You can! This April, foster baby chicks from Willow Haven Farm in Breinigsville & New Tripoli, PA through our Foster a Chick Program. Pre-orders are open now!

Pre-order My Foster Chicks

Why Foster Baby Chicks?

Wouldn’t it be amazing to feel connected to spring and experience new life in a whole new way?

At Willow Haven Farm, we collect farm-fresh eggs daily to make delicious omelets, scrambles, quiches, pies, and cakes. But given the right conditions, an egg will hatch into a chick!

Did you know that many farms, including ours, receive baby chicks through the USPS mail? We typically receive two boxes of one hundred loudly peeping chicks, and it’s our job to make sure they are well cared for.

Now It’s Your Turn to Raise Baby Chicks!

Did you know that you can help us raise our day-old chicks for a couple of weeks?

As soon as our chicks arrive, about 100 local families will line up to pick their special pair to take home.

Participants will learn the importance of farm animal care:

• Keep chicks warm, but not too warm.
• Provide fresh water at all times.
• Make sure they don’t spill their water and get too cold.

But don’t worry! Just like all babies, they will peep loudly to let you know if something is wrong. That’s their way of reminding you to check on them while you foster them for Farmer Reuben.

Pre-order My Foster Chicks

When will I pick up my pair of chicks?

Foster Chicks: Thursday, April 2 – Saturday, April 4, 2026
Pickup at Willow Haven Farm – 7686 Herber Rd, New Tripoli, PA
Thursday 10 AM – 4 PM
Friday 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturday 10 AM – 1 PM

Pre-order My Foster Chicks

How do I take care of my foster chicks?

No worries! After you reserve your chicks, we’ll send you a Chick Care Guide and a series of training emails to walk you through the process. Watch your inbox!

When Should I Return My Foster Chicks?

Most participants keep them for about two weeks, but you can return them earlier if you prefer. Check our return hours which will be posted in our Foster a Chick Chat group.  You’ll get the link when you complete your Pre-order.

What else can I do at Willow Haven Farm?

Get Organic Farm Food Year-Round!
Customize your Market Box CSA with farm-fresh, organic foods. We even deliver to homes in the Lehigh Valley! Foster A Chick participants get $20 off if you join by May 1st. Learn More Here!

Visit the Farm Any Saturday!
Farm tours, see other animals, and shop our On-Farm Market.

Join Volunteer Tuesdays!
Bring your family and help on the farm any Tuesday between 8:30 – 12:00 PM.

Brick Oven Pizza Nights!
Enjoy fresh, farm-made pizza at our monthly pizza nights!

Homesteading Conference – Sept. 5, 2026
Learn essential skills for a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Pre-order My Foster Chicks

Here we go!

What breed are the chicks? This year yellow chicks are Cornish Crosses. We are also trying to get Golden Crosses. They are all yellow and mature to all white. Black layer chicks are Barred Rock cross.

How old are the chicks? We receive the chicks when they are one day old. Depending on when you pick them up, they are only 1 – 3 days old.

When will I know if I have a rooster or hen? We are able to buy only hens but most people can’t tell the gender of a chick/duckling until it is full grown. The ducklings may be male or female. Specialists in the industry are trained to “sex” chicks to determine their gender in order to fulfill orders for egg laying chicks.

What type of lamp should I use to keep the chicks warm? Any lamp that can shine into the box and keep the chicks warm without creating a fire hazard is acceptable. A desk lamp with an incandescent bulb usually works. Make sure you can feel heat from the bulb. Another option is a simple clamp light which will easily accommodate a heat lamp bulb. Both can be purchased from a hardware store for $4 – $8 each. You can see what it looks like ​here​ on Amazon. ​Heat lamp bulbs​ can be red or white.

Is an LED light good enough? No. LEDs do not emit infrared radiation, which is what feels warm.

Is a space heater good enough? If you can keep the inside of the box 90 degrees F without creating a fire hazard.

Do we need an incandescent light if the box is kept overnight in the house (vs. the garage?) Yes. You need to keep the temperature in the box close to 90 degrees F. I doubt you keep your house that warm. Some participants keep their chicks in a utility room or garage. That’s fine as long as they are safe and warm.

What type of box is provided? It’s a large, brown cardboard box which you can recycle after returning the chicks. If the box is not sufficient for your needs you can use another container of your choice. I’ve seen people use rubbermaid storage bins or even large hamster cages.

Can they hop out of the box? After a week or so, chicks will be able to fly out of the box. Participants have solved this problem by using a bigger container or putting something over the box. You may return your foster birds to the farm whenever they become too much trouble. You do not have to keep them a full 2 weeks.

Do you have chick-warming lights, water/food dispensers that we could rent? We do not have equipment for you to rent, however, most of the things you need to use are already in your home. If you would like to purchase specific chick feeders and warming lights you may easily purchase from amazon or a hardware store. Here is an inexpensive example of a ​chick waterer​; and a ​chick feeder​.

Would you take our chick water/feed bottles when we’re done? Certainly. If you would like to donate any warming lamps, bulbs, chick feeders, or chick waterers to the farm we’ll be happy to take them.

How much should I feed them each day? You should make sure that they have food available in their dish at all times. They have tiny digestive systems and poop often so they need to be able to refill frequently.

What else can they eat besides the provided feed? The organic chick feed is the perfect diet for them and they don’t need anything else. A few vegetable scraps won’t hurt them. Because they are intended to be organically raise by us, please do not purchase other food (pet food, non-organic chick feed, etc.) If you need more food we are happy to provide it for you – just come to the farm to pick it up for no charge.

What kind of bedding should I use? We will start you with several layers of newspaper in your box. Newspaper and paper towels are great because they are absorbent, easily changed, inexpensive, and difficult for the chicks to eat. Wood shavings are easily eaten by the chicks not recommended. Chicks will try to eat almost anything they see so be careful – don’t let them fill their little stomachs with inedible objects.

Do you have a photo of what the typical setup might look like? Yes. There are photos of various foster chick set ups in our Foster A Chick chat group on Telegram. Please join this group to see various ideas.

Will they require any special or extra care in the middle of the night? No. Just make sure they have plenty of food and water before you go to bed for the night.

Do chicks sleep? Yes, they nap often just like all baby animals. But they don’t know night from day. You will hear them “peep” at night. If their peeping is quite loud, it is because they need something – so check their food, water or heat right away.

Should the chicks be allowed to run around the house (supervised) or might they poop everywhere? They will poop everywhere so that is up to you. Your job is to keep them safe.

Can they be played with outside? After they are a few days old they can regulate their body temperature better. As long as you closely supervise the chicks to keep them safe they may be taken outdoors on a warm day.

Will my chicks stay healthy the whole time we have them & is there anything we need to know to ensure their proper growth? Most of the chicks will stay healthy the whole time. However, as with all animals, a few may be weaker than the others. If you notice a chick that is panting, drooping or not active (other than when it sleeps), or not eating or drinking, there may be a problem.

What can be done if a chick seems to not be acting well? There are only a few things that can be done and there is no guarantee that extra care will result in a recovery.

1. Remove the unwell chick from it’s companion so that it won’t get picked on. Put it in a separate box with food, water and a lamp.
2. Use a dropper to feed it water.
3. If it is shivering, put it under the heat lamp. If it is panting, move it further away from the light.
4. Check on the unwell chick/duckling frequently.
5. If you do not want to try to care for a chick you think is unwell, you may bring it back to the farm. ​Message me​ for the fastest response.
6. If the chick recovers, you may allow it to rejoin its companion.
7. If the chick dies, there is no extra charge. We understand that sometimes weaker animals don’t make it but we are sorry that your family experienced it. Try to use the experience to teach your children about the life and death that is normal to all nature.

How loud are the chicks? You’ll find that the chick make a gentle “peeping” noise most of the time they are awake. If their “peeping” gets loud it usually means they need food, water or are frightened.

Can I get a smaller or large size chick? I’m sorry. We don’t have much variation in size.

Can I get a chick of a different color? I’m sorry. All the chicks are the same breed and are mostly the same color.

What happens to the chicks when they return to the farm? We will house them in a sheltered area for a couple more weeks until they are strong enough to live outside full time. Then they will live on the farm until they reach maturity. The chicks will be full grown when they are about 10 weeks old.

Care instructions? Here is a ​pdf download​ of care instructions.

Can we post pictures of them on social media? Of course. We’d love for you to tag #willowhavenfarm and #fosterachick so we can see your posts too!

Return instructions? I’ll be sending return instructions in a future email.

How and when do I pick up my chicks? That will be in the next email.

I hope this info is helpful as you prepare for your fostering experience.

See you soon!

Tessa DeMaster and the Farm Kids

​​Willow Haven Farm​​ ​​

Directions to the farm

Visiting the kitties on Grandma’s doorstep is a highlight of her day – multiples times. She knows when new ones are born and who the momma cats are.

No one knew how the kitten’s eye got hurt but our little farm girl gave it extra care and reported to her grandma all about it.

But eventually, that little kitten died. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was that kitten’s turn to go.

It’s Okay

All our farm kids experience moments that teach them that when animals die, they don’t come back… but it’s ok. And it’s okay to be sad. That’s an important thing to know.

But they also know that new animals are born – quite often, in fact. And that is so exciting. It’s fun to visit the baby animals and see how they grow so quickly. Their antics are entertaining as they jump and run and push each other around.

It’s Real so Pay Attention

Life and death are realities. On a farm you have to pay attention to those realities daily and sometimes hourly.

Are there tender seedlings in the greenhouse? Let’s make sure the greenhouse won’t freeze overnight.

Is it bright and sunny? Let’s make sure the greenhouse doors are open and the fans are on so it doesn’t get too hot and bake the plants.

Oh, and those seedlings have to be watered 2 – 4 x per day depending on the weather.

Is it cold, snowy and below freezing? Let’s make sure the pigs and cows have water to drink. Liquid water. They can’t drink ice.

Farmer Reuben is doing all the chores by himself this week and he just told me about a problem with the pig waterer that I wanted to check out.  I wasn’t sure if the pigs would come near me to try the snack I brought them.

Life is Full of Hope

But let’s talk about new life.

Planting seeds for a garden is an act of faith and hope. You don’t control what happens exactly but you rely on providing the right conditions for those seeds to sprout under the damp, warm potting soil until the first curled stem emerges filled with the bright green chlorophyl it needs to grow more leaves.

Ω Newborn calves are expected this spring because only momma cows give milk. They give milk so generously that they can feed a calf for months and still give extra to the farmer.

⊥ New blades of grass emerging from the cold, brown earth are a signal the farmer anxiously awaits so that the cows can begin grazing on nutrient rich, fresh grass and stop feeding dry hay. That’s when the cow’s milk increases in quantity and is full of yellow butter fat.

⊗ We’ll hear the cows mooing in the barnyard as they smell the new tender grass in the pasture but the farmer can’t let them graze until that grass is several inches high. So the cows and farmer will wait. And wait. Waiting for the sun, the rain and the earth to do their work.

Θ Piglets are born to sows and wiggle through the first weeks of life until they start exploring. Soon they’ll need to be contained by fences so they don’t devour the newly planted lettuce and kale in the vegetable fields.

ℑ And those farm cats always have their litters of kittens in Grandpa’s shed or on Grandma’s stoop on Mother’s Day weekend.

All this excitement of new life happens under our noses here on the farm.

It’s Your Turn to Pay Attention to Life

But what about you? What will you see?

If you pay attention you’ll see new buds on the trees in your yard and along the road. Your lawn beginning to turn green. Your garden seedlings in the window sill growing taller. Your crocus and daffodils putting up the their green leaves.

But what if you could be a farmer for a day or a week and take care of new baby animal?

Wouldn’t that make you feel connected to spring and to life in a whole new way?

Take an egg out of the refrigerator and hold it. What’s inside?

In our chicken coop, the eggs we collect are full of potential. Most of the time they are meant to be collected everyday, put in a carton and used to make delicious omelettes, scrambles, quiches, creamy pies and fluffly cakes.

But given the right conditions, that egg will hatch into a chick.

Every spring though, we order newly hatched chicks from a hatchery farm to increase our aging flock of hens. The hatchery is in charge of getting the genetics and hatching conditions just right for the healthiest chickens to send to farms all over the region.

I can’t imagine being in a hatchery. Can you imagine a place where baby chickens, ducklings, goslings, guinea keats, turkey poults, peafowl are hatching every day, all day long? If you view this short hatchery tour video, you’ll see that it looks more like a warehouse than a farm.

We are one of the farms that receives our chicks through the mail from the post office. We usually get two boxes of one hundred loudly peeping chicks and then it’s our turn to make sure they are well taken care of.

Life is a Great Teacher

Or it’s your turn! Did you know you can help us raise our day old chicks for a couple weeks?

As soon as our chicks arrive there will be about one hundred local families that line up to pick out their special pair to take home.

They’ll learn that they have to pay attention to the details to keep their chicks warm, watered and well fed.

• Don’t let them get too warm.
• Don’t let them get too cold.
• Don’t let them spill their water and get too thirsty.

But don’t worry. Just like all babies, they will cry loudly to let you know something is wrong.

That’s what the loud peeping is meant to do. To remind you to check on the baby farm friends that you are fostering for Farmer Reuben.

Winter is Waiting for Spring

Peep! Peep!  Baby farm animals don’t care if there is snow on the ground or flowers budding on the trees.

When they are hatched or born they just need to be fed and kept warm.

While we are getting ready for the seedlings and baby animals that will be arriving in the coming weeks, you can get ready for fostering chicks with your family, classroom, community group or senior home.

You can find out about the Foster a Chick Experience and get on our waiting list HERE. 

As Always…

We support your desire to have a good, healthy way of life and food on your table that supports that goal.

We’ll keep farming for you!
Reuben and Tessa DeMaster