional suffering - I'd be pretty offended (and trust me, kids that age are a lot smarter than what they are given credit for. Many of them will see right through it and be confused - as they are taught not to lie).

I say don't molly-coddle...just tell the truth of what happened. It's okay to let kids be aware of the fact that life is not always rainbows and gumdrops. They'll be more well-adjusted kids because of it.

I would also candle the eggs to make absolutely certain that they're not just late bloomers before I started pitching them.

 

[carbon county chicks]

I understand your point and I think it's a very valid option. That being said, I was in the classroom today and the teacher was almost in tears thinking she had killed them. I said something like I think they are dead and one of the girls in the classroom almost started crying. I just don't have the heart to go in there and tell them they died.

To answer some previous questions, I have no idea why they didn't hatch. We candled and they all looked good with the exception of 1 or 2. We saw veins and everything. The only thing I can think is the humidity might have been a little low here at the end partly is my fault and party the teachers fault. There is a slight chance they will still hatch but I really doubt it. I'm so sad that none of them hatched!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I understand your point and I think it's a very valid option. That being said, I was in the classroom today and the teacher was almost in tears thinking she had killed them. I said something like I think they are dead and one of the girls in the classroom almost started crying. I just don't have the heart to go in there and tell them they died.

To answer some previous questions, I have no idea why they didn't hatch. We candled and they all looked good with the exception of 1 or 2. We saw veins and everything. The only thing I can think is the humidity might have been a little low here at the end partly is my fault and party the teachers fault. There is a slight chance they will still hatch but I really doubt it. I'm so sad that none of them hatched!

I would check the Utah thread, even if someone has eggs in the bator, they may be able to share the hatch with the kids! best of BOTH! If u were close I wouldnt hesitate to send my day 17s in !!

 

[Casey207908]

I agree with the other person, I would just tell the truth too. It would be a great opportunity to explain to them how hard it is to simulate what a mother does on there own etc. That is how god intended it to be. You could make something really neat and educating out of this sad time. With that being said you could still bring in the chicks, maybe even after you break the bad news to them to help smooth things over. I have ordered chicks from www.mypetchicken.com and had great success. If you aren't picky about a specific breed you could probably get some quickly. I did order 10 from my pet chicken. One died about a day later and another died about three weeks later. My son is in 1st grade and he saw them dead, he cried but it is important that they know this side of it too. Good luck.

 

[CluckyCharms]

Even if I don't agree with the decision, it's your decision (and the teacher's) not mine.

I do agree with the previous poster - bringing the chicks into the classroom for learning purposes after the fact would be good too.

I still believe in helping people (even if I don't share the same opinion).

Places I would start:

Local feed supply stores
Pet shops (not because they have chicks, because they usually don't, but they DO have breeder contacts out the wazoo, and contacts in general. They may know of someone who has some)
Craigslist
Local Farmer's Market
Drive out to a small town near you and ask in the local bar.. lol (small towns are gossipy, I grew up in one, I know). Someone near there may have chicks.

 

[carbon county chicks]

Thank you guys so much for all your help and for not judging. I did find some chicks via the Utah thread! I also spoke with the parent of the girl who almost started crying today. She said the girl has a count down calendar in their home and talks about them every day at dinner. She also spent time looking up how chicks hatch online and wanted to tell her parents all about it. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. Again, thank you!