KVC 8Nk


Hi 8Nk,
After much debate and research about 3 different topics in our class we decided to make our final presentation on ... (drum roll please.....)

Chickens!!


We are now at the stage of gathering information about whether to

 "Have chickens and egg production at KVC?"

We have decided that 8 chickens would be a good number to start with. This way we can see how comfortable they are with the surroundings and comment on stresses that may affect egg production and health. It also keeps costs of materials such as coops, food, and laying boxes down until we are ready to expand (or close up!!!)
Currently the students are researching many questions. Here are a few..
  1. Size of chicken wire and type of coop that is required to keep predators out?
  2. Should we get a rooster and farm chicks?
  3. What breed lays the most eggs?
  4. What is the friendliest breed?

17 comments:

  1. Kia Ora 8NK. Good to see you all making progress with your project and questions. I've always wondered how many chickens SHOULD you have in a certain sized space? Are you thinking to have them free ranging behind a fence too? Keep up the fine work and I look forward to your presentations. Are you going to comment on another classes blog? Dr. McMillan

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  2. Kia Ora 8Nk
    Looks like we need to find a time to get together with you and combine forces so we don't double up on our spending.
    Look forward to sharing ideas with you.
    Nga mihi 7Bd

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  3. Well done to Aidan and James for their presentation today. You had obviously done some really good thinking about having chickens. I hadn't thought of the security consequence. I know the rest of 8NK were there in support. :)

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  4. Logan balaclava.The best chickens to get are leghorn,plymouth rock and sussex.:)

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  5. Deason Bva. You can get 1cm chicken wire like I have at my home. you can't have roosters in urban space. :-)

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  6. Henry Balaclava. When my mum had chickens she had to put a deer fence to keep pests out.

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  7. deason bva. I meant you can get 1cm gap wire.You can some baby chickens since they are so cute.

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  8. Alexa Balaclava. Chickens need oyster shells to harden there egg shell

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  9. Thanks Mr Parkers class. You are right, we will need oyster shell to keep their egg shells hard. I wonder how that works??? I'll ask some students in 8Nk to research that. I'd also heard that you can crush their egg shells and feed it back to them to keep shells hardened (after using the eggs of course)? Has anyone heard anything about that?

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  10. Oh- I just read 7Bd comments and they crushed egg shells and put acid on them.
    We might try that too.

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  11. We think if we get 8 chickens we will get around 8 eggs per day (over summer) and less over winter. We have discussed what we will do with the eggs and come up with these ideas
    1) Sell them to the canteen (although we are not sure they would use many)
    2) Give them to the foods room to use in cooking - a great idea but we haven't talked to the foods dept yet.
    3) Sell them to parents who would like some.
    Can anyone think of other ideas of what to do with 56 eggs a week?

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  12. Henry balaclava you might need to keep some to breed or else you will run out of chickens.

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  13. Thanks Shane. We are still considering breeding. We have to look at the regulations around keeping a rooster in an urban surrounding though. Not many people enjoy being woken at 5am by a crowing rooster! Another option is buying in fertilised eggs which are cheaper than laying hens and growing them ourselves? Do you think we could do that? Can anyone
    think of any problems when buying eggs rather than chickens?

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  14. Hi 7Bd and 8Nk
    Don't forget that you are both doing chickens! The classes should get together and chat about things. We can combine our finances and maybe we could get some chickens now and keep them at my house. My chickens might teach them to self feed over the next few months. I could bring the eggs into school and then we would really have to think about what we will do with them! Then in Nov we could organise what is needed to keep them at school and build/get it?

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  15. Go 8NK! How is it going with your thoughts on acting to help Ms Campbell. We could really have chickens on the farm. It woul dbe good to talk to the 7Bd students. Do they have ideas like yours? All the best, Dr. McMillan

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  16. I have just been to a great workshop about looking after chickens.
    Here are 7 key points for chicken coop design to think about, I have sent Ms Campbell more details on each one.

    The chicken coop: Should be simple, easy to clean, spacious, with plenty of ventilation and light facing north. It also needs to be predator proof.

    1. Air flow
    2. Perches
    3. Droppings board
    4. External Nesting boxes
    5. Floor space
    6. Predator protection
    7. Access

    If we can make sure we carefully design for each of these points then we will make caring for the chickens much easier.

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  17. Hi Everyone,
    8Nk has been working hard towards getting the chickens here. I think they have been spurred on by the arrival of the lambs. They want their own pets now!

    For the last 2 periods the class has broken into groups and each group is working on an aspect of keeping chickens. Here are some examples of the groups:

    1) Food group: they have worked out that they want to feed the chickens pellets. Some have a higher protein level than others so they want at least 16% level of protein. Also fruit and vegetables. They have suggested the students scraps. I want them to expand on this idea and think about how we would collect this/ check it for unsuitable things like plastic/ and when and who would take it to the chickens. Once they have a plan I will get them to present it to the junior school and hopefully run it. I will also ge tthem to write up their intentions on here so schools outside KVC can see what an amazing job they are doing (hopefully!!!)

    2)Watering group: they have found a plan for cheap easy water nipples on bottles. They will now need to approach the technology room for drills and silicon etc. I will get them to put up a photo when it is completed.

    3)Laying material: I haven't yet received information from them.

    4)Cleaning: This group has worked hard and gave e a list of things needed to keep the chickens healthy.

    5)Coop designers: Some students have searched trade me for options that seem good and are affordable (within our price range). Others are using their skills to design their own coops. Both options are looking great.

    It is all coming together and quite exciting. The chickens (just 4 at this stage) are coming to KVC tomorrow!!

    Next step: What will we do with the eggs!!!

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