[harum]

Hi,
I was wondering what people usually do with hatched chicken/ducks? I mean I would like to incubate chicken eggs to hatching and then grow them for a few weeks as a project with kids. But would not like to keep them for much longer than that: grown birds would need much more space for a healthy life than I could offer. Is there a way to give them away? Or what do people do to chickens/ducks grown for kid's science fairs? Appreciate any suggestion.
Thanks,
H.

[Aurora_Bell]

I am sure most people eat them if they are eating quality. Why don't you contact a local farm and ask if they would be willing to take them on after they reached a certain age?

Or a wild life conservatory?

[harum]

Thanks! Yes, farmers is an option. Am wondering who else would be interested in young chicken considering popularity of home hatching.

[Aurora_Bell]

Why not talk to your local neighbors, to see if they would be interested in them as food?

Petting zoo's, hobby farms, wild life parks, the circus? (joking on that last one)

[Alty]

You could always ask the farmer you get them from if he's willing to take them back after you're done.

My cousin did this and regretted it. First, they were messy. Second, she found out after getting them that it was illegal to have farm animals on her property as she lived in the burbs. Then she had to find homes for them and didn't want someone that would kill them.

It took a while, but finally a local farmer that keeps chickens as pets, took them all in.

One of the chicks was a rooster, started doing the cockadoodledoo at 4am. It was a nightmare.

You'll have to post pictures when they hatch. :)

[harum]

Thanks! Do you mean one-two week old chicks may already be messy and noisy? We are planning on getting probably a dozen of eggs hoping to get half of them hatched, which I understand is a good number for them being comfortable and not lonely.

[harum]

Here is the outcome (one of several) of our hatching project:
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/4138/100613chkn1.jpg
All hatched before full 21 days, more than a half were out by 20 and 1/2 days. The first one hatched after only 20 days.

[Aurora_Bell]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!! She is So freaking cute!! Did you find a home for them?

[harum]

Yes, the very same people we got the eggs from are happy to take them back to their free range farm. Thanks for the advice.

[Alty]

Thanks for coming back to let us know what happened.

So many times people post, leave, and we never know what they decided or how it turned out.

I'm so glad the project was a success. :)

[harum]

The eggs were brown; the chicks are solid pale yellow or with a few small black speckles: http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/5228/100614chkn3.jpg

[Alty]

That is just too adorable.

I really want to cuddle it.

I may never eat chicken again. :eek:

[shazamataz]

Awwww, what a great project for the kids :)