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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel sad they have no dm to cuddle.

92 replies

Aprilmightbemynewname · 02/05/2018 10:27

School chicks started to hatch this morning. First one just sat there alone with no lovely fluffy dm to snuggle into.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the idea of them in glass tank and then rehomed as the teacher said will happen. Who teaches them how to be, well, a chicken?
Sad

OP posts:
Ummmmgogo · 02/05/2018 10:29

don't worry the children will give them lots of cuddles

WorraLiberty · 02/05/2018 10:30

Who teaches them how to be, well, a chicken?

Perhaps the school could ask for parent volunteers?

Bubblesandsquarks · 02/05/2018 10:30

They're probably in much better conditions than a lot of farming chicks.

FizzyGreenWater · 02/05/2018 10:31

Wow that's horrible.

Poor chicks. And yes, they will probably have a pretty stressful time from now on being manhandled by the kids - it really doesn't take much of a 'cuddle' to kill them, sadly.

Bloody awful thing to have in a school.

WomanEqualsAdultHumanFemale · 02/05/2018 10:32

Awww! Surely that’s not good for their development? Dont they naturally have a period of staying with their mum for a while? Like puppies?

PerfectPenquins · 02/05/2018 10:40

It does seem wrong to me, ask the school the same question.

TheHonSaucyJane · 02/05/2018 10:42

Are they male chicks? The farm that lent chicks to my DM's school many years ago didn't part with the precious females. In which case they have probably just got a stay of execution anyway Sad

As a child I did like having them in our garage for the weekend. They grow so quickly - by week 3, they are scrawny teenage cockerels!

Original poster
Aprilmightbemynewname · 02/05/2018 10:47

The teacher said it was a male (males hatch yellow, females brown (?), nor sure about the rest yet).
But yes males face a grim death.

OP posts:
TomRavenscroft · 02/05/2018 10:52

I recently saw a petition against chick-hatching in schools. It was pretty sobering. Here's the link: www.change.org/p/protect-chicks-from-egg-hatching-projects-in-schools

I'd have a word with the school about doing it in future.

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 02/05/2018 10:53

Are the males killed at birth like male cows?

MumofBoysx2 · 02/05/2018 10:53

They will get so many cuddles from the children they won't be lonely :-)

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 02/05/2018 10:55

Oh the little sweeties. They must be as cute as buttons
I remember when they used to have chicks in dds school.
I ashamedly never thought could them being separated from their mummies this early on hinder their development.
I agree about asking the school. Mind you surely if there was any risk. The farms wouldn't lend them out.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 02/05/2018 10:58

Oh did they actually hatch it the school. If so The thing they see be in a child adult or even an inanimate object. They think it's their mummy. I think it's called imprinting

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 02/05/2018 11:00

*first thing.

IHeartMaryLennox · 02/05/2018 11:01

Oh god I really hate this!

And chicks really do not want to be 'cuddled' by an over-excited five year old. It doesn't benefit them, trust me.

GorgeousJaws · 02/05/2018 11:04

I hate it too when they have them at nursery/school.

Way too delicate to be held by little hands, even with supervision.

Juells · 02/05/2018 11:09

Bloody awful thing to have in a school.

So true, fizzy. I hate petting zoos as well, teaching children that animals are just there for amusement. I was livid when one of my daughters was taken to a fish farm, in primary school, and fish were taken out and handed around to children. It had a terrible effect on my child, she was very distressed by the casual disregard for the creatures' feelings. She now frequently gets chickens that are no longer fluffy and cute, or goats that are no longer sweet little kids, from petting zoos.

purpleweasel · 02/05/2018 11:10

I used to help in a bird sanctuary and if we had orphaned ducklings and no spare duck to adopt them we used to hang a bunch of rags from the ceiling of the cage for them to huddle under. Hard to describe but you would get a load of strips of something soft, fold the bunch in two and tie a piece of string near the top, to hang it up with. The bottom bit will sort of fan out underneath. Should think it would work for chicks too. Hope that makes sense!

PinkHeart5914 · 02/05/2018 11:10

Aww poor little chicks!

Imagine having a load of little dc pick you up for cuddles, no matter how well meaning the child it’s going to be horrid for the chick.

IvyFluids · 02/05/2018 11:15

The yellow/brown thing only works with chickens that have been bred specifically for that purpose.

But yes the chickens are going to be manhandled and stressed to the eyeballs , their cage will be rattled and shook and will not have the most pleasant start to life.

ScrappyScrap · 02/05/2018 11:19

And chicks really do not want to be 'cuddled' by an over-excited five year old. It doesn't benefit them, trust me.

Yes, do people really believe that a five year old is a suitable replacement for a chicken?

What exactly is this meant to teach children anyway?

The life process of a chicken doesn't begin in a box .

It doesn't teach them empathy for animals.

It's a stupid project.

didofido · 02/05/2018 11:27

Whenever my grandmother had tiny chicks she bought a new cotton floor mop, the sort with floppy strands of soft cotton, and hung it from the handle of a basket. The chicks cuddled under it until feeding time when they were pored out on to a blanket on the hearth rug to peck & poo.

frumpety · 02/05/2018 11:28

To be fair I don't think most chicks hatched in this country have a Mummy to cuddle them , unless they are fortunate to be the offspring of pretty chickens and are actually hatched by their mummy .

missbonita · 02/05/2018 11:29

Rehomed? Hahahahhaahahhaha

Please don't use these stupid appalling schemes. The chicks are destroyed by the companies that provide them in the main part. I found over 50 dead and dying chicks dumped on the outskirts of my land 4 years ago. I wasn't having it and did a full investigation which led me to the caretaker of a primary school about 20 miles away. Apparently he thought they 'could live in the wild'. Freeze to death or be taken by crows you mean?

The lack of empathy to living creatures shown by this sort of disgusting 'rent an experience' is utterly appalling. Angry

IHeartMaryLennox · 02/05/2018 11:29

For most small creatures, being picked up and cuddled is utterly traumatic for them.

I used to have a rabbit that had been given to my by a neighbour as 'the stupid thing won't let my kids pick it up and cuddle it, that's why we got it!'

Poor chicks. I hate the whole concept of this, like petting zoos. There's an awful company around here that supply animals for parties. They just pass them round to be grabbed and petted and squealed at like a bloody pass the parcel. Hate it.