Egg Hatching - The No-Name Project ©

Schools, colleges, nurseries and nursing homes across the UK take part in chick hatching projects every year.

However, these projects designed to teach about the life cycle frequently end in misery,

portraying animals as disposable resources.

Many educators have expressed concerns that the hatching projects are expensive,

that children lose interest quickly, as well as questioning where the birds will go at the end of the project.

Cockerels are an unwanted by-product of the egg industry,

and as many as 40 million male chicks are legally killed in the UK every year,

in gas chambers or by maceration.

​It is also difficult to provide the optimal environment for chicks in the classroom,

as a result, chicks may be born underdeveloped, dehydrated or with deformities.

If the chicks are returned to the egg hatching company after the project is finished and if the company cannot rehome the birds,

most of the chicks are culled, especially the boys.

Some egg hatching companies may say on their websites that some of the birds may be ‘grown-on’ for the table;

they will be slaughtered to be eaten once mature enough.

​Hatching projects are also causing problems for animal rescues, such as Lucky Hens, across the UK.

Each year we are sent messages from people whose children’s schools have held a hatching project,

usually in the run up to Easter. Concerned parents contact us,