The Superior Express -

Forty-six-month old laying hens for sale. The statement represents far more than a gold star for two Lawrence-Nelson ag instructors, Lawrence-Nelson FFA and a large percentage of the Lawrence-Nelson High School students (75 percent of whom are FFA members.)

The Lawrence-Nelson High School chicken project started at the Nebraska State FFA Convention last year when Adam Theer and Kylie Kinley, ag instructors, said to one another, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had our own eggs for an FFA breakfast?” The statement sparked further conversation which lead to applying for a Farm Credit Services of America $2,000 grant to start a chicken project. The grant was approved. Since live animals were involved, the project also had to be approved by the Lawrence-Nelson Board of Education.

An old green house has been up-cycled for the project. The natural resource class cleaned out the weeds and leveled the gravel. The greenhouse already had electricity, water and predator-proof walls, but it needed nesting boxes, a new door, shades for the summer, an outdoor run, roosting bars and feed and watering equipment.

Fertilized eggs were purchased and the animal science class supervised the incubation. “That was our first big disappointment,” Kinley said.

Theer added, “We had no experience incubating eggs. Only three of the 40 eggs hatched and none of the chicks survived.”

So chicks were ordered from a hatchery. Three breeds were selected: Wyndotte, Cornish Rock and Bus Orpingtons. “It was so much fun to take an interested student to the post office to pick up the chicks,” Kinley said.

The chicks were kept in Theer’s office which has a window.

Having live animals on site continues to add lots of excitement. “Every morning, students stopped by the window to check on the chicks,” Theer said. “They were a big hit with the students.”

The chickens grew and were moved to the “greenhouse chicken coop.” The construction class built 10 nesting boxes. Roosts were constructed from scrap lumber and small tree limbs found by a nearby creek. Heat lamps were hung and a 16 by 32 foot outdoor run completed where the chickens can exercise and loaf. Wood chips are used in the nesting boxes.

Their eggs have been used by the food science class for a scrambled egg contest where the contestants used different kinds of oil to see who could make the best tasting scrambled eggs.

The eggs have also been used as part of a crispy batter mix to fry chicken.

“We did not fry our chickens!” Kinley emphatically said, “We are not eating our chickens. They are laying hens. However, some FFA Chapters are raising, dressing and selling fryers to raise money. That is a whole different learning process and something we may consider.”

In addition, FFA members have been selling the eggs.

“The project has been a ton of work,” Kinley continued. “But it has been fun to watch the students’ excitement. Weekends have been the hardest, but FFA members earn points for weekend chicken chores and a winner will be announced at the F FA banquet.

“During school about everyone will care for the chickens. Finding an egg in the nesting box is fun even for me who grew up with chickens,” she said.

The chickens are to be auctioned at the Lawrence-Nelson FFA banquet Tuesday, April 16, to raise money so the chicken project can continue next school year.

We are seeing results,” Kinley said. “The Lawrence-Nelson poultry judging team qualified for state and I credit the chicken project for their success. One of the girls, who had never held a chicken before the project began, earned fourth place at district competition in poultry evaluation.”

The project continues to provide hands-on lab for the following classes: animal science, welding, construction management, food science, agricultural leadership and agribusiness.