Unsecure chicken perches

[Luvachicken]

I work in a pre-school where all of the things have to be put away. Nothing at all can be left out so how could we have some eggs to hatch into chicks ?

 

I am quite willing to take the incubator to and from school and look after it at the weekends etc, but would my 10 minute journey each way disrupt or damage the hatching process ?

[j00lz_12366]

Hi

I cant help THAT much but the school I worked in last year got some eggs and an incubator from somewhere that rented them to us. We left them in school during the week but at weekends it had to go home with a member of staff

[sjp]

try http://www.livingeggs.co.uk/ I know a couple of schools that used them

[j00lz_12366]

That looks really good-sadly my school has literally no money at all..I change schools at Easter and I'm not sure I will be in a better position there either

I'll be bookmarking it tho!

[LuckyChickenLover-]

The school where my mum works did this last year. If I remember correctly, the eggs were delivered on Monday, and they had all hatched (well, all the ones that were going to hatch, 5 out of the ten weren't fertile) by Thursday so ther was no real problem when it came to taking them home over the weekend.

 

I can't remember remember if the person who took them home over the weekend took the incy with them. I assume that she did, but then again she lived in very close proximity to the school so I don't think there would have been a problem.

[j00lz_12366]

that sounds very similar to us-they hatched in the 1st school week, but we got nearly all of them hatched tho..maybe 2 didnt i think

[LuckyChickenLover-]

that sounds very similar to us-they hatched in the 1st school week, but we got nearly all of them hatched tho..maybe 2 didnt i think

 

I think that they deliberately deliver them very close to the expected hatching date, so that they will all hatch during the week instead of at the weekend.

 

With my lot they were delivered on Monday.

 

Two hatched the following day; Elvis and Priscilla (they rocked n' rolled as eggs )

 

Two hatched on Wednesday, Thelma and Lucky (Lucky was lucky to survive)

 

On Thursday, one more hatched, Louise (to go with Thelma )

 

None hatched on Friday, and the person took the incy+ the brooder home.

 

Still no more had hatched by the following Tuesday so we disposed of the eggs.

[AJuff]

Could you bring in the incubator and show them eggs, explain what is going to happen then take them home. make a chick countdown chart to follow their progress and read lots of chick books. On day 18 they could return to hatch out. Surely there must be a space somewhere they could be kept? In the toy cupboard? Book shelf?

[Lewis]

Why does it have to be put away - the building is used for something else, kids will mess etc?

 

Could the incy be locked in an office/kitchen overnight and over the weekend ... if you set the eggs at the right time (and its auto turning) you won't need to do anything over the weekend, and they should hatch mid-week

 

Its not ideal to transport the eggs and incy twice a day ... could it not be even kept in a cupboard?

[Luvachicken]

Yes literally everthing has to be put away and there are no plugs in my toy cupboard so the little eggies would have to go back and forth everday.

[Luvachicken]

I forgot to say that a lot of other people use our building so that is why nothing can be left out - at all

[bevmatt]

I would not recommend taking the eggs and incubator in and out every day - the risk of stressing the eggs is high. - rupturing air sac etc etc.

You could always fib the whole thing and have the incubator on at school with infertile eggs then as they were hatching at home whizz them into school and replace the infertile with the hatching eggs...

 

At our school we set the eggs and leave them to do their own thing. We than have replacement eggs at home in our incubator then if anything goes wrong at school it does not matter as on hathcing day I can whizz our eggs in and swap them over.. The kids are amazed that they go out to play and when they come back in the chicks are sat there!

 

(in fairness only had to resort to this once as somebody 'experienced' at incubating had decided it was a good idea to spray the eggs daily!!! so killed all the chicks... but i had plan b in place so kids weren't disappointed.)

 

ALternatively talk the children through the experience and then once they hatch take the chicks in for them to cuddle.

 

Bev

[Chucky Mama]

What about rigging up a webcam and keeping the incubator at home?