If you’d like a more detailed look into the life of a broiler chicken, check out the below 

"Chicken Care" series. See how chickens are typically raised, the thought and research that 

goes into their housing, food, breeding, and medical care, and how farmers, veterinarians, 

and nutritionists are always working to do better.

Chicken care: Chicken's Frist Day on the Farm

Please just imagine that the newly born chicks experienced before arriving at your farm? 

Experienced an unpleasant transportation, they may be frightened, or shocked, scared.

After fertilized eggs are incubated (kept warm and rotated) for 21 days at a hatchery, chicks

are hatched, and within hours they are transported to the farm. Chicks are delivered in paper 

crates – over 100 chicks in a crate, around 25,000 chicks per barn. All birds on any given chicken

farm will be the same age, come from the same hatchery, and stay together for the remainder 

of their lives  – this is to ensure traceability (in case there is any issue), and for biosecurity reasons

(to reduce the threat of illness or bacteria). The chicks go all-in to the farm at the same time, and

the birds go all-out to processing at the same time.

Also Read: Chicken Care: Housing and Ventilation Systems on Chicken Farm

In preparation for the arrival of baby chicks, chicken farms are cleaned and prepared. Farmers lay

out litter and fresh water, or battery cage were ready to cleaned up, and feed that is specially 

formulated for their nutritional needs at this age, to help the chicks learn how to find food. 

Temperatures in the chicken farm are raised to kill off any pathogens that may exist, and soil 

temperatures are also closely monitored – a 2” chicken cares much more what the floor feels

like than the ceiling!

When the chicks arrive, they’re placed into a designated area of the barn, sectioned off to keep

them close together where temperatures are optimal during the brooding phase – the time before

they lose their soft, downy fuzz and begin to mature.

Also Read: Chicken Care:Biosecurity and Health Management

Placement of chicks can seem surprising to those who’ve never seen it, but care is taken to ensure

that the chicks are not harmed when being moved from crate to barn, and experienced farmers, who

are trained in proper animal welfare procedures, keep the chicks’ welfare at top of mind during this

process.