Krystal Price, a graduate of UW-Madison, with a degree in Animal Sciences, poultry emphasis, is the Assistant Hatchery Manager at MacFarlane Pheasants. She is proud to have secured a stable career in her field of study.
Krystal will have worked at MacFarlane Pheasants for 3 years this May. When she first came to work on the farm, she worked for 6 months as Assistant Brooder Manager, raising chicks from 1 day old to 7 weeks old. Now, Krystal works in the hatchery, organizing the eggs to be set in the incubators and making sure the incubators and hatchers are clean and ready to go for the season. Krystal trains new employees on traying, setting, transferring and candling eggs. During chick season, she runs hatches and makes sure orders are filled properly for customers. When chick season is over in August, Krystal gathers and vaccinates the breeder birds that will provide eggs/chicks for the next chick season.
Recently, Krystal shared what she loves most about working at MacFarlane Farms:
Q: What makes you happy to get out of bed in the morning and go to work?
A: I love learning, and this has been the most challenging but rewarding job I have ever held. I learn something new every day and also enjoy the people I work with.
Q: What makes you proud to work at MacFarlane Pheasants?
A: I love seeing the chicks that we raise become adult birds that we select in the fall. Also when customers tell us how good our chicks look, that makes me feel very proud of the job we are doing. I love that the customers see that we really care about our birds.
Krystal works under the direction of Hatchery Manager Ben Lawton, whom she considers her friend and mentor. She is continuously growing and learning under his managerial training and looks forward to many years in the hatchery. We are quite happy to have this team as part of the MacFarlane family!
To see some of the work Krystal oversees in action, check out this video about how we check for pheasant egg fertility in the hatchery and watch a fun time lapse of chicks hatching. If you have questions for Krystal, she can be reached [email protected].