St Joseph’s Marquee at the Sustainability Festival
Our students helped out on Sunday talking about our Sustainability Initiatives with members of the public. Our school leaders looked after our chickens at the event and showed those attending how to hold and care for chickens.
Our Local Council Member said he was impressed with our student’s knowledge and chook handling skills and could not wait to hold our beautiful silkie. He said the chickens brought back fond memories of his childhood.
Thank you to the parents and students who attended.
Congratulations to our Year 5/6 Leaders who represented our school at the Dandenong Sustainability Festival.
St Joseph’s Marquee at the Sustainability Festival.
Sunday 26th February
Our school leaders have made posters and prepared displays about our Chickens and School Garden. Some students will also help out at our stall on Sunday.
Please come and visit our Number 14 Stall for a short time at Dandenong Market any time between 10am and 2.45pm.
You could also take the opportunity to do some shopping at the Market Place.
Come and visit our chickens and talk to our students who will be available at our Marquee to talk and answer questions about our school sustainability initiatives.
Many thanks to the students who have given up their time and worked so well to prepare for this event.
We hope that many families will drop in on the day!
Our chicks are now about 5 days old. Students can visit the chicks in the Learning Neighbourhood. They are VERY active and VERY cute.
We have Silkies, Buff Orpington, Rainbow Layers, Wheaten Marans, Exchequer Leghorns, Andalusians and Double Laced Barnevelders.
That is quite a few different breeds. Our 3/4 students will visit and learn about the chicks through the school gardening program.
Our Eggs Have Hatched
Baby Chicks At School.mp4OUR EGGS ARE ABOUT TO HATCH!
Hopefully we will have a few chickens from each of the 5 breeds listed below. Which breed is your favourite?
INTERNATIONAL EGG DAY OCTOBER 8th 2021
International egg day .mp4
Eggs are a good source of protein (both whites/yolk). They also contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats and are a great source of important nutrients, such as vitamin B6, B12 and vitamin D.
7 reasons to love eggs on World Egg Day!
It’s easy to take the humble egg for granted but its presence in our lives today is thanks to the remarkable union of mother nature and human ingenuity at its best.
Unsurprisingly, eggs are a kitchen staple that’s almost inconceivable to go without (COVID lockdowns sent Australians scrambling for backyard hens and ownership jumped from 8.2% in 2019 to 11% in 2021!).
So here's some new insights to help you marvel (even more) about your hen’s eggs:
1. A Pennsylvania State University study revealed that eggs from chickens that range on the grass in addition to a high-grade diet are the most nutritious. These eggs contain more vitamins A, D and E plus more omega-3s than cage eggs.
2. The ancient Egyptians created egg ovens 2,000 years ago to incubate hundreds upon thousands of eggs simultaneously. What’s more, their incubators are still in use today!
3. Eggshell colour along with yolk colour is not an indicator of nutritional content. For yolks, the more plants containing xanthophylls in the hen’s diet, the deeper the orange hue.
4. The Guinness World Records state that the heaviest chicken egg weighing 454 grams was laid in 1956 by a White Leghorn in New Jersey USA.
5. The asymmetrical, oval, tapered shape of an egg enables it to return to the place from which it first rolled.
6. The fact that chickens lay so many highly nutritious eggs today is quite amazing and here's 10 Amazing Health Benefits!
7. Challenge yourself to cook eggs in a delicious, new way using the Australian Eggs e-book, which contains recipes from around the world.
Happy World Egg Day!
CHICKEN PROBLEMS
We have treated the chickens for a worm sickness and I am also providing more calcium in their diet. Let's hope the chickens get better.
CHICKEN PROBLEMS WHAT DO THE KIDS SAY?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gR-VMeamuD4uz5NmX6y-WK4mva--eHaKcvYLrvixsQM/edit?usp=sharing
Chickens Eggs.mp4
Chooks and Coop
During the recent school holidays our chicken coop and chicken run was constructed. Some students wrote texts suggesting their ideal breed for the school. ISA Brown, Australorp, Silky and Buff Orpington were the most preferred breeds. We have purchased some Hy-Line pullets.
This breed is very similar to the ISA Brown and was easier to acquire. The Hy-Line breed is a brown hen that can lay up to 350 eggs per year. They are extremely gentle and good natured. We plan to purchase and raise some of the other breeds from chicks.
Our two hens have settled well into their new home and are very friendly and interested in the students.
One hen has recently laid her first egg and the other is only a few weeks away from laying.
Liam enjoyed the privilege of eating the first egg! He thought it was delicious.
