The 4 Chicken Developmental Stages

Raising backyard chickens can be a beneficial and captivating hobby. Chickens can provide eggs and their manure stands as a potent source of organic fertilizer. These fascinating birds can also create hours of entertainment for the family.

When raising backyard chickens, understanding their life stages can be empowering. It can aid in providing the optimal food, shelter, and care they need at each specific stage. Dive deeper into the world of chickens and become a chicken connoisseur with this overview of the four stages of the chicken life cycle.

Incubation and Hatching

The chick begins its embryonic development even before the hen lays the egg. And once the egg is laid, the development pauses until favorable conditions are met, either under a broody hen or in a controlled incubator.

Once favorable conditions are met, here is a rundown of what happens:

Incubation Period	Development Milestones
First day	The first resemblance of a chick embryo develops, beginning with the vertebral column, head, and eye.
Second day	Heart and ears begin to form.
Third day	Nose, legs, and wings start to show.
Fifth day	Embryo is differentiated by sex as it forms its reproductive organs.
Sixth to the Tenth day	Beak, claws, feathers, and scales begin to form.
Fourteenth day	Embryo gets into position to break out of the shell
Twentieth day	Embryo occupies almost the entire space within the egg as it is primed to hatch.
Twenty-first day	The egg hatches.

During the incubation stage, the baby chick absorbs vital nutrients from the eggshell. This stage culminates as the chick pecks its way out to the world and hatches.

Incubation Tip: To optimize chick development in an incubator, maintain a consistent temperature and humidity level.

Baby Chicks

After hatching, baby chicks appear drenched and feeble. But they rapidly become lively. Baby chick care will depend on whether the mother hen is around or not.

If the mother hen is around, she takes charge. Baby chick care will need minimal human intervention. Providing a secure nesting space and starter feed crumbs will suffice.

But for those without the mother hen’s care and protection, it’s more complicated. Baby chicks require diligent care, requiring regulated temperatures starting at 95°F during the first week of their lives. They are also susceptible to diseases like coccidiosis because they are still developing their immune health.

This is why a brooder is essential for those without a mother hen. A brooder is a home for newly hatched eggs. Ensuring a dry environment with adequate ventilation and fresh bedding promotes the baby chicks’ immune health and keeps diseases at bay. Such is a chick’s life.

Here are the ideal brooder temperature ranges for your chicks to ensure their optimal development:

Chick Age	Brooding Temperature
0 to 1 week	93° to 95°F
1 to 2 weeks	88° to 90°F
2 to 3 weeks	83° to 85°F
3 to 4 weeks	78° to 80°F
4 to 5 weeks	75°F
5 to 6 weeks	70°F
6 weeks and above	50° to 70°F

Soon, the baby chicks start shedding their soft down and sprouting new primary feathers. Introduce a perch in their brooder and incorporate a chick grit in their feed to ensure their healthy growth. It’s also vital to continue providing amino acids, key vitamins, and proteins for their optimal development.

Pullets

Pullets are adolescents that span from the fifth to the eighteenth week of the chicken life cycle. It’s important to keep these young chickens on starter feed to ensure they are getting adequate protein. But be wary of feeding them too much calcium as it can hamper their growth.

Different poultry types require different diets and nutrients. To give you an idea of pullet age and diet type requirements, here’s an example for Leghorn-type crosses:

Age	Diet Type
0 to 6 weeks	Starter
6 to 14 weeks	Grower
14 to 20 weeks	Developer

There will be visible growth changes in the pullets as they age, showcasing new primary feathers. Their lanky legs and disproportionate bodies are typical of this age.

If the breeder has a group of pullets, the pecking order becomes evident. It’s wise to introduce the pullets to the larger flock once they achieve two-thirds of the adult size to avoid redundancy in the dominance hierarchy. Monitor the flock to prevent excessive bullying.

If there are adolescent males or cockerels, early introduction is preferable, especially if other roosters are present.

Action: Create a separate integration zone in the coop for the pullets. This allows pullets and adult chickens to see and interact with each other without physical contact. This reduces the risk of injury as they get to know each other.

Adult Hens and Egg Laying

A baby chick hatching from its egg will generally take eighteen weeks to become an adult. This stage in the chicken life cycle calls for a switch to standard feed or layer feed, beneficial for bone health and egg laying.

The first year of adulthood is relatively consistent. The hens will be prolific egg layers until about 18 months. After this, laying hens undergo molting. This involves the shedding and regrowth of their feathers, replenishing their nutrient reserves.

As laying hens age, their vitality and egg production diminish. Elderly chickens often face health challenges like arthritis. If you choose to keep them as pets, they can still be delightful companions and serve as pest controllers in your garden.

Here are some tips for taking care of older chickens:

• Lower the height of their perch to help with mobility problems
• Put food and water in more accessible places to ensure good health
• Clip their nails if their nails are no longer worn down by foraging and scratching
• Find a vet who specializes in poultry

The 4 Stages of Chicken Development

There are four chicken growth stages: incubation and hatching, baby chicks, pullets, and adult hens. Each stage has its own wonders and challenges.

Understanding the journey from an egg to a mature hen offers an enriching experience. It enriches human lives with the wonders of nature and helps breeders ensure the well-being of their feathery friends.

Here are Stromberg’s Chickens, we have everything you need for each chicken growth stage, from high-quality incubators for your chicken eggs to nutrient-rich feeds for your mature chickens.

With this insight into the chicken developmental stages, and with resources from Stromberg’s Chickens, your flock is poised to flourish ihn the years ahead. Reach out to us for all your poultry needs.