Each week we take the eggs laid in each of our three family breeding houses and put them in one of our three incubators. After ten days Agustin examines all the eggs with a bright light to make sure there is a developing chick inside. Then at 18 days he transfers the eggs to a special unit with hatching trays. Every Thursday he has a mess of chicks to sort out who have hatched in the night. Each tray has chicks from only one breeding house. They then go under heat lamps for about three to four weeks until they are strong enough to be moved outside into a chicken tractor. At 12 weeks old we separate the males from the females. The females eventually go into the laying flock. The males will be processed at 6lb live weight into incredible chicken for us all to enjoy. The Chicken you buy in the store is typically only 37 days old and never sees the light of day nor a blade of grass.
Exciting times on the farm. Nigel
Hatching tray full of newly hatched breeding stock of black Australops at Eatwell Farm