A broiler batch grows unevenly from day one, laggards stand out by three weeks, and mortality is higher than usual. The owner changes feed, but the problem was in the first hour: the chicks arrived chilled or weakened, and that can’t be undone. Day-old chick quality is built at the hatchery and realized in the first 24 hours on your farm.
What to ask the hatchery
- Strain and parent flock age. Chicks from a very young flock are smaller and weaker.
- Hatchery vaccinations — which ones were done and what you’ll need to do (vaccination schedule).
- Salmonella and mycoplasma status of the parent flock.
- Hatch and delivery times: the fewer hours from hatch to placement, the better.
- Transport conditions: a heated or cooled vehicle, ventilated boxes.
What a good chick looks like
| Trait | Good | Poor |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior | Active, stands up at once, peeps steadily | Sluggish, lying down, crying constantly |
| Navel | Closed and dry | Open, scabbed or with a string |
| Legs | Straight, shiny, no redness | Red hocks, dry shriveled legs |
| Eyes and beak | Bright eyes, sound beak | Half-closed eyes, crossed beak |
| Down | Dry and clean | Matted or soiled |
Note the number and condition of the chicks on the delivery note when they arrive — that’s the basis for a claim if the batch came in weak.
Before they arrive
- Warm the brooder or house a day ahead, so the litter and floor are warm, not just the air.
- Fill the drinkers in advance so the water is at room temperature when the chicks arrive.
- Put feed on paper or trays so the chicks find it right away.
- Keep the light bright and even for the first days so they find water and feed.
More on the first days in raising chicks in the first two weeks and building a brooder.
Two checks in the first 24 hours
Aviagen’s broiler guides rely on two simple measures.
- Crop fill. Eight hours after placement, pick up 30–40 chicks from different spots and feel the crop: it should be soft and full in at least 80%. At 24 hours, in at least 95%. An empty crop means the chick didn’t find feed or water; a hard one means it found feed but drank too little.
- Vent temperature. For the first two days it should be 39.4–40.5 °C (103–105 °F). Measure a few chicks with a fast digital thermometer. Lower means they’re cold, higher means they’re too warm — even if the wall thermometer reads fine.
Don’t wait for day two. Too few full crops — add feed trays and drinkers closer to the chicks and check the light. Cold chicks — raise the temperature at floor level, not the air under the ceiling.
The first week
First-week mortality is the main measure of chick quality and the start. Weigh a sample on placement day and on day 7: falling behind the strain target in week one is almost never made up by slaughter (on weighing broilers).
The batch from day one
In EggPulse a batch is created with its placement date, head count and strain. Mortality, feed and weighings go into the log from day one, and over time they show which hatchery gives the best start — an argument for your next order.
