A hatchery operative helps run the hatchery and look after day-old chicks.
Also known as poultry hatchery operative, chicken hatchery operative, hatchery worker or hatchery assistant.
This profile highlights the skills and knowledge associated with the role. However, jobs will have varying responsibilities depending on level of the role and the size or type of the business.
Once the eggs hatch, chicks are looked after and then transferred to specialist farms to be raised for meat or egg production. Chicks raised for meat production are called broilers.
Eggs are sometimes incubated on one farm and sent as ‘hatch-ready’ eggs to a rearing shed on another unit.
As a hatchery operative, you’ll help transfer the fertilised eggs to the incubation machines to be incubated at the right temperature in setter trays. The incubation process takes 21 days. During this time, you’ll move the eggs to hatcher trays, where they’ll hatch.
After the chicks have hatched, you’ll help grade and sex them. You might also need to vaccinate chicks before they’re taken to other farms. The British poultry industry works to very high levels of animal welfare and production standards.
As a hatchery operative, you’ll usually work as part of the hatchery team. You’ll be supervised by an experienced member of staff, such as the hatchery manager or supervisor.
Depending on the size of the business, working hours can vary. You might need to work shifts or weekends.
Full-time and part-time opportunities are available.
You may need your own transport to get to work.
As a hatchery operative, your responsibilities might include:
To work as a hatchery operative, you should:
To become a hatchery operative, you don’t necessarily need a formal qualification. However, you will need to be trained to a minimum standard set by the British Poultry Training Initiative.
Your employer will provide the training, which should cover biosecurity, health and safety, using personal protective equipment, animal welfare, and other areas of your role.
You can also choose to study further for a better understanding of the agri-food industry.
As a hatchery operative, you’ll need to be hardworking and keen to learn. For those who want to progress, the poultry industry has many jobs and opportunities for you to explore.
You can also gain experience by volunteering on a farm or smallholding.
If you live in a city or urban area, you could volunteer on a local city farm, community garden, or allotment. You can find some of these in your area on the Social Farms and Gardens website.
Reading farming newspapers, magazines, and websites will also develop your knowledge and understanding.
As a hatchery operative, you’ll have the following competencies in relation to running the hatchery and looking after day-old chicks:
Manage internal housing environment to maximise successful hatching and early growth
The salary for a hatchery operative is in the region of £24,000 to £27,000 per year.
This figure is for a full-time permanent position for workers over 21 years of age, depending on level of experience, business type and location. Workers below 21 years of age can be paid a lower hourly rate.
This role though is often advertised as casual, self-employed, part-time or hourly with a salary that is reflective of the full-time rate of pay.
As a hatchery operative you may, in some instances, be paid for travel time and receive support in travelling to your place of work.
Within the agriculture and horticulture sectors there are often many associated benefits that are not reflected in the headline salary. These include accommodation being provided or subsidised, travel pay, profit shares, vehicle use and production bonuses.
As a new starter in the poultry industry, there are other job roles you could choose, such as egg collector, catcher, or poultry farm assistant.
With more experience and training, you could move on to a supervisor role in the hatchery. Or you could look at other roles in the industry, such as poultry technician or farm manager (poultry).
Courses which can help you on this career path include:
Level 1 Diploma Land-based Studies Agriculture
Level 2 Diploma in Work-based Agriculture
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship Poultry Worker Level 2
Employers and recruiters who hire for this role include:
The employers and recruiters listed below hire for roles like this one. If you would like your business to be listed here, please click the button underneath the logos shown here.
Careers
For more information on career inspiration and lots of varied job profiles visit The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture’s website
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