SYRACUSE — Wawasee High School’s agriculture department is hosting an open house for its new poultry facility from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. The facility is located just west of the career and technical education building on the south side of the high school campus.

The 12 foot by 24 foot facility will house both laying chickens and broilers and will be used by both the animal science classes and the FFA program. Students will care for the chickens raised, sell their eggs and meat and will be assigned research projects in their course work. They will be able to explore nutrition, egg quality, carcass quality, genetics, animal behavior and many other topics relevant to modern agriculture.

Students will be given an opportunity to be involved in the process of agriculture by growing their own food, making the distance from the farm to their dinner plates a bit shorter. They will be taught poultry anatomy, physiology, nutrition and genetics. They will be trained to be agriculture advocates to combat the misrepresentations and misinformation prevalent in the field of animal husbandry, according to a press release issued by the agriculture department.

Chore Time Brock and Miller Poultry have partnered with the school. Chore Time donated cages, nesting boxes and feeders and Miller Poultry is supplying livestock fans to keep the coop comfortable in the summer heat. Miller Poultry is also providing access to its nutritionists, veterinarians and other staff to help students raise healthy birds and broaden their understanding of poultry management.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call the school at (574) 457-3147.