Opinions Re: Schools Incubating and Hatching eggs

[stnkyferit]

Not sure if this is where I should post, but feel free to move...

I am so annoyed right now....my son's school hatches chicks...I posted a couple of days ago about how one was on its death bed and I was really "shocked" for lack of a better word at the equipment the teachers were given. I had meds for the sick one and he/she bounced back fabulously, however, the teachers were given LIGHT BULBS for heat sources. Now, being new to chicks I did all my research before my girls came, and read inside and out about brooding set ups....95 the first week, 90 the second, etc....with a 150 to 250 watt heat lamp....

These chicks had a 35 watt LIGHT BULB.

I dug through the supply box the teacher was given, and managed to find a 75 watt and then brought in my 250, which could not be used as per the custodians...

Well today I get a call that all the teachers ran out of food....they are being picked up by the farm later this afternoon, but I wouldnt think with holding food from them for 6+ hours (who knows when they ran out last night) is nice (plus the kids dont need to see them pecking each other because they are hungry). It must have been a while since they last ate as I gave them food and they were HUNGRY.

Anyway, the little one I saved of course died....I blame the wrong set up....

I was shocked to hear that the teachers sent home the chicks over the weekend with NO heat sources....its amazing only mine was the one to die and no others..

What are people's opinions about hatching in school? Is the setup that my school had a typical setup for teachers? Should the school be doing things this way???

I debating to contact the science director but wanted input 1st...

Thanks!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to volunteer and help your local teachers out.

Some teachers are well prepared and know exactly what they are doing. They don't need any help other than a source of fertile eggs. Even with those I do always ask them if they have plans for the chicks other than just "sending one home with each of the kids."

Some teachers are not well prepared. With those I offer whatever advice they seem to need which in the occasional case is "maybe you should find some other project for the kids?" But most just need a knowledgeable person to guide them a bit through the pitfalls that have not yet occurred to them. If the teacher is not themselves a poultry enthusiast then they may not know anything about how to go about the business beyond whatever sketchy instructions they may have received. Hatching chicks in the classroom is always popular with the kids so teachers are sometimes induced to try their hands at it. A little friendly, helpful advice can go a long ways towards a positive outcome.

 

[stnkyferit]

Oh I volunteered and helped out.....my concern is the lack of proper equipment given to them by the cental office science department.....the teacher I helped out contacted the science director and it was like a non issue....

Teachers around these parts HAVE TO do this stuff....so with lack of training there is also lack of care, know what I mean?

 

[cary 1973]

our schools do it and i would love to have there set up and the teachers do it every year and know wht they are doing that why my niees where so excited when we got ours they helped me set up and shared there knowldge and the knowled they learned about the chicks they keep there for 4 weeks after they hatched. I would contact the school ande school board who ever you need to if there going to teach kids they better do it right and give the teachers the right tools how would these kids feel if they came to school one morning and all the chicks are dead.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Around here they all get a Styrofoam incubator - the picture window Hovabators from what I've seen. The rest they seem to have to come up with themselves.

What I would do in that case is make a simple one page (two sided) handout of "what you need to hatch and brood chicks" that you can give out.

No need for a 250w bulb in a classroom environment unless they have a very large brooder. It would make me nervous to have one in a classroom where someone could accidentally bump it. A 125w brooder bulb would suffice and possible even just a simple 100w bulb. A little brooder bedding, a box, maybe a waterer and feeder you could loan them (the small plastic ones are cheap) and they are good to go if armed with a little knowledge.

Better still would be to have a good plan for what to do with the chicks once they have hatched. Usually if they don't have one I tell them I'll take whatever hatches. If I don't have any use for the birds they can always go to the swaps. Just about anything is better than sending the chicks home with the kids who may not have the first idea of their needs, particularly if the parents were not ready for them.

In my area they always seem to want to hatch chicks in the spring (the natural time) except that the weather is prone to be hot and the schools do not keep their air conditioning on during the weekends. And often enough the incubators do not have auto-turners. I have come to suggest that the teacher set up their boxes in the classroom, get them stabilized, set the eggs so the kids can all see them that first day then take the entire thing home until day eighteen when they are readying themselves to hatch. Those first eighteen days there is nothing much to see anyway. Once the eggs no longer need turning bring them back to the classroom and set them up so the kids can see them pip and hatch. Work it out on the calendar so that day eighteen falls on a Monday or Tuesday so the whole show will be over with one way or the other before the following weekend arrives. The kids get to see the show and the eggs get to incubate in a stable environment at home.

If the school keeps their air conditioning on over the weekends or it is cool enough to not be important and the incubator has an auto-turner the teacher can leave the box in the classroom the whole time. Just check on Fridays before going home to make sure there is enough water to get them through until the following week when school comes back.

Teachers get no end of stuff foisted off on them by the school administration. Sometimes it is projects they are not well suited to pulling off, particularly if they have little to no experience with it. We interested enthusiasts in the community can make the difference is we approach them in the right way.

 

[stnkyferit]

We dont have AC in our schools, and we can be still prone to cold snaps at the time they do this....you would need the proper heat lamp overnight as the temps in the building could go down low in the overnight.

 

[chickenteacher2]

Around here they all get a Styrofoam incubator - the picture window Hovabators from what I've seen. The rest they seem to have to come up with themselves.
What I would do in that case is make a simple one page (two sided) handout of "what you need to hatch and brood chicks" that you can give out.
No need for a 250w bulb in a classroom environment unless they have a very large brooder. It would make me nervous to have one in a classroom where someone could accidentally bump it. A 125w brooder bulb would suffice and possible even just a simple 100w bulb. A little brooder bedding, a box, maybe a waterer and feeder you could loan them (the small plastic ones are cheap) and they are good to go if armed with a little knowledge.
Better still would be to have a good plan for what to do with the chicks once they have hatched. Usually if they don't have one I tell them I'll take whatever hatches. If I don't have any use for the birds they can always go to the swaps. Just about anything is better than sending the chicks home with the kids who may not have the first idea of their needs, particularly if the parents were not ready for them.
In my area they always seem to want to hatch chicks in the spring (the natural time) except that the weather is prone to be hot and the schools do not keep their air conditioning on during the weekends. And often enough the incubators do not have auto-turners. I have come to suggest that the teacher set up their boxes in the classroom, get them stabilized, set the eggs so the kids can all see them that first day then take the entire thing home until day eighteen when they are readying themselves to hatch. Those first eighteen days there is nothing much to see anyway. Once the eggs no longer need turning bring them back to the classroom and set them up so the kids can see them pip and hatch. Work it out on the calendar so that day eighteen falls on a Monday or Tuesday so the whole show will be over with one way or the other before the following weekend arrives. The kids get to see the show and the eggs get to incubate in a stable environment at home.
If the school keeps their air conditioning on over the weekends or it is cool enough to not be important and the incubator has an auto-turner the teacher can leave the box in the classroom the whole time. Just check on Fridays before going home to make sure there is enough water to get them through until the following week when school comes back.
Teachers get no end of stuff foisted off on them by the school administration. Sometimes it is projects they are not well suited to pulling off, particularly if they have little to no experience with it. We interested enthusiasts in the community can make the difference is we approach them in the right way.

What a great thing for the schools to do....I'm saddened that teachers are not properly prepared or have done their own research on it.

I took on this project myself this year and bought all the equipment myself. I did all the research beforehand and was learning with my students. I did NOT keep the chicks brooding in the classroom, as there are too many variables there that could lead to the chicks harm, so I took them home the day they hatched after everyone got to see them. Plus, I'm not sure our district is open to this kind of thing anyway. I think everyone else's suggestion about doing a handout for teachers or asking if you could present your expert information before they do this project next year would be fabulous. Teachers need to understand this is not a project to be sent home with uninformed families either. People are ill-equipped to handle a new thing thrown at them, but I'm glad stnky you were able to try to do something. I'm sorry it went haywire.