Poultry Hatchery Operator I

CWT Farms; Pikeville (TN); On-site; USD 32,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & Vision

401(k) retirement plan

Paid holidays

Job summary

Aviagen is seeking a Hatchery Associate to support daily hatchery operations, ensuring a clean, safe, and efficient production environment while upholding animal welfare and quality standards.

Responsibilities include egg transfer, hatch preparation, chick handling, equipment cleaning, and packing for shipment. Candidates should be dependable, safety-conscious, and capable of working in a fast-paced agricultural setting.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent preferred but not required.
• Previous agricultural, poultry, manufacturing, production, warehouse, or sanitation experience is preferred but not required.
• Ability to perform repetitive work while maintaining attention to detail and quality.
• Ability to follow written and verbal instructions.
• Must possess reliable transportation to and from work.

Responsibilities

• Maintain cleanliness and sanitation throughout the hatchery facility in accordance with company sanitation, biosecurity, and food safety standards.
• Clean and sanitize hatchery equipment, including setters, hatchers, conveyors, work tables, trays, floors, walls, ceilings, and other production equipment.
• Transfer eggs from setter machines to hatchers following established operating procedures and production schedules.
• Prepare newly hatched chicks for processing, sexing, vaccination (where applicable), packaging, and shipment to customer farms.
• Handle day-old chicks carefully and humanely in accordance with animal welfare standards, SOPs, and applicable industry guidelines.
• Assemble chick boxes and prepare shipping materials for customer deliveries.
• Assist with hatch pull operations while ensuring chick quality standards are maintained.
• Monitor work areas for cleanliness, equipment functionality, and potential safety hazards, reporting concerns promptly to supervision.

Skills

Attention to detail

Reliability

Team player

Safety conscious

Dependable

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

Aviagen is seeking a Hatchery Associate to support daily hatchery operations, ensuring a clean, safe, and efficient production environment while upholding animal welfare and quality standards.

Responsibilities include egg transfer, hatch preparation, chick handling, equipment cleaning, and packing for shipment. Candidates should be dependable, safety-conscious, and capable of working in a fast-paced agricultural setting.