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Chirpy additions at Heathcoat Primary School
Monday 2 July 2007
Class E1 at Heathcoat Primary School in Tiverton has got six new chirpy additions this week after a clutch of fertilized eggs successfully hatched in the classroom.
Miss Day's class of Year One children (five and six year olds) arrived on Wednesday morning to find the six eggs had hatched in their mini incubator overnight.
The eggs and the incubator were supplied to the school by local poultry firm Lloyd Maunder at the suggestion of Heathcoat geography coordinator, Alison Falkner, who with her husband Hugh rears free range chicken for Lloyd Maunder on their farm near Butterleigh.
"We're teaching the children about where their food comes from," says Alison Falkner, who has written a scheme of work all about food and farming. "Having the chicks hatch right here in the classroom is great fun for the children and it's also helped inspire discussion about the food we eat, and respect for it too. It's been a really great exercise and Lloyd Maunder staff have been so helpful throughout."
The chicks came from Lloyd Maunder's hatchery near Kentisbeare, which hatches around 500,000 chicks each week for the 157 family-run farms that rear chicken for the company in the West Country. The chicks hatched at Heathcoat Primary School are Devonshire Reds (www.devonshirered.co.uk), which is a robust and slow growing breed exclusive to Lloyd Maunder.
"It's been a really successful pilot exercise," says Andrew Maunder, commercial director at Lloyd Maunder. "As it's gone so well, we're hoping to source more incubators and set up a programme to supply local schools with incubators and our own fertilized eggs throughout the academic year. Just think about all those six year olds trying to figure out which came first, the chicken or the egg."
The chicks hatched at Heathcoat Primary School will remain in the class for the next week, and will then be re-homed by Lloyd Maunder. Any schools interested in hatching chicks in the classroom in the next academic year should contact marketing@lloydmaunder.co.uk.
For more press information contact Veronica Newport on 01363 866927 or email veronica@n-pr.co.uk.