How to Care for Newborn Hatched Poultry

Newly-hatched poultry are as venerable and delicate as any other newborn animal. Emerging from the egg less than 30 days after fertilization, baby poultry are very small and must be protected from the elements to survive. Whether your newborn poultry was hatched with a mother hen or in an incubator, you need to be prepared for their arrival and ready to monitor them closely as they grow and thrive.

Things You'll Need

  • Brooder box
  • Straw
  • Heat lamp
  • Chick feeder
  • Chick scratch
  • Chick waterer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Prepare a brooder box (a small box or cage that keeps newborn poultry grouped together to keep them safe and warm). Select a box that is big enough to allow each bird approximately 6 inches of space for proper growth. Line the bottom of the box with clean straw. Clean the brooder every three or four days to prevent fecal buildup.

    • 2

      Hang a heat lamp over the center of the box, at a height of approximately 30 inches. Heat lamps emit infrared light that warms the box and keeps newly-hatched poultry from getting too cold. Leave the heat lamp on continuously until the birds leave the brooder.

    • 3

      Add a chick feeder to one end of the brooder, and fill it with chick scratch. Chick feeders are specially-designed to allow chicks to eat without dumping the bowl or dragging straw into their food, keeping the food clean and fresh at all times. Refill the feeder as often as necessary.

    • 4

      Fill a chick waterer with clean water and place it on the other end of the brooder. Chicks tend to splash and play as they drink, and separating the feed and water keeps your brooder clean. Avoid dishes or plastic bowls to prevent chicks from drowning in the dish.

    • 5

      Transition the chicks to an outdoor enclosure once they are 6 weeks old. At this age, they will be fully-feathered and able to regulate their own body temperature, and can fend for themselves with larger birds.