Hatchery is a facility where eggs are artificially incubated and hatched under controlled conditions. The goal is to produce healthy chicks or fingerlings (young fish) in large numbers.
In poultry, hatcheries collect fertile eggs from breeder farms, disinfect them, and place them in incubators until they hatch. In aquaculture, fish hatcheries breed species such as tilapia and catfish, providing fingerlings to farmers. Hatcheries ensure uniform growth, disease control, and reliable supply of young stock for farming. Many small-scale farmers in Kenya buy day-old chicks from commercial hatcheries instead of hatching their own eggs at home.
See also: Incubator, Brooding, Grow-out, Poultry farming, Fish farming