ATWATER—As the tape seal was peeled off the door of the egg incubator, the soft “cheep, cheeps” from dozens, if not hundreds, of newly-hatched chicks started to rise in volume, indicating another successful hatching at Dahline Poultry. These chicks would soon find themselves being shipped across the country, following thousands before them.

“Right now we are shipping anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 a week,” said Hunter Dahline, the 18-year-old owner and founder of Dahline Poultry with facilities near Willmar and Atwater. “I never thought we would ever be this big, ever.”

Dahline Poultry was started in 2018, when its young founder was only around 14 years old, but his interest in chickens began earlier.

“I’ve been into chickens since I was 12,” Dahline said. His grandparents had an old egg incubator on their farm and Dahline decided to give it a try. “I wanted to hatch some chicks. It took off from there.”

Read the full article by the West Central Tribune.