Chickens

In 2008 the children in the Waller Warrior Green Team decided on pursuing the idea of getting chickens after the discussion of where food comes from and looking after living things. A bid was put together to receive funding from Ernest Food Trust and they were successful in receiving money.

The Year 6 children have worked hard towards promoting the idea of having chickens at Edmund Waller. They have created posters, taken part in an assembly, created reports, researched chickens and chicken coops, and even performed a 40 minute production on a balanced argument about having chickens in school which derived from a Literacy lesson.

The children decided that they were going to buy the chickens from a reputable company, Omlet. This company will provide 4 tolerant chickens, an Eglu cube and all the essentials needed to keep chickens. They even found that out that the chickens come fully vaccinated. To find out more about the children’s research read the paragraphs below by clicking here.

Mr Bardouille separately brought the idea to the teaching staff, support staff and Governors and the help from the Year 6 pupils had persuaded the school community to have chickens. It has to be organised and will be part of the PSHE curriculum. Every year group has half a term to look after the chickens.

In July 2010 we have funding to buy chickens and now have to look for funding to erect fencing to secure the chickens and the Eglu.

Watch this space!

The breeds of chickens we are proposing to get are the Gingernut Ranger and Miss Pepperpot. The reason for choosing the Miss Pepperpot breed is because they lay nice big eggs and are very friendly. The reason why we are choosing the Ginger Nutranger is because they are easy to tame and they make excellent pets for children.

How can we get the whole school involved?
Some classes can do cake sales to raise money for the chicken supplies. The children can take turns to clean the cage and feed the chickens. We can decide which child and their family can come and clean the cage during the holiday periods by pulling names out of the hat.
Lucy & Korral

Chicken’s Health
Chickens can get ill. Most of the time this won’t be anything just a runny nose or diarrhoea (caused by eating too many slugs). There are lots of health checks that you can do regularly.
When fully grown, the chicken should have:

The colour of the legs in a good indicator of whether the chickens are laying. If they are very yellow then she is probably not laying eggs yet.
When you pick up chickens, her body should be plump and firm, but with no flabbiness.
Luke

I think Edmund Waller should have chickens because it will create a positive and caring atmosphere within the school. It will also be fun for the younger children to play with the chickens. If children decide to help with the chickens they can look after the chickens to give them parenting skills for the future.
Sam

The greatest things about having chickens are that they are very kind to children and they make wonderful pets. Chickens are mostly friendly and would make Year 1 children very eager to learn more.
We can also use the chicken’s manure in our compost bins to help grow healthy food.  We can even sell the eggs they produce to get money to pay for the chicken’s future food, any vet bills and anything else that they may need.
So why don’t we splash out on these brilliant creatures and change our prospective of primary school today.
Mh’ya

Some people say that it would be a bad idea to have chickens in Edmund Waller for such reasons as they would be too loud and they will produce nasty smells in the playground. I believe that there are lots of ways of learning that would outweigh these negative views. It will make the children feel like they have a pet if they are not allowed to one at home. There are a few other reasons why it would be good to have chickens: younger children could learn how to be responsible around animals which could include having to clean up the chicken’s coop and selling the eggs that they produce. We could even teach younger children how to cook eggs and the difference between free-range and battery farm chickens.
Finally I think that having chickens would give Edmund Waller the ‘Wow factor’ because it is a unique and innovative thing for a school to have. People would really be interested to buy our eggs because they will know we have put a lot of love into looking after our chickens. When chickens are happy in a happy environment, they will produce healthier eggs.
Willo

I think Edmund Waller should own four chickens because it would increase pupils’ awareness of animal welfare and it will reduce the money the school spends on food. The eggs could be used for school dinners, cake sales and in the future we possibly can sell the eggs at Telegraph Hill Farmer’s Market.
Each class could clean and feed the chickens on a rota basis, though under strict supervision. I am sure it will benefit the school in many different ways and the pupils will learn from it.
Ruby

Edmund Waller should own a chicken Eglu so that children can learn more about chickens and the different types of chickens there are. We could even learn about their behaviour, how they live and what they do.
Having an Eglu will make it so much easier to clean and raise the chickens in. It is the ideal way to keep lots of chickens. The Eglu makes keeping a large number of chickens practically fun and rewarding. It is easy to move, has feeders and an extra large drinker for the chickens.
Shemia

“What’s going on?” I hear you cry. Surely Edmund Waller is a school, not a farm. But wait! Before you run off to tell the council that Edmund Waller is getting chickens, your children are going to catch bird flu and that they absolutely MUST do something, let me tell you the benefits of having chickens.

Most importantly, the breed of chicken we will get (Gingernut Ranger and Miss Pepperpot) will make, and I quote, “...excellent pets for children due to their gentle nature and friendliness.”

Still not satisfied! In that case here comes (you’ll like this one) the money side! While buying chickens, a Eglu and food will cost lots of money. Selling the eggs for 30p each could make us £426.40 in a year. Plus we can save money by using any eggs that are not bought in school for dinners.

You are probably thinking this is all very good, but where is the educational value? I’ll tell you. What better opportunities for the young ones to learn caring skills than looking after chickens (under supervision, of course).

So there you have it; that’s...hmmmmm...1...2...3...4...5 good reason s for Edmund Waller to have chickens!

Frank