United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150, Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
Phone: 757-678-7875 • FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org • info@upc-online.org
April 20, 2021
Via Email: nbpts@smartbrief.com
Dear Editors and Educators:
Re: Place-based learning engages Mich. students in science
I respectfully submit that young children do NOT learn “all about chickens” incubated and hatched in mechanical incubators and placed motherless on a comfortless grid as shown in the accompanying photo. This type of learning has more to do with conditioning students to misperceive the suffering of chicks in inhumane conditions as fun, “cute” and “normal” by manipulating their youthful ignorance about the true fate, feelings, and needs of these birds.
Chickens evolved in nature to be brooded, hatched, and cared for by a mother hen. The rooster too is part of the family life of chickens. Domesticated chickens have the same needs as their wild relatives, including the need to explore a stimulating outdoor environment. What are the children learning about that?
The students, and quite possibly the teacher, may think that chick-hatching projects teach valuable lessons, but what is actually being learned? First-graders are exposed to a “science” in which sentimentality and mechanization stifle true sensitivity, empathy, and understanding.
There is also the issue of Salmonella infections that can be transmitted to children. Transmissible salmonella infections in backyard chickens are routinely reported in people, including children, who handle chickens. It is not that chickens are inherently infectious but that the many stressors to which they’re subjected, starting with mechanical incubation, can weaken the immunity conferred on chickens who grow up with a mother hen in fresh air, good soil, and sunlight.
Please look at our booklet Hatching Good Lessons: Alternatives to School Hatching Projects for further discussion, including information to share with students about chickens and other birds along with classroom activities that inspire both students and teachers to appreciate, value, and respect the life of chickens and all birds.
Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or want more information.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
12325 Seaside Road
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405
Office: 757-678-7875
Email: karen@upc-online.org
Website: www.upc-online.org
Federal ID: 52-1705678
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
Federal ID: 52-1705678