Henny Penny Hatching Chicken Hatching
	Menu Home Contact Us Franchises for Sale Access to Instructions and Resources Parents FAQ Taking Chicks Home Galleries Enquiry Form Breeds Student Project Resources		Frequently asked Questions answered!           Over the years many parents have requested information regarding the Raising and Care of Chicks, together with more relevant information on our programme.  We hope therefore that the following may be of some help. Q. Where do the eggs come from?  A. The eggs used by Henny Penny Hatching (HPH) come from a commercial breeding farm which supplies the poultry industry with layer hens that produce your table egg. Q.How do we know they are disease free?   A.The health of the flocks is strictly supervised by both the owner and the Department of Primary Industry.  Flocks are protected from Infectious Bronchitis (IB), Newcastle Disease and are PPLO free. Q. Do the birds lay their eggs in cages?  The birds run freely and are not caged. Q.What breeds are the chicks? The breeds used for producing eggs for the HPH programme are based on Australorpe, New Hampshire Sussex, Black and White Leghorn, and Lohmanns. Q.How can we be sure that the eggs are clean? The eggs used in the HPH programme are sterilized before incubation to eradicate any bacteria on the eggs shell. Q. How do you know that the chicks are free of disease? The chicks hatched enjoy natural parental immunity from disease when they are hatched. Q. Information on Avian Flu - Bird Flu The chicks hatched do not have avian flu!  They cannot be infected by avian flu unless they are in contact with an adult bird that already has the avian flu Q. Why can’t we take the chicks out of the incubator as soon as they hatch? Chicks need to be left in the incubator until fully dried out.  If chicks are moved from the incubator before this, then the chicks in the brooding area will peck at them in an attempt to clean them up, which can lead to problems. Q.Where do the chicks go when you take them? Each Henny Penny Franchisee has a local farmer who takes them and rears them. Q. Why can’t we take only 1 chick home? Chicks need the warmth of each other in the first few weeks. They are social animals and are happiest when with others of their own kind.  In every flock there is a leader who is top of the pecking order.  The pecking order reduces stress in the flock by ensuring each chicken knows how to relate to every other chicken around it. Q. Do you use hormones with the chicks ? The feed used, (chick starter crumb), is highly nutritious for baby chicks and does not contain hormones. HPH only uses layer strain eggs for its programme and as laying birds need to keep their body weight down to maintain high egg production hormones are not needed in the ration. Q.How can we tell the sex of the chicks? The sexing of chicks is a specialist operation.  Within the poultry industry there are only 2   recognized methods of sexing. This is done at a day old either by examining internal organs or by feather sexing  (meat strains only).  Other than at this stage it is impossible to tell if they will become Roosters or Hens until between 6-8 weeks of age. Q.How long do Chicken live? A Chicken may live 10 – 15 years.  Though chickens used for meat production have a short life of  5-6 weeks, where as layer chickens produces eggs for at least 2 - 3 years.  Q.How many eggs will a chicken produce? Each Hen will produce approximately 270 - 300 eggs per year. She will consume approximately 1 Kg of feed per week and drink approximately 2 ½ cups of water per day.  Q, How can we tell the difference between these eggs and the eggs we eat? Eggs on the retailers shelf are edible ‘Table Eggs’ and as they are infertile they cannot beincubated. You do not require a rooster for the hens to lay table eggs. Q.What do we feed the chicks on? Chicks starter crumb or crumble, which can be purchased at a Produce Merchant. *Q.What can we do to prevent the chicks becoming noisy and flapping their wings? By warning chicks of your approach ie talking, whistling or singing! You will rear a calm flock which will be easier to handle. Q.How do chicks communicate? Chicks use at least 30 different sounds to communicate.  Pay attention to the sounds you hear and to what activity it relates to and you will be able to close your eyes, listen and know what the chicken is doing. Q.What happens if we find we have a Rooster? Approximately half the eggs would be hens and half roosters.  If you take them home we cannot take them back afterwards.  We would   recommend that if that does happen you contact your local produce merchant to see if he knows anyone who may take the rooster. We would advise that it is illegal to have a rooster in suburbia. Q. Note if you reside near a Henny Penny Chicken fast food outlet –we have no association with this company. Remember our chicks are layers and therefore are not used for Fast Food Outlets.		Venues Schools Childcare Nursing Homes Retail Other Welfare of Chickens Health Issues