Chickens at DGS!

Our 5 sweet little chicks have officially made their way around the school—and have now graduated to the great outdoors!

Each classroom had the opportunity to care for our chicks and watch them grow, with their tour mirroring the age of the students they visited.

The chicks began their journey in Primary, where our youngest students reside. It only made sense for our baby chicks to be nurtured by some of our youngest friends! Their days started with songs and ended with story time.

After their first week and quite a growth spurt, the chicks moved on to Lower Elementary. Here, students learned how to safely handle them and what it takes to properly care for them. Each day, students noticed new personality traits emerging and the chicks slowly transforming into what looked like “real chickens.” We also began lowering the brooder temperature to prepare them for their future transition outdoors.

Before long, the chicks completely outgrew their brooder and upgraded to a bigger space in Upper Elementary. This is where their transformations really took off! They started testing out their wings, became surprisingly good at roosting, grew lots of true feathers, and even began developing their combs. With all this personality blossoming, students started tossing around name ideas. And with their bigger personalities came bigger messes. A sure sign they were ready for yet another move.

Their next stop was Middle School! At this point, the chickens had officially entered their “teenage phase”—almost fully feathered, super active, and very curious. Since the weather was beautiful, they even got outdoor time during the day… their version of recess!

Now our chickens are happily living in the animal enclosure and enjoying lots of visits from students throughout the day.

If you’d like some time to visit the chickens and give them a little love, please sign up for animal care through the school’s Sign-Up Genius!

Over Halloween, we dressed our chickens up with various hats! They weren't too sure about them, but we will try again in the future!

The face when your chicken leaves a "surprise" in your hand!

And finally, meet Henrietta—Henri for short! Henri’s legs didn’t quite develop like the rest of the chickens, so walking has been a bit of a challenge for her. She’s still happy and healthy, but we’ve been doing some creative problem-solving around here.

Thanks to Mr. Derek and our 3D printer, we’re working on a custom little leg brace to help Henri gain more mobility. We are hoping this will help her gain some more strength so she can be active with the rest of the flock!

Until next time,

Ms. Emily