Activity 11

Henhouse in class

Grade level:4thgrade

School subjects:natural science, social science

EE Objectives:

  • awareness,
  • knowledge.

Objective:

  • Learn about different types of food production and their impacts on the environment, farm animals and human health.

Teaching strategy: experiential learning

Duration: one hour

Required material:small beaks made out of cardboard, elastic bands, rope, portable fence, big blue sheet (cut out a pond), plastic insects, pieces of grass, laptop and projector, aluminium foil pie plates, water bottle (like those used on bicycles).

Information for the teacher:Hen domestication has really been beneficial for humans. Breeding this animal according to the desired characteristics allowed to develop hens that lay eggs frequently and produce a lot of meat. However, the increasing number of breeding animals worries many specialists and requires a critical analysis.

Hens kept in industrial factories have a very different life than those that are kept loose in small farms. In an industrial factory, hens live in unfit conditions. They often live their entire lives in cages packed with other hens. To avoid that hens hurt the other hens, their beaks are taken off. As well, the fact that they can’t move increases the risk of disease being propagated between them. To avoid this, medicine is added to their food. Producers also give hormones to the hens to accelerate their growth and production.

Medicine and hormones given to breeding animals are then found in the food chain. When we consume products from these industries, we take the risk of increasing our resistance to those medications. Humans are therefore more difficult to cure when they’re sick.

At the environmental level, big henhouses are really harmful. The large amounts of manure produced in these industries are a burden to the producer. When the manure is not taken care of properly, it’s possible to contaminate the air, soil and water. To avoid these problems, farms must often transport the manure by truck to other sites. As well, centralising the production of eggs and poultry increases the distance that the product must travel before getting to the consumer (producing greenhouse gases).

Hens raised naturally take a good part of their nutrition in grass and insects. Also, when hens eat insects they control parasites and epidemics on the farm. The healthier conditions limit the use of medicine. The meat and the eggs are of better nutritional quality and are usually sold locally. The animal’s manure becomes essential for the farm since it’s used to return nutrients to the soil.

Pork and beef industries are faced with the same problems as industrial henhouses. The advantages of natural farming beef and pork are similar to those listed for hens.

Procedure:

1. Invite students to make a list of the food that they consume that comes from hens.

2. Explain the different ways of breeding hens with the help of photos projected on a screen (Annex A).

3. Give each student a beak and an elastic band.

4. Go outside where the students play. Mimic for the students the way hens act when they are in natural conditions: the way they walk, scratch the ground, eat insects and grass, spread their wings, relieve themselves… Ask students to mimic these actions.

6. Divide the class into two groups: industrial hens on one side, hens from an ecological farm on the other side.

7. Define a large space with a rope for the ecological farm hens and a small space for the industrial hens. In the natural space, grass, insects and a pond are added to the space. The industrial space is circled by a fence and a cardboard roof. Take out the beaks from the industrial hens. Place the aluminium foil pie plate in their cage with small grains in it.

8. Invite students to get inside their assigned place and to act like hens. Give water to the industrial hens using a water bottle.

9. After a few minutes, ask students to change roles to allow them to experience the two ways of farming hens.

10. Ask students what they think of the experience. Ask them to describe the life of hens as well as how they must feel (ex: fear, sadness, disease, happiness…) depending on the farming method. Ask them why they think industrial hens need hormones and antibiotics unlike the others.Ask them if industrial farming bothers them and why. Ask them to name the type of breeding that pollutes the most and to prove their answer. Ask them to identify which hens are better for their health.

Annex A