08/30/2026
Meet Rolex!🦃
Rolex was hatched in a kindergarten classroom as part of a school hatching project. After the project ended, he was kept as a pet for two years before eventually making his way to Cedar Row.
Rolex was lucky. Many animals hatched in classrooms are not.
Hatching programs are often presented as a fun, educational way for children to learn about animals and life cycles. But very little attention is given to what happens to those animals once the lesson is over.
Chicks, ducklings and turkey poults grow up. They need appropriate housing, companionship, veterinary care and a safe home for the rest of their lives. Roosters can be especially difficult to place, and sanctuaries are already overwhelmed with requests to take unwanted birds.
Animals should not be brought into the world for a temporary classroom experience with no responsible plan for their future.
If we want to teach children compassion and respect for animals, we can start by teaching them that animals are not classroom projects. They are individuals whose lives continue long after the lesson ends.
Rolex is now safe at Cedar Row, where he gets to simply be a turkey ❤️
