Chicken, quail, duck, goose and reptile hatching for schools, nurseries, youth groups and families, run at your venue by an approved provider.
A supervised egg-to-hatchling experience delivered by an approved provider: eggs, incubator, brooder, daily animal care and a confirmed home for every hatchling before the eggs are set. Four levels from early years to a whole class; certificate of completion included.
A supervised hatching experience run at your venue by an approved provider: eggs go into an incubator, a group of children watches and helps care for them through the hatch window, then cares for the hatchlings for a set period afterward. Chicken, quail, duck and goose hatching, plus a separate reptile track, at four levels from early years to a whole class. Every hatchling has a secured home before the eggs are set.
The provider brings everything the animals need and stays responsible for them for the whole experience. The school, group or family provides the space, a realistic slot in the timetable, its own supervising adults and the communication with parents.
Welfare-assessed eggs from a supplier the provider has checked
An incubator and a brooder suited to the species you choose
Day-to-day animal care, including weekend and holiday cover for the eggs and birds
Staff who work directly with the birds and with the children, background-checked for work with children
A confirmed placement plan naming where every hatchling goes afterward
A certificate of completion for every participant, or one certificate run for a class
Ages are guidance, not gates. A younger child who is ready for hands-on care can be placed in Explore, and an older child who would do better with a short, closely supervised session can be placed in Discover. The provider makes that call with the parent or teacher. For a full class or year group, Classroom is almost always the better fit.
| Level | Who it fits | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Discover | Early years, about 3 to 5 | A short, closely supervised session built around watching and listening. An adult does the hands-on incubator and brooder work; children observe candling, hear the hatch and see a hatchling up close. |
| Explore | About 6 to 11 |
| The full incubation-to-hatch cycle. Children take on the daily care tasks, help with the brooder once the young hatch and keep a record book through the hatch window. |
| Investigate | About 12 and older | Everything Explore covers plus incubation science, the biology of what is happening inside the egg, the welfare questions the program raises and a written reflection. |
| Classroom | A whole class or year group | Explore or Investigate content delivered with the teacher to a full group, finishing with one certificate run instead of separate sign-ups. |
Incubation runs on its own clock and none of it pauses for a weekend or a holiday, so the species decides how long the experience takes and how much space it needs. A provider can help you pick one that fits your setting, group size and the time you actually have. Not every provider offers every species; each listing states what it covers.
| Species | Incubation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | About 21 days | The usual starting point, with the most straightforward setup for a first group. |
| Quail | About 17 to 18 days | Fastest through the whole cycle, which suits a short school term. |
| Duck | About 28 days | Longer incubation; ducklings need water access and more space once they hatch. |
| Goose | About 28 to 30 days | The longest bird incubation; goslings need the most space of the four. |
| Reptile | Varies by species | A separate track with its own timeline and care rules: no brooding period, and hatchlings do not imprint on the people who raise them. |
A provider cannot run a Hatching Experience without a confirmed destination for every egg they set: the provider's own flock, a keeper who has already been vetted, or a partner sanctuary. Children and schools do not keep the hatchlings by default. A family can take one on only where that family has been separately assessed as a suitable keeper and its housing checked in advance, and that is the exception, not the plan.
Not every egg hatches, and the program says so before it starts. Providers talk with children beforehand about what candling shows, why some eggs stop developing and what happens if a hatch is difficult. Nobody promises a guaranteed hatch.
United Pet Club does not run Hatching Experiences directly. Approved providers do, as independent organizations working in their own city or country under a shared standard: a confirmed placement plan for every bird, welfare-assessed eggs, background-checked staff and public liability cover for their jurisdiction. Each provider publishes its own listing for the area it serves and sets its own price, so compare more than one where you can.
You book directly through the provider's listing and the provider, not United Pet Club, is who you contract with. If nothing is listed for your area yet, ask to be notified when that changes.
Pick the species and the level. The program pages explain both if you have not settled on either.
Choose a listing that serves your area. Every listing states the area it covers and its own price.
Ask where each bird goes afterward, where the eggs come from and what happens if an egg does not hatch. A provider should answer all three without hesitation.
Book through the listing, then agree a start date that keeps the hatch window inside the days your building is open.
A supervised program for incubating and hatching eggs with children, delivered at your venue by an approved provider for schools, nurseries, youth groups and families. Children watch and help through incubation and hatch, then care for the hatchlings for a set period, and every bird has a secured placement before the eggs go into the incubator.
No. United Pet Club sets the standard and lists approved providers. Each experience is delivered by an independent provider who contracts directly with the school or family that books them.
Chicken, quail, duck and goose, plus a separate reptile track with its own timeline. Chicken is the usual starting point; quail is fastest; duck and goose need more space and water once hatched. Each provider's listing states which species it offers.
Chicken eggs take about 21 days to hatch, quail 17 to 18, duck about 28 and goose 28 to 30, followed by a set care period for the hatchlings. Incubation does not pause for weekends or holidays, so the start date is planned backward from a hatch date that lands on a day your building is open.
Not by default. Placement with a family happens only where that family has been separately assessed as a suitable keeper, with housing checked beforehand. Most hatchlings go to the provider's own flock, a vetted keeper or a partner sanctuary, and that destination is agreed before the eggs are set.
Space, a realistic slot in the timetable, your own supervising adults and the communication with parents. Eggs, incubator, brooder, animal care and the aftercare plan all come from the provider.
Not every egg hatches, and a straight provider says so upfront. It is discussed with the children as part of the experience rather than hidden from them, and the certificate of completion records that a child took part regardless of how any one hatch went.
Coverage varies by country and by species and changes over time. Each listing states the area that provider serves. If nothing is listed near you yet, ask to be notified when that changes.
A confirmed aftercare and placement plan for every bird, eggs from a welfare-assessed supplier, incubation and brooding equipment suited to the species, background-checked staff for work with children and public liability cover for the provider's jurisdiction. Approval is renewed every two years and includes reporting what happened to the birds.
