Friday, March 01, 2013

NOW I AM WORRIED

Chicks hatching in incubator
A friend contacted me on Facebook this morning to see if I wanted some baby chicks that are due to hatch on Monday.  It seems that a friend of hers was home schooling her children and was hatching these eggs for a school project.  However part of that learning project did not include arrangements for the chicks after their birth. 

If they were being hatched under a mama hen, I could take the chicks and the hen.  There is no way I can care for chicks right now.  Without a mother hen these babies require a lot of care.  I offered several alternatives for finding homes but I cannot help  worrying about the fate of these newborns. 

We can eat eggs.  We can eat grown chickens.  But somehow it doesn't seem right to watch the wonder of nature as the chicks arrive into the world and then just neglect them. 

Who else thinks there is are some  major lessons to learn here and  believe the home-schooling teacher may have missed the mark?

Remember Elenore Hen with her chicks Chicklet, Mr. Gibson and Rebecca? Chicklet is our main rooster now and you all know about Mr, Gibson turning out to be a nurturing hen like mama Elenore.  Rebecca, sadly, was coyote food.

22 comments:

Jeanie said...

I hope they find a solution with the alternatives you offered. This sounds like a project that could have used a little more planning.

TALON said...

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the big picture, the small details get lost.

Kay said...

I remember our kindergarten teacher raising baby ducks each year. At first it was hard to find a home after they'd hatched and grown a bit. She called the zoo and they said they could take the ducklings for their reptile cages.

Yikes!

She finally found a farm that was willing to take them. I hope they found a good home there.

Sparkling Red said...

That does strike me as being singularly irresponsible.

Granny Annie said...

Jeanie -- For sure.

Talon -- Especially when the small details are really the big picture.

Kay -- Well at least feeding them to reptiles would be part of nature.'

Sparkling Red -- Hopefully this will end up with a positive resolution for kids and chicks.

G. B. Miller said...

Wow.

That seems to be a mightly large detail to overlook.

Something tells me that particular person won't do THAT again anytime soon.

Kerry said...

Huge oversight, and very irresponsible to not make arrangements ahead of time.

Cliff said...

There seems to be a lot of 'not thinking things thru' these days. It think it starts at the top.

Riot Kitty said...

That does seem rather irresponsible. I don't get it.

Sorry for Rebecca :(

Granny Annie said...

G.B. Miller -- It is my opinion that a person who does that once is a person that ill do it again. Perhaps the teacher will decide to send each of the chicks home with each kid for Easter. Somehow that could turn out to be a fate worse than death.

Kerry -- Everything is hinging on celebrating the birth and seeing the cute little fluffy babies and then zilch after that. Some lesson huh? Much like human pregnancies.

Cliff -- Actions without consequences...yep, seeing a lot of that these days.

Riot Kitty -- Nice of you to think of Rebecca.

ashok said...

agree with others...irresponsible indeed

Cathy said...

Hello Annie
Late to the party!!

Will the class care for them for a short time is will hatch day be their 'lst day'? Maybe she could place an ad for 'day old chicks' in the local paper.
Oh and knitting is no problem as I don't hang the head when I'm doing it. Usually gazing off into space in a world of my own lol
Take care
Cathy

Cathy @ Still Waters

Cathy said...

I really should proof read - 'or will hatch day be their last day' is what I said but not what I wrote lol
Cathy

Chatty Crone said...

Well I do agree that they should have had a plan for them. That is kind of sad...

Snaggle Tooth said...

That just made me exclaim "Duh!"
The teacher is dumb!

What about your neighbor across the way with Jack Bauer? Maybe she has a broody hen available to help with new chicks?

Granny Annie said...

ashok -- Indeed

Cathy -- I also suggested Craigs List and one alternative. I just hope they don't decide to give them to neighbor children for Easter. That is a sure death for all chicks.

Chatty Crone -- Hopefully by tomorrow when the chicks begin to hatch they will have found a home for them.

Snaggle Tooth -- I did check with my neighbors and they don't have room for any more chickens right now because Jack Bauer has been practicing due diligence on their flock:) Usually home-school teachers follow a lesson plan of some sort and I wonder if her plan didn't include suggestions for follow up.

Winifred said...

Home schooling! What qualifications did that idiot have? Should be reported to the animal welfare people & the education department.

What kind of a lesson is that in responsibility for your actions.

Mountain Mama said...

I don't have a problem with home schooling but I do have a problem with people who do not take responsibility for their mistakes. The person responsible for this should be caring for the chicks. Dumping them is cruel. I hope they will find a good home.

Shionge said...

This is totally new to me but really the lesson here is to have a contingency plan as to what next? I am sorry to hear that they don't have a plan after the chicks are hatch.

In fact, since her children are home-schooled and this is the project, taking care of the chicks can also be part of the education.

Granny Annie said...

Mountain Mama -- Well in all fairness the teacher is now trying to find a home for the chicks. It just would have been better to have that figured out in the beginning.

Shionge -- To have had a contingency plan in the beginning is exactly right. But maybe they will find a home for the chicks. I love the idea of the family keeping the chicks but sadly some communities do not allow urban chickens. However that is turning out to be a growing industry. The children would also delight in going out each morning to gather their breakfast eggs from the grown hatch-lings. Talk about taking the lesson full circle!

Pat said...

Not a very good example to set the children I'm thinking.

joeh said...

If you hatch them you are responsible. There must be a farmer nearby.