What is a newborn domestic chicken called?

A newborn domestic chicken is called a chick.

The word applies to a young chicken of either sex, from hatching until it develops more mature juvenile characteristics. Chicks are covered in soft down rather than fully developed adult feathers and depend on warmth, protection, and suitable feed.

A chick is not the same as a pullet, which usually means a young female chicken, or a cockerel, which means a young male. “Poult” is generally used for a young turkey, although it can also refer to some other young domestic fowl.

In natural brooding, a hen helps regulate chicks’ temperature and guides them toward food and water. Commercial poultry systems commonly use heated brooders instead.