Peeps at Shady Side Academy rule the roost

Meet the new chicks of Shady Side Academy.

Momo, Dawn, Cricket and Pippy are four peeps hatched from an incubator Oct. 11 in Bonnie Maxwell’s biology class at the middle school campus in Fox Chapel.

“Momo is ruling the roost,” said sixth-grader Amalia Guttridge. “Chickens are so cool, and they all have their own personalities.”

The Chicken Committee, which includes about 20 students from grades 6-8, are raising chickens on campus this fall.

The club will rehouse the peeps to an outside igloo coop enclosure sometime in December when the chickens can handle colder temperatures.

Eggs produced by the chickens when they reach about six months of age will be shared and distributed among the participating students.

The extracurricular club is co-organized by Shady Side Academy teachers Molly Braver and Bonnie Maxwell.

“It’s going well, and there are a lot of enthusiastic students,” said Maxwell. “It’s created a lot of interest in kids you think would never want to care for a chicken, but they look in the window and come in.”

The Middle School campus began renting full-grown hens from Rent the Chicken in 2017 to use in class, but teachers wanted a more full-circle approach for their students.

“We talked about how wonderful it would be if the students could see how the chickens start in eggs and see the progression,” Maxwell said of the decision to quit renting and raise chickens from incubation to adulthood.

Two breeds—Red and Black Stars—are sharing their digs with Maxwell’s menagerie of animals in her classroom that include a tortoise named Tank, a guinea pig, chinchillas and more.

“Kids in middle school really relate well to animals,” Braver said. “And this is a special kind of pet because it’s a place where we get food from. It’s a pet that produces.”

Braver said the raising chickens will be an annual project.

The school will find homes for the chickens each spring and start anew each fall incubating eggs.

The chickens currently are housed in a heated greenhouse area located inside Maxwell’s classroom.

Students will be divided into groups and assigned weekly rotating shifts to feed and care for their new feathered friends.

“I love Momo because she’s cute and sassy,” said sixth-grader Eshaan Goulatia.

Student Allison Silverman said the chance to learn and tend to animals was appealing. “I’ve always loved wildlife and I’ve had the opportunity to take care of farm animals,” Silverman said. “My fave chicken is Momo.”

Sixth-grader Angela Tu said although the chickens make a lot of noise, they’re “cute” and are receiving lots of attention.

Braver said the students are gaining real hands-on experience and are “stewards” to the chickens. “This makes them aware of food and where our food and resources come from,” she said.