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Chicken Welfare

ACT Health Endorsement

We have endorsement from the ACT Animal Welfare Ethics Committee and we consider ourselves to be ethical and humane in the way we treat our chicks. If you have any concerns or any questions, please ring us to discuss.

Life Before and After the Program

Anyone booking a hatching chicks program has access to a video on our website, showing the Hatching Chicks Farm, where they will see our Hens, Roosters and Ducks that produce the eggs for hatching, living happily and free range.

We look after our birds very well, so they produce healthy chicks and ducklings. Unfortunately, we do get the occasional health problem arise and although we can’t control this, we offer good advice and support that has grown out of our 18 years of experience Hatching Chicks.

For Chicks and Ducklings hatched at schools, child care centres and aged care facilities, staff are given detailed instructions on how best to care for them and 24hr back up support.

Chickens Returned to Hatching Chicks

Most of the hatchlings are returned to us at the end of the program. All healthy birds are supplied to a poultry breeder on the Central Coast. Any small, fragile or otherwise unhealthy birds are kept with us for 7 days to see if they gain enough strength to join the others at the breeder. No healthy birds are culled for any reason. The breeder sells most of them as young unsexed chicks to hobby farmers and the remainder are raised to pullet age - about 16 to 20 weeks old - and sold as layers and breeders to backyard poultry keepers.

Chickens Kept by Individuals

Some parents and educators purchase the hatchlings at the end of the program to keep as backyard pets. All such individuals need to complete an Adoption Application certifying that they have the necessary space and experience to look after poultry. We enforce a minimum purchase policy so that all birds will have stable mates. We also supply feed and poultry raising equipment if required. We send follow up emails after they have taken the birds home to ensure that they have all the necessary equipment.