The Salt Spring Island Poultry Club provided hatching workshops for eight K-5 classes in Winter-Spring 2021 using our new viewable incubators purchased for that purpose. An experienced poultry mentor taught students about chicken development and chick care, and the chicks were sold to school families.

Each classroom was provided with:

• Incuview incubator with easy viewing, temperature management, and humidity system;
• Books, embryo development models, and calendar worksheets to show and record what was happening in the eggs;
• Support from a poultry club member who visited the class to set up the incubator, shared what to expect, brought mature chickens or ducks for the students to meet, helped candle the eggs, assisted at lockdown and with hatching;
• Brooder set up for the first week after the chicks hatch;
• Flyers to send home to class families that described the project, chick sale prices and SSI Poultry Club memberships.

Here’s an article featuring the project:

For 2022, we plan to hatch chicks and ducklings with ten classes at Salt Spring Elementary and support other Island schools who request assistance.

For further information, please contact Robin Jenkinson at riverjenkinson@gmail.com.