At the Erin Fall Fair, an educational exhibit meant to engage children with the experience of holding newly-hatched chicks and learning about farm life was disrupted when 32 chicks mysteriously vanished. The disappearance occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on October 10 from the Agri-dome’s warming box, or brooder, where the chicks were housed.
Erin’s Mayor, Michael Dehn, was present at the fair during the incident. He, along with the chicks’ owners, Gary and Eileen Brown, had briefly left for the fair’s opening ceremony. Upon their return, they discovered the brooder’s lid removed and the chicks gone. It is suspected that the theft took place before the fair officially commenced, facilitated by an inadvertently left-open door in the Agri-dome.
The Erin Agriculture Society promptly turned to social media to seek assistance in locating the missing chicks, emphasizing their fragility and need for warmth to survive. These chicks are a cherished feature of the Erin Fall Fair, attracting significant interest from both children and adults due to their role in agricultural education.
Despite the setback, Mayor Dehn intervened by offering his own farm’s free-range chicks for the display, salvaging the educational experience for fair attendees. Gary Brown, deeply affected by the loss of the original chicks he had nurtured, was overjoyed when the substitute chicks arrived, signaling a positive resolution to the unfortunate incident.
