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My students and our special education life skills students have built a chicken coop and fenced in an area for free range chickens. Now all we need are some hatchlings.The addition of chicken hatching supplies would allow my students to hatch and raise their own chickens for our agriculture program. Students will wash and prepare fertilized egg, and place in the incubator at 99.5 degrees with 60% humidity. The automatic egg turner is needed to rotate the eggs twice daily and on the weekend when students are not there. Students will monitor the temperature, humidity, and turning each school day to ensure ideal conditions are in place and make adjustments when needed. Students can use the candler to track the chicken embryo development. After hatching students will care for chickens by placing identification leg bands on each chick, feeding, watering, and collecting eggs to sell for a agriculture fundraiser. Students will also monitor weight gain to feed ratios by weighing chicks and the amount of food given. Heated waters will ensure the water stays available through the winter months and an infrared light will give the chickens warmth. The youth works students will care for the chickens over the summer. Students may also choose to enter a chicken in the Maryland State Fair. Students will gain poultry production skills, responsibility, showmanship and fitting skills through our FFA and 4-H school programs. Urban students will also gain insight to production agriculture, ordinance laws of raising chickens with in city limits, sustainable agriculture skills, and niche marketing through class activities, lessons, and labs. Labs include chicken health and vaccination protocols, sanitation of eggs, poultry husbandry, and egg recipes. This technology would provide a creative and meaningful learning atmosphere, while also incorporating 21st century career skills in agricultural science!
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