Schoolyard Chicken Movement Gets a Boost from Purina

Purina Animal Nutrition partners with backyard chicken programs in schools, promoting hands-on education nationwide.

Purina Animal Nutrition recently donated to schools across the country. Instead of the standard notebooks and pencils, the company donated chicken feed. This donation was part of Purina’s Coop to School Network which celebrates an emerging “schoolyard chicken” movement.

Kristin Horvath, backyard flock associate marketing manager with Purina Animal Nutrition, says backyard chickens are a new and exciting part of school curriculum. Schoolyard flocks are used in active learning programs where students receive hands-on education. In addition to being fun for the classroom, backyard chickens help educate students on responsibility, biology, animal care and where their food comes from.

“We’ve had a lot of great conversations with teachers who have added backyard chickens to their school curriculum. These teachers are reinventing the way that lessons are taught; their students are learning by doing,” Horvath says. “We looked for a way to combine our love for chickens with schoolyard coops and our Coop to School Network was born.”

Here’s how the 2016 donation process worked: Purina Poultry Facebook fans shared their chicken-keeping stories by creating simple videos through the “Chick Flick by Purina’ app. For each chick flick shared, Purina donated five pounds of chicken feed to their coop to school network.

“The most heartwarming part of this program has been hearing from teachers across the country. These teachers are doing incredible things and making a difference each day,” Horvath says. “We were so moved by these stories that we decided to double our school network and expand our donation.”

Schools, listed alphabetically by state, receiving Purina Premium Poultry Feed include:

• Rosamond Elementary School – Rosamond, Calif.
• Heritage Elementary School – Highlands Ranch, Colo.
• The Alva School – Alva, Fla.
• Lawton Elementary LESA Garden – Oviedo, Fla.
• River Ridge – Evans, Ga.
• Oscar Mayer Magnet School – Chicago, Ill.
• Complete High School Maize – Maize, Kan.
• St. Paul's School – Brooklandville, Md.
• Northeastern High School – Elizabeth City, N.C.
• Taqwa Community Farm – Bronx, N.Y.
• Garden of Happiness – Bronx, N.Y.
• The William T Harris School – New York, N.Y.
• St. James School – Philadelphia, Pa.
• Discovery School – Lancaster, S.C.
• The Episcopal School of Knoxville – Knoxville, Tenn.
• West Allis Central High School – West Allis, Wis.

Schoolyard chickens in action

The team at Purina says this social media campaign was powerful for two reasons: 1. Current backyard chicken enthusiasts proudly shared their stories; and 2. Educators nationwide were given a platform to discuss their hands-on learning programs.

Schoolyard chicken coops are not just for rural schools. Inner-city schools, such as Chicago and New York City, are including chickens as a part of curriculum to provide students with hands-on experience with agriculture. For many classrooms, education involving backyard chickens goes far beyond the textbook.

“Students learn about compassion, the value of life, responsibility and making informed buying decisions,” says Heidi Albin, a science teacher at Complete High School Maize in Kansas. “At our alternative school, many of our students can be seen cuddling with little chicks and caring for them.”

“The impact has been powerful,” adds third-grade educator Jennifer Musick at Rosamond Elementary School in California. “Kids from all grade levels flock to the garden first thing in the morning to let the chickens out. It has taught our students respect for their surroundings, along with responsibility, concern and empathy for other living creatures.”

Nancy Dimitriades, a science teacher at St. Paul’s School in Brooklandville, Maryland, explains that the surrounding community also benefits from having a schoolyard coop.

“We have an educational organization here at St. Paul’s called Bridges that brings motivated Baltimore City students to our campus and offers enriching, educational experiences to them,” says Dimitriades. “Bridges’ fourth and fifth grade students have built dust baths for the chickens, chicken swings and boredom busters.”

Teachers explain their school flocks allow students of diverse backgrounds and learning styles to connect on a deeper level with the education they are receiving.

“The other day a boy with special needs met our school’s chickens for the first time,” explains Jennifer Ferrell of Lawton Elementary in Oviedo, Florida. “He pet Caramel, our Buff Orpington, and his whole demeanor changed. He went from restless and anxious to calm and focused. He was so proud of himself.”

“Our coop was recently damaged when Hurricane Matthew came through,” added Ferrell. “The donated feed from Purina will be a huge help in the recovery.”

To learn more about raising backyard chickens, visit www.purinamills.com/chicken-feed or connect with Purina Poultry on Facebook or Pinterest. If your school has a backyard chicken coop, sign up for Purina’s Coop to School Network to connect with fellow educators and receive tips.

Purina Animal Nutrition LLC (www.purinamills.com) is a national organization serving producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other large retailers throughout the United States. Driven to unlock the greatest potential in every animal, the company is an industry-leading innovator offering a valued portfolio of complete feeds, supplements, premixes, ingredients and specialty technologies for the livestock and lifestyle animal markets. Purina Animal Nutrition LLC is headquartered in Shoreview, Minn. and a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc.