Can Raising Chickens Benefit Children with Autism? What the Research Says

Quick Summary

Research suggests that interacting with animals may help some autistic individuals develop confidence, engage socially, and experience reduced stress. While most studies have focused on dogs and horses rather than chickens, the predictable routines and responsibilities involved in caring for poultry may offer meaningful benefits for some families. Every person with autism is unique, and chickens should never be viewed as a treatment or cure, but they can become an enjoyable hobby that encourages learning, responsibility, and connection.

For many people, raising chickens begins with a simple goal: fresh eggs, a little more self-sufficiency, or the enjoyment of watching a flock scratch through the yard. Over time, however, many poultry keepers discover that chickens often give back in ways they never expected.

That is exactly what we'll be discussing on this week's episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast with Laurie Pineda. Laurie shares the story of how raising poultry became an important part of life for her autistic son, providing opportunities for learning, responsibility, and confidence that extended well beyond the chicken coop.

Her family's experience naturally raises an important question: Can raising chickens benefit children and adults with autism?

The answer isn't as simple as yes or no.

Researchers have spent years studying the relationship between animals and autism, and while the findings are encouraging, they also emphasize the importance of avoiding broad conclusions. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is incredibly diverse. What benefits one individual may not work for another, and no hobby or activity—including raising chickens—should ever be considered a treatment or cure. Still, the growing body of research on animal interactions offers valuable insights that help explain why so many families describe positive experiences with animal care.

Most scientific studies have examined animal-assisted interventions, which are structured therapeutic programs involving trained animals and healthcare professionals. Systematic reviews have found that these interventions may improve social interaction, communication, emotional regulation, and engagement for some autistic individuals. Researchers have also reported reductions in stress and anxiety in certain settings. At the same time, they caution that many studies have involved relatively small numbers of participants, making additional research necessary before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Small but mighty button quail need big energy in their feed. Custom blend for big personalities.

Backyard chickens are, of course, very different from therapy animals. Caring for a flock is not a clinical intervention—it's animal husbandry. Yet many of the characteristics that make poultry keeping enjoyable also align with practices that educators and therapists often encourage: predictable routines, meaningful responsibilities, opportunities for observation, and hands-on learning.

Anyone who has kept chickens knows that they thrive on consistency. Feed needs to be provided every day. Waterers need to be cleaned and refilled. Eggs should be collected regularly, and birds should be observed for signs of illness or injury. These daily tasks create routines that are both structured and purposeful. For many families, those routines become an anchor that helps organize the day.

Chickens also provide immediate and understandable feedback. Forget to fill the feeder, and the flock quickly lets you know. Keep fresh water available, maintain a clean coop, and collect eggs consistently, and the birds respond with healthy behavior and reliable production. These clear cause-and-effect relationships can make caring for poultry especially rewarding because the results of responsible animal care are easy to see.

Another reason chickens can be so engaging is that they invite curiosity. Poultry keeping naturally leads people to ask questions about genetics, incubation, nutrition, behavior, anatomy, and disease prevention. For individuals who enjoy diving deeply into a subject, there is almost no end to what can be learned. What begins as a backyard hobby often grows into a lifelong interest in agriculture, biology, or veterinary science.

Researchers have also begun exploring the role of farm animals in therapeutic settings. Although the science is still developing, early studies involving therapy farms suggest that caring for livestock may provide opportunities for nurturing, responsibility, confidence, and meaningful work. Unlike many recreational activities, animal care carries real purpose. The animals depend on their caretaker every day, creating a relationship built on consistency rather than social expectations.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons chickens can teach. They don't care how someone communicates, what challenges they face, or whether they fit neatly into society's expectations. They simply respond to calm, consistent care. For many families, that creates an environment where confidence can grow naturally through accomplishment rather than comparison.

It's also important to recognize what the research does not say. Scientists are careful to point out that autism is highly individualized and that no single activity works for everyone. Some autistic individuals may enjoy chickens immensely, while others may find the sounds, smells, or sensory experiences overwhelming. The goal should never be to use chickens as a therapy, but rather to recognize that meaningful hobbies can enrich people's lives in different ways.

Laurie's story is a wonderful reminder that agriculture is about far more than producing food. For many families, caring for poultry builds responsibility, strengthens routines, encourages lifelong learning, and creates moments of connection that cannot easily be measured in a scientific study.

As the research on animals and autism continues to grow, one thing is already clear: meaningful relationships with animals can have a positive impact on many people's lives. Whether that relationship involves a therapy dog, a horse, or a small flock of backyard chickens, the value often lies not in the species itself, but in the consistency, responsibility, and sense of purpose that caring for another living creature provides.

We invite you to listen to our conversation with Laurie Pineda on the Poultry Nerds Podcast to hear her family's story in her own words. Her experience offers an inspiring example of how a backyard flock can become much more than a hobby.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can raising chickens help children with autism?

Some families report positive experiences, and research on animal-assisted interventions suggests that interactions with animals may improve social engagement and reduce stress for some autistic individuals. However, there is very little research specifically involving backyard chickens, and experiences vary widely.

Are chickens considered therapy animals?

No. Backyard chickens are not therapy animals. While some therapeutic programs include farm animals, caring for chickens at home is considered animal husbandry and agricultural education.

Why might autistic individuals enjoy raising chickens?

Many people appreciate the predictable routines, hands-on responsibilities, opportunities for observation, and endless learning that poultry keeping provides. These qualities may make chickens especially appealing to some individuals, though everyone's interests and sensory preferences are different.

Is there research specifically about chickens and autism?

Very little. Most published studies have examined dogs and horses. Research involving farm animals, including poultry, is emerging but remains limited.

Should parents consider chickens as a treatment for autism?

No. Raising chickens should not be viewed as a treatment or replacement for evidence-based therapies. Instead, poultry can be a rewarding hobby that encourages responsibility, learning, and family involvement.

References

Ang, C. S., et al. (2022). An Evaluation of Animal-Assisted Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorders.Children, 9(3), 341.

O'Haire, M. E. (2013). Animal-Assisted Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 1606–1622.

Santaniello, A., et al. (2020). Methodological and Terminological Issues in Animal-Assisted Interventions: An Umbrella Review.Animals, 10(5), 759.

Clay, C. J., et al. (2023). Advancing Methods in Animal-Assisted Intervention Research for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

• Harrison's Hatchery

  About Harrison's Hatchery

  Harrison's Hatchery is a family-owned poultry business in Olanta, South Carolina, founded with a mission that extends far beyond selling chicks. Inspired by their son Harrison, who is on the autism spectrum, Lori and Hector Pinetta built the hatchery to create meaningful work, develop life skills, and demonstrate how poultry can provide purpose and opportunity. Today, Harrison's Hatchery offers hatching eggs, chicks, ready-to-lay pullets, and educational resources while also leading community initiatives such as the Carolina Rooster Solution, which helps rehome unwanted roosters. Through their commitment to education, service, and responsible poultry keeping, Harrison's Hatchery is proving that a successful poultry business can strengthen both flocks and communities.

• Hatch Boss

  HatchBoss.shop is the official merchandise store created by Hector Pinetta, affectionately known as "Hatch Boss" at Harrison's Hatchery. The shop features original poultry-inspired apparel and accessories designed for chicken keepers, breeders, and backyard flock enthusiasts who enjoy sharing their passion for poultry. From unique breed-themed designs to Hatch Boss and Queen Cluck merchandise, each item celebrates the poultry lifestyle while supporting the mission behind Harrison's Hatchery—a family business dedicated to education, community, and creating opportunities through poultry.

• Podcast Transcript

  one was a little white Silkie, I'll never forget this story. Called the guy, we took it to him. We took pictures of it all, and he called him Ric Flair 'cause he was real white.

  Kyle0:10

  So he called him this Ric Flair. He fell in love. The man had been depressed for over a year, severely depressed. He moved Ric Flair inside with him and he would call us all the time, like, "Where do I get my feed? What do I do? How do I do all..." We just saw him start engaging again

  0:55

  one today we are going to pick up and continue our Next Level Nerd- series of shows that we're doing, where we talk about the business side of poultry So we're here today with Lori from Harrison's Hatchery. Hi, Lori. Hi, Harrison. Hi. Hi. How you doing? Hi, Carey and- I'm great everyone. Yeah. If I was any better, I'd be twins. So- Thanks for having us tell everybody who you are and how to find you and what you do and all that good stuff, all your goodies. Okay. Great. I'm Lori Pinetta, and sometimes referred to as Queen Cluck, and you'll hear more about that later. My husband is Hector Pinetta, who couldn't be here with us today due to a back injury, but we refer to him as Hatch Boss around here. And then this is the infamous Harrison of Harrison's Hatchery. And, um, so we we have Harrison's Hatchery under our... Our farm name is Pinetta Family Farm, but under that umbrella we have many different programs, and our main one and our main focus is Harrison's Hatchery. And you're in South Carolina? We're in Olanta, South Carolina, which is in Florence County, so we're right off of the I95. I95, I20 corridor. I'm about seven miles off I95, which makes it real easy to jump on and head down to Florida or up to Maine, but yes. Okay. All right. First rabbit hole of the episode. So is Olanta, is that just because somebody misspelled Atlanta at some point? Is that how that got its name? No. It's just Olanta. I think what happened is they actually went past Atlanta- Yeah and they were like, "Oh, Lana." Yeah. They were drinking- Had to turn around when they got here 'cause I20 runs into I95, and so they left Atlanta- and they ended up drunk and they called it Olanta. Funny we should talk about that 'cause I've been doing a little side project of coming up a funny book of all the crazy names in South Carolina and doing the history dig- Where in the world did these names come from? We have one called Cooter Crossing. Yep. I have lots of names that we'll be talking about. Cooter Crossing. All right. That's fun. Yep. All right. Let's move the slide here just a second. And so tell us about this poultry with a purpose. What, what's your purpose? Okay. So our purchase our purpose is- Um, our son Harrison, who's 28 now, is on is on the autism spectrum. And so the reason Harrison Ha- Harrison's Hatchery ha- ha- has come to be at all is trying to help Harrison find his way in this world, because people on the spectrum, neurodivergent, however you wanna call it can have difficulties in the mainstream employment. And so we thought after we got through high school and all that all was great, you know, now just go. When you realize that, we have to continue to keep coaching and helping. And so we, three years ago, we bought this farm and because he's such a great outdoors man hunter, and all this other stuff. But he l- we, we discovered while we were still living in Columbia that he loved to hatch eggs. We, uh, had some hatching and, and, uh... How about, do you want me to introduce you to Harrison and let him tell that part of the story? If he wants to. If he wants to. All right. Well, I'm, Harrison, tell the story of your first hatch and how we ended up here. Okay? You can- So my mom brought she bought a, uh, incubator from Tractor Supply, and she brought, I don't know, probably 12 eggs, and she had the great idea to put them in my room. So I got- The privilege of listening to h- uh, little chicks pipping. So one night I was bored, couldn't go to sleep, so I started tapping on the plastic, started whistlin- whistling to them, and, uh, lo and behold, they all started pipping and hatching. And the next morning there was like 10 chicks in the incubator. So mom's like- You're a, you're a hatcher." Yeah. I said he was the hatch whisperer, y'all. Literally, I'd go in there 'cause he was- we were all excited. It was the first hatch we ever had. And I'd go in there and he was, uh, he would tap on and go, "It's okay, come out. It's okay, come out. You're good, you're safe." "Come on out." And you could- we'd never heard them pipping inside. We didn't even know what that word was and, and we could hear 'em still inside the egg and Harrison has very great hearing and sense of smell. And, uh, and he's like, "They're in there." I had no clue. And so they started and we all... He stayed up all night. I kept checking in and out and 10 out of 12 hatched, and he just loved it. Oh. We loved it. We started getting more, filling up his room with them and, uh, and it really was birthed there. Then we ended up buying land and moving and and here you go. Now we have our Hatch In Time hatchery, hatch- you know, incubators and all that, and we fill 'em up in, in Harrison's home here, which we're in his house is where our hatchery sits. And we I think we can probably do- Nothing changed about a thousand at a time now. So- he still sleeps in here, and he'll, he'll hit me or text me and go, "I can hear them pipping." "They're coming out again." So it's been, that was the fun part of it. And I just, honestly, how it become into the, how became for the business was- You know, just started looking into it. And Jennifer, maybe 18 months ago, maybe, I don't know, two years ago, I found you, uh, online and you- in this po- Poultry Nerd Poultry Nerds podcast. It's the Poultry Nerds Cast. That's right. Yeah. Poultry Nerds Cast. Right? And I started listening, and I learned a lot from y'all. Uh, honestly, the first hatching eggs we ever shipped was because Jennifer taught me, uh, or y'all taught me about the foam and, and, uh, I took your course and, online and I, and I really re- went through it and learned a lot. And so it helped us over the past 18 months go from one incubator from Tractor Supply or 12 to over, over 1,000 at a time where we hatch, for sure, this season. Well, I'm happy that we could enable you into chicken math. That's right. It's... Yes, you did, and I'm an addictive personality, so you- You just fed right into it. Thank you. Yeah. But throughout all that, it provided a place for Harrison to learn a lot, responsibility, commitment, you know, just everything. And we really just started seeing that there, there could be a future in this. I don't know if the future will always be hatching or the selling the layer pullets or the various things that we're involved in right now, but the pa- the part where about where we are now the passion, the poultry with a passion is more along the lines of, my background's a lot of training and teaching through the South Carolina Foster Parent Association. I did a lot of training there. And I started thinking because of just meeting people in a lot of these groups there's a lot of us out here with our neurodivergent kids at home at various ages. I was just shocked the more people I talked to that I found out, "Oh, yeah, I've got a son here," or, "I've got a daughter that's eight that, loves chicks but is no- nonverbal," and different things. So with that, I've started working with Clemson uh, Dr. Helm there for our s- who's our state veterinarian and over our NPIP program and just kinda putting some of my background in business into this of going, "Well, we need to create a program that's really specifically designed for neurodivergent people at various ages to get involved in this." It, that segues me into one of our programs calling, uh, we have Carolina Rooster Solution. That kinda just got added along the way, and what that was, we were selling a lot of chicks to people. Four months later they turned out to be roosters, they're living in a neighborhood, they find out they can't have 'em, and they started calling me saying, "What do I do with these roosters?" And there are local people that we're just meeting in this area and all. I was like, "I, I don't know." And so I started- Talk about it. Yeah hector and I talked about it. We're like why are you calling me? You just bought a chick from me. I don't know." But then we started thinking, going let 'em... If they won't, let 'em just bring 'em back here and we'll try to re-home 'em." My husband, Hector's a disabled veteran. And so we started thinking, 'cause of some of our veteran friends we have that battle with depression, that battle with loneliness and all. And one day I was just, we were just all talking, I was like, "What if we could take these unwanted roosters from this side of the community and fill 'em in over here with people that are struggling with loneliness and depression, and see how that might work?" So we let the people start bringing the roosters in, then we reached out to some some of the veterans and we asked them, can we just bless you with one?" And so one was a little white Silkie, I'll never forget this story. Called the guy, we took it to him. We took pictures of it all, and he called him Ric Flair 'cause he was real white.

  Kyle10:04

  So he called him this Ric Flair. He fell in love. The man had been depressed for over a year, severely depressed. He moved Ric Flair inside with him and he would call us all the time, like, "Where do I get my feed? What do I do? How do I do all..." We just saw him start engaging again

  10:21

  and all, and that's what, m- so from the veteran side made me start thinking, also what I've seen with Harrison learning skills and everything, we need to be offering this somehow. I don't have it all worked out yet, but I know the people that are in the positions to help us put something together. I'd like to see it. Harrison was raised here in a lot of the special needs schools, um, and classes. And it was like I know a lot of classrooms have it for their regular ed. I'd really like to see this more in, in that arena. And so that's, that's what that program's about and that we're putting together, and hope to see it grow this year. Okay, so you take in roosters and then you s- you move them back out again? So, yes. So we, so Carolina Rooster Solution is that. And actually, when we started doing that last year from June to August, I think we took in 350 unwanted roosters. Pe- people just didn't want them. Oh. And what, and the word got out. Poor guys. Yeah, and they were just unwanted. And so, right, and I was like, "Well, there's gotta be a place for them." Now, I put on my flyer and everything, look, we're gonna try and re-home everybody, but if we can't get them re-homed, we are not a rescue. We are not a retirement home. They're not gonna live here forever. It's possible one of five things could happen. They could end up at auction, because I can't feed them but for so long. They could end up I'm not gonna process them here. Crockpot. And I made that commitment. What is it? Crockpot. Crockpot, they might end up in- Yep crockpot. Absolutely. I wouldn't give them a guarantee. I even went as far as creating a surrender form when they brought them. So to make sure I clearly explained who we were and what we were doing. We are simply providing you a place to be able to dump the rooster that you no longer want, that you're... And sometimes I would tell them, "Why don't you try and sell it? That's a really nice rooster. Put it on a Facebook group and all." And some would, but for the most part what I found people that were buying either from Tractor Supply or us, buying straight run, but they weren't your poultry people, so they're interested, and this was also last year when a lot of people were buying chicks everywhere, right? Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And they just, they didn't know what they had and they, then they didn't know what to do, and when they found out, they had no idea that their HOAs wouldn't allow roosters, or some would have six out of the 10 they bought were roosters. And they're like- Mm-hmm "What do I do with it?" So we just provided that place, and throughout that we decided, and so we did, we donated a lot to, um, to some, uh, a lot. I'd say maybe only about 50 got donated to veterans because I didn't have the structure really in place yet to have veterans lined up for them. We were just going off of people we knew. But we got a lot of support from the community. I'll tell you, people that were bringing their roosters, once they heard what we're doing and were watching the videos of us giving them to veterans and all, when they would come, sometimes people would bring us bags of feed, 'cause they knew we were just doing it on our own. They're like, "Can we just, if you'll take them, we'll bring you a bag of feed or, or leave us a tip," I would say, $50 or something, and just they were driving three hours away bringing two roosters. Because they felt responsible. They bought them. They didn't know what they had really, and they needed to just get them somewhere. They didn't know anything about auctions or, or take them to a flea market or anything. They just wanted them to get to a place that hopefully they would get re-homed and have a good life, but it couldn't be with them. So that's how- This is not a money-making enterprise though, right? 100% it's not. We didn't- No, that was not a money-maker. It was a community service that I was hoping by providing that would help us build relationship and more people would come and buy their chicks from us next year. And, and it really did. We got a lot of those repeat customers. Um, but this year we sold a lot more pullets than we did straight run. Okay, good. Good. So let's talk about your Poultry Navigator. Tell us what that is. Okay. So Poultry Navigator is just something that I created because in the beginning, Hector and I did process meat birds. I'm licensed to process meat birds. We went through all that. It's just not something that we You know, we've been experiencing and learning along the way, something that we wanted to do as a business and as a family, we talked about it. We all like the chicks and the hatchery, and I like the layers a lot more than processing meat birds. But we did, and throughout that I've gained a different experience, and so Poultry Navigator is because a lot of people, once, we kinda got things up and going, were calling and asking, "How do you do this? How do you do that? What- how can we do this?" Same way they, same way I was asking you things, Jennifer, I was getting a lot of people with that. And so you and I have even talked about this between Poultry Network, Poultry Navigator, things like that, just becoming a resource to help people connect the dots. And Poultry Navigator's not an income producing. It's just to connect people together, to connect resources. If somebody's just getting into it and they wanna know, "How am I gonna ship my first eggs across country?" I wanna connect them to you and say, "Why don't y'all take her pro- their program over there," and that's how I started. So that's what Poultry Navigator. Sometimes I've gotten a couple to come through that, that we walk them all the way through how to get their NPIP process. Again, my background in teaching and training, that's what I gravitate to a lot in here. That's what that's about, just helping people figure out what it is they wanna do and find their path forward on that. So you've got consulting on here. Are you offering consulting on different things? I am, but I've only done it so far with two people, and I haven't really laid out, and that was helping them, uh, at offering consulting on the NPIP program, how to get ready. I go and look at their place, talking about the program. People are really intimidated from what I hear about it. And so w- of course, we walk through it and we're NPIP, so just sharing that information, sending them to the proper place to get their classes and all. So yeah, I would like to develop that some more. It's not an inc- like I said, right now it is not income producing. It's more network building, which is also where the poultry network came in. Okay- So that's g- that's gonna sound odd to some of our listeners because every state is different with the NPIP, and we kinda talked about that a little bit yesterday. Um- Yeah but the, like here in Tennessee, it's wham, bam, thank you, ma'am, and you're done, and it's over. And but then you get like California, and it's crazy, or Texas can't do AI, or y- Oregon i- and Oklahoma of all weird places is just off the charts crazy. Right. So every state is governed differently, and it, you know, the state isn't there really to walk you through it and hold your hand, you know- Right especially those more complicated states. Our state I don't feel like is a very complicated state. I really don't. Our state veterinarian that's over our NPIP program, Dr. Helm, and her assistant Courtney are very accessible, and they offer once or twice a year, I think it kinda depends, a course for you to come in and it's a like a eight-hour course, and I went through it to become a tester and all that too, so that you could test your own birds and all that. And then to, to go let them come inspect your property, your farm and everything to get your NPIP and test your birds. Uh, that's what I was just walking some other people through to help them with. All right. All righty. Yep. So what about these, what are they called? Yeah. Highland Browns? The Highland Brown ready to lay pullets. They are, that's my little baby project, and that is a money-making project. Not everything can be volunteer around here. So I, when we very first started, other than hatching our eggs, right, Harrison, we had, uh, Golden Comets because we were i- getting into the egg-laying business, and we did it pretty quick. And before we knew it, we had 500 layers out in one field, and boy, did I learn a lot of lessons quick. It's one thing to have 50. It's one thing to have, 100. It's quite another to go to 500. We didn't stay there very long. I started, i'm the type that will just dive in and then go, "Oh, no, no. This isn't where we should be doing this." So we, we were members of APPA, you know, of American Pasture Poultry. And so Harrison and I went out to Texas that year, and we met with Jeff Maddox and Rip, and we met a lot of people out there that was awesome. I love learning from people like that. And Jeff Maddox said something to me that stuck, and I told him how we wanted to get into breeding and, uh, all the different things and all the egg colors and all this, and he just kind of looked at me for a minute and he said, "Why don't you pick one or two breeds or maybe no more than three and stick with that? But are you gonna do that? Are you gonna be layer? It sounds like you're everywhere." And I'm like, "We are everywhere. We're just trying to figure out what we like." I got on the plane- Flying back, right, Harrison? And what happened? We called Dad from the plane and said, "When I get back, sell all the Golden Comets. We're not gonna do laying. We're not gonna do the eggs anymore. We're just gonna go in the breeding side," because this guy with a lot more experience than me said, "We're not gonna be able to handle all of this." And we were feeling the pressure. It's three of us here. We were feeling it already. So we did. We got back, and within a couple weeks, all the Golden Comets were gone. And so then we started- But h- the Highland Browns are a different story. Okay. So we got out of the egg laying. We got more into the breeding. This year, we pretty much scaled down and got out of all the breeding. We had 17 different breeds. I didn't lis- listen to Jeff. We had 17 different breeds last year. We really blew up with that. About a year into that, we started selling off, because we were like, "Oh, wow, it's a lot more labor and it takes a lot longer time for it to produce money." We didn't know what we didn't know. But so they were gone. We said, "Let's just do the hatching. We'll do hatching, and that'll work out." So we did, and then fell into a beautiful opportunity from a big commercial grower that will allow us to get these ready-to-lay Highland Browns, which are, commercial, bred for commercial breeding, and don't normally end up out here in the community, for your backyard or your roadside market, your small farm egg layers. They just don't, because they move 20, 30,000 at a time, you know, in these big farms. But we have a group, and I got to be part of that group, that we can get some. So I've just been bringing in about 100 a month, and they go really quick. And so I'm, I'm really focusing more this year on trying to go to the more egg, small farm egg producers where I was, but get on the other side and help supply the, their birds, you know, as they need them throughout the year, and developing those relationships, and that seems to be, that seems to be working good, and I think it, that's gonna grow. Okay, so I had to Google, as I was looking down. It's Hy-Line. I think our Southern accents are messing up. It's Hy-Line, not like- Hy-Line Highland, like the Scottish. What did I say? Not Highland. I don't know. In, in my head- It's Hy-Line I was hearing like the Scottish Highlands, and so I had to Google it. Hy-Line Brown. So it's Hy-Line, like, "Hello. Hi." Yeah. Yeah, H-Y-L-I-N-E. L-I-N-E. So I either bring in, uh, Novogen Brown or Hy-Line Brown, and this year I'm adding the Novogen colored eggs. And so the Novogen are just like the Hy-Line. They're commercial. But they will produce, the colored eggs, and a lot of my smaller farmers are looking to add colored eggs to their dozens that they're selling, so I'm excited about that. So for our listeners, we do have a podcast before that talks about the difference between production birds and heritage birds. Mm-hmm. So the Hy-Line would be a production bird that- 100% lays early- Right lays fast- and then is done. You- Right you use them up- So a lot- and it's done. That's exactly right. But then they're called spent hens. There's a market for the spent hens, but these come in when I get them, they're 18 to 20 weeks, and when they get in, they're ready to go and they usually, sometimes they're already laying, so some are 20 and some are 18- Mm-hmm in that same group. But within a couple weeks, most of my customers are saying, "Yep, they're laying," and they'll lay six to seven eggs a week. So they're great for production. But that's for about the first 90 weeks once they start laying, and then they're gonna cut off. You know, it's gonna, it's gonna drop. I think around 18 months is when mo- sometimes i- in a year most of the big commercial will, will swap them out. But at least 18 months. For my backyard smaller farmer, what we're talking about, you know, they should be good for 18 to 24 months, and they're still gonna lay, but they're gonna cut down to about four eggs a week then. Do this, this works- This website, highline.com, it says 500 eggs in 100 weeks. Yep. Okay. There you go. We need to make sure that everybody understands this, though, um, that becomes a spent hen. Yep. Not saying that she won't ever lay eggs again, but you're not gonna get eggs like that again. Exactly. And so here soon in the summertime, you're gonna start seeing people selling off $5 layers, is what they're gonna call- Yep 'em on Facebook, and they're gonna have a barn full of 'em, and they're gonna look terrible because- Yep they've b- Mm-hmm they've been thrown into a molt, and they'll- Yep usually cost, like, $5 or something. Right. The problem is, is they're gonna m- a lot of them are de-beaked. Yep. And they're gonna look different. Yep. Yep. Not saying you can't give them a good home, but set your expectations appropriately. Exactly. Because you're gonna bring, be bringing home a commercial animal that's been altered to be commercial, right? And then in a molt and is spent. And used up. So you may never get an egg from her again, but at minimum it would probably would not be till what, spring, Carey, before you got an egg? Yeah. So I ha- I have a friend of mine that actually specializes in the spent hen side of that market. And for the backyard person, they're still gonna give you four or five eggs a week- Yep to, three, four, five years old. Right. They, they will do that religiously, whether it's wintertime, whether it's summertime, whatever. But for the commercial industry, they really peak in that first 100 weeks- Yep because they want one plus egg a day out of that bird. Right. And if it's not giving them that, it's more cost-effective when they drop to six eggs a day, six eggs a week, it's more cost-effective for the commercial houses to get rid of those, bring in some new ones- Right because, you know, you, you add one egg times 50,000 chickens, it adds up. Yep. But if they are molting in late summer and then the light's going down, they probably won't lay till spring again, right? I, my experience is that they still lay, Jennifer. Yeah. Even though they're m- They will these, these ones still lay. I didn't have- Nine, 10 'cause I had spent hens- Man, these- when I ordered my Golden Comets these things, they don't care about stress, they don't care about molt, they're laying machines. Really? Yes. They really are. Interesting. But you're only gonna get about half, half the amount of eggs. Yeah. They, it slows down, but- And as long as the homesteader that wants those and only wants three or four eggs a week knows that, it, those spent hens, I try to always say they have a market, of course. But a, a problem that I have with the market and on Facebook is when someone repr- misrepresents- Right what they are. That's what I have a problem. Yeah. So I, I post often about the difference in a ready-to-lay pullet and a spent hen. Right. They both have a place. They both have a place. Yes. Yeah. And, and that's why I brought it up, because we're gonna start seeing those posts here soon. Oh, yeah. And, um, people- For sure will go into a frenzy thinking they're really getting something, you know? 'Cause a, a 20-week-old pullet fixing to come into lay is what? 25 bucks? Yeah, um, yeah, 20 to 23 to 25. My rule right now, I sell them at 22 each if they're individual. Obviously in bulk it, it changes. But when they are or if they start laying while they're here, then they'll go up to 25 or if I have a... But I haven't had to worry about that because they sell so quickly. Yeah. People that know, that you get those that want... L- like, I've got four or five customers right now that are, sell a lot of eggs, and they just, they just keep buying 20, 25 when I bring them in because they need to- they're expanding their business and they know once they've tested them. A lot of people hadn't heard of them, so that's kind of my I'm having to do a lot of education with them and send them the information, but I can see that I see there's a lot of room for growth in, in going to the small egg farmer- i- To get- Yeah. I mean, egg production is a thing. I just want people to understand that when they see a $5 hen, that is a spent hen, and a $25 hen- That's not a, that's not a bargain No. A $25 pullet- That's right. You get what you pay for. She, she's past her peak. And from my background in real es- from my background in real estate, I still say buyer beware, but buyer educate yourself, and that's- Exactly that's what we're doing here. Yeah, exactly. All right. So we talked about this. That's it. We're kind of going backwards in the slides here. That's all right. So what is a Silver Manny? Silver Manny, our bougie birds. So as I told you, we had a l- 17 different breeds. We pretty much sold all that out, and we kept one really that is our project. And it's a Silver Manny with a sil- uh, you know, an Am- not a Silver Manny, I'm sorry. An Anser Manny. It's solid black bird. Y'all heard with Anser Manny black fibro birds. And, uh, we bred that to a silver plumage bird, and we created what we call our Silver Manny. And they're very beautiful, and I have not seen anything like it out here. We'll see. We haven't sold one yet. We're breeding them. We had one hen that's laid about 69 for us out of... And we've hatched them. Great hatch rate, and they're breeding true. That's where the miracle was. We're like, this is a blessing from the Lord. What do you mean first year they're breeding true consistently?" So we're learning to keep up with all these breeder records and, and all that. And we're at the stage now where we're about to get them tested. We can tell pretty much whose rooster and whose hen, pretty much we know. But anyway, we will- We're, we're still trying to figure out going forward, are we gonna sell just hatching eggs, are we gonna sell only trios, how we're gonna do it, but we do have a good waiting list. Most of the people that's come out here to see them absolutely fall in love with them and, and want them. So that's Hector's project. He loves it. He's excited for it. And now I'm adding, I just got in some Turken, some white Turken, naked necks, you know, and I'm gonna add that to try and get a naked neck Silver Montie for next year's breeders. So it's our fun project, but hopefully it's a money maker, too. So I have to tell you this story. So I used to hatch eggs for this couple, and they had some naked necks in there. And the first time, they were Hispanic and she didn't speak any English and, but so I would talk to him, but they were her chickens, so he didn't know. Anyway, I wasn't expecting, I had honestly never seen a naked neck in person before. And I thought I had cooked her birds or something- in the incubator. I did not know what that was. And I was like, "I'm so sorry. I don't know why there's no feathers on their necks." I love it. That's hilarious. And I, and all I thought they were so ugly. Those are chicks just over medium. Yeah. Right. Y- people either love them or hate them is what I see. I mean, some people just think they're the ugliest things on the face of the earth. They're horribly ugly. They're very ugly. I think they're, and Harrison does, and Hector's coming along. I absolutely fell in love when, not when I had seen them online. When I saw them, I thought the same thing. I hatched one in some eggs that I got with some Silkies and all this stuff, and that little thing came out, like, it looked like a little giraffe with this long neck and no, no feathers on it, and I fell in love, and I'm obsessed with them now. See? I got six solid white ones in and I can't... We'll see w- where we go. Hmm. And I've, there's only about four or five customers that follow me more think that they're ugly and they don't want anything to do with them. You know the, the Chinese cat that are just bare skin? Yeah. Yeah. It looks just like that. I love it. They're ugly. I have one right here. Can I show you one? Want me to show you a little- Yeah. Yeah. Can you- Yes. Hold on. Yeah. We wanna look at a chicken. All right, Harrison, hold on one second. Let me get him. They're ugly. I mean, it's a chicken show. Of course we wanna look at a chicken. But I gotta say, I kinda tend with, to agree with Harrison on this one. It's ugly. They're- It looks like a ugly Chinese naked cat. Yeah. They got to each, they, somebody beat them with a ugly stick a little too much. I call him ET. Y'all remember ET? Oh. The alien. Abraham. Uh, uh, Abraham. No, sir. Look at this Even the dog thinks something's wrong with it. Yeah. Yeah. So let, let me put it out of its misery. Oh my God. Oh my- What, what was that- And there you go like, there was like a cartoon Halloween thing with, I don't know, and it had like tall, skinny people. Oh. To me it should be on that show. Look at that little baby. No. All right, here, will you take him back? No, it looked like, it looked like a buzzard. Yes. Yes, thank you. A vulture. I call it ET, but I just fell in love with him, so that's my little project for next year. We're gonna have to do some more resea- I hope I can make a Naked Neck silver money. We're gonna have to do some more research on them for another podcast because I'm hearing good things about their meat quality. Yep, yep. About the Naked Neck meat quality? Well, you know what it is? I, uh- Oh, Naked Necks they're like Cornish Cross Naked Necks. Check 'em out. Um, I've got one customer here- that buys them, and he loves them. He says that he doesn't have the mortality because they can handle the heat of the Sou- South Carolina heat so much better. So he's doing the Naked Necks I have to get a- Makes sense. No. No, I think y'all are full of it. I'll stick to my, I'll stick to my brews. I think y'all are a little cackalacky. I think you're full of it. All right, let's look at our slides here and see what you got. Okay, so tell us about Hatch Boss and Queen Cluck. Okay, so the name of the rooster that's our Silver-Montie rooster, we call him Hatch Boss, and the hen is Queen Cluck. But that was just something Hector and I started, and then people hear us talk about it, so now they've kinda started calling us that, 'cause Hector likes that whole, uh, breeder, genetic thing and all, so they- they're referring to him as Hatch Boss and me as Queen Cluck in some of our stuff. So we think that's funny. That's all. But he, Hector's developed a line of hats that are Silver-Montie and Hatch Boss and all, and we have a hatchboss.shop where people can check that out if they're interested. And he- he's the designer behind all that. He's a, he's really the talented creative brain in all this too. That- that's what that is. It's just some merchandise, and he's kinda getting more into the... Well, say goodbye if you're leaving. I just have to go put some water on the chicks. Oh, okay. Harrison's gonna go do some work. Okay, I'm going. Okay. Thank you. There you go. Well, that's what he's supposed to be doing, right? He's just gonna go check 'em. And you know what? The way we live here, we've learned to live life totally different from being, you know, mortgage bankers, and Hector worked for Harley-Davidson in finance and all for years and years, and we're both been in sales and all. But w- when Harrison graduated high school and we started seeing the struggles on trying to help him keep a job, and he could keep 'em, but only for a few months. The social stuff would just get overwhelming. So we knew how good he was out in the... He's a great hunter, a- avid hunter, everything. He just needed to be out here, and so we needed to teach him skills. So all of this is to, we're coaching him through life, and our goal is to hopefully that he cr- we create something out of all these little programs we're doing that we'll make enough money that when the good Lord takes us home, it'll sustain him, that he'll learn enough from our skills, to, that he'll be able to take care of himself. Good. I mean, everybody should have skills, right? Yep. All right, so let's look. I think we hit all of your slides. Yeah. I would, I would like to say that you have taken my class Beyond the Egg to well beyond the egg. Indeed. And you, y'all inspired me with that class, and I send people, I tell people about it. So it's good. Keep it up. You're doing great. Well, thank you I listen to just about every one of yours. Occasionally I've missed some, but I, I listen to it. I'm... You know, I've never had quail and all that, so I don't always listen to all about the quail. And I had guineas for a little while. I sell some Keets. I'm not a big guinea fan either. They're too loud. I can understand that. They're too loud. But I have customers that want them, so we'll bring them in. Oh, no, no, no. But- So we've had guineas twice, and both times David just finally looked at me and he said please." And you know, I have so much here that I gave into him on the guineas, which I was fine with really. Yeah. And so, but do you watch Clarkson's Farm on Amazon? No, I don't know that You need to watch Clarkson's Farm on Amazon. Well, anyway- Okay apparently he bought, his name's Jeremy, and he bought his grandchild, I can't remember if it was a girl or a boy, but he went into the store and he told the store owner, it's a toy store, to give him the loudest toy for his granddaughter or grandchild for the holiday. I don't remember if it was a birthday or Christmas. Mm. Well, anyway, got him the loudest toy. So his daughter bought him guineas for the farm. Oh. And he put 'em out, but he didn't, like he put 'em out, like I think their farm's like 26,000 acres, so he thought- Oh that he put 'em out far enough, you know? Yeah. And they were off the master bedroom win- end of the house, but I guess the way the land was shaped, the sound came. And he said they woke him up every morning, you know, screeching and carrying on. Yeah, yeah. And then one morning- Oh, wow they didn't. Oh. And so they went out looking, and I guess the fox had enough of the morning waking up. They, they got 'em. Ah. And got 'em. I know. I wanted to have some, so we ended up with four, and Harrison was like, "Do not bring those here." He lived down in Louisiana for a little while as a alligator guide, and they had 'em there, and he, they, he said they drove him crazy. And so he was like, "Mom, don't bring those here. Don't." But, you know, of course I did, and I would say it was only a month or six weeks till I was like, "Take 'em. I don't care. Give 'em away," whatever. That you just couldn't enjoy outside- Mm-mm the peacefulness or anything. Mm-mm. It was a constant irritant to me. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, you can't be on the phone, you can't have a conversation. Yep. Yeah. And actually, I was kinda upset. I wanted at least one more generation. I had whites and lavenders. Ooh, pretty. So I was getting like down to the final genetics, you know? Yeah. And then we got rid of 'em, but I could even sex 'em, and most people can't even- Oh, wow sex 'em. So- Yeah yeah. I mean, I was g- I was getting guineas down, but I will tell you, and we probably should do a podcast on guineas, but if you're gonna mess with them- Yeah you have to wear leather gloves and denim. Really? Yeah. Oh. You can't go in there chasing 'em with your bare arms. They'll just tear you up. Oh, wow. Yeah. I had no idea. Yeah. Yeah. You have to, I had a denim jacket that I would carry with me, and I always have, well, I always have leather gloves anyway, but, um, yeah, you always had to, even if it was 100 degrees outside, you better put that denim on, 'cause- Right they're, they have talons, you know? Oh, they'll get you. Yeah Wow. They would. But yeah. Anyway, so that's the guinea stories. But anyway, I just, David just started laughing when the fox when the guineas disappeared. Disappeared. Because he's like, "See? Not everybo- everybody just gets sick of 'em, even the foxes." Right? Yep. They make a lot of racket. So, yeah. Right. But if you've never, if you're thinking about getting guineas and you've never listened to them- Mm-hmm just find it on YouTube and turn your volume as high as it will go. Because it's like- You'll change your mind quickly That's what it's gonna be like that, that's what it's gonna be like every day. All the time. The wind blows, a bug flies by. Yeah. Something sets 'em off. Yeah, it was too much. Yeah. I won't have 'em again. No, I don't, I think our guinea days are over too, so, my neighbors would probably kill me. It has been a pleasure having you and Harrison- Thank you Yeah, I do too. Thank you. Thanks Kerry, I appreciate y'all having me on here. Yep, enjoyed it. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Next Level Nerds with the Poultry Nerds. Please hit subscribe and find more info at PoultryNerdsPodcast.com. We hope to see you next week!

• Hy-Line Brown Chickens

  What Are Hy-Line Brown Chickens?

  Hy-Line Brown chickens are commercial egg-laying hybrids developed specifically for high egg production, feed efficiency, and reliability. Unlike heritage breeds that are often selected for appearance, longevity, or breeding characteristics, Hy-Line Browns are bred to produce a large number of brown eggs over a relatively short production cycle. Many begin laying around 18 to 20 weeks of age and can produce up to 500 eggs during their peak laying period under ideal management. Because of their exceptional productivity, they are widely used by commercial egg farms and are becoming increasingly popular with backyard flock owners and small-scale egg producers who want dependable layers. However, after their peak production, egg output gradually declines, making it important for buyers to understand the difference between a young, ready-to-lay pullet and an older spent hen when purchasing birds.

• Episode Summary

  In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, we sit down with Lori Pinetta and her son, Harrison, of Harrison's Hatchery to explore how a simple hobby grew into a purpose-driven poultry business. What began with a small incubator and a boy fascinated by hatching chicks has evolved into a hatchery focused on creating opportunities for neurodivergent individuals, supporting veterans through their Carolina Rooster Solution, and educating new poultry keepers. Along the way, we discuss the realities of running a poultry business, the differences between Hy-Line Brown production hens and heritage breeds, building a trusted network within the poultry community, and why success often comes from serving people as much as raising chickens.

• What is a spent hen?

  A spent hen is a laying hen that has reached the end of her peak egg production cycle. Commercial egg farms typically replace these hens after 70 to 100 weeks of laying, when egg production is no longer profitable, even though the birds are still healthy and capable of producing eggs. While a spent hen won't lay as frequently as a young pullet, many continue producing three to five eggs per week for several more years in a backyard flock. Because commercial hens are often molting and may have trimmed beaks when they are sold, they can look quite different from younger birds. Spent hens can make excellent additions to a flock for owners with realistic expectations, but they should not be confused with ready-to-lay pullets, which are just beginning their most productive laying period.