A baby chicken before hatching is usually just called an embryo or a chicken embryo inside the egg.

Once it hatches, it becomes a chick , and people may also affectionately call very young chicks peeps or hatchlings because of the peeping sounds and the recent hatching.

Quick Scoop: Before & After Hatching

  • Before hatching (in the egg)
    • Called a chicken embryo or simply an embryo.
* It’s developing inside the egg, nourished by the yolk.
  • Right after hatching
    • Called a chick (gender‑neutral term for baby chickens).
* Sometimes nicknamed **peeps** or **hatchlings** in casual or farm talk.
  • As it grows
    • Young female: pullet (up to about one year, before or just starting to lay).
* Young male: **cockerel**.

* Adult female: **hen** ; adult male: **rooster**.

So if you’re being precise before hatching, say “chicken embryo” ; if you’re speaking generally about baby chickens, most people just say “chicks” once they’re out of the egg.

Mini FAQ

  1. Is “chick” ever used for inside the egg?
    • In casual speech, people might say “chicks in the eggs,” but technically they’re embryos until they hatch.
  1. What do farmers say?
    • Many will talk about embryos in incubating eggs and then chicks as soon as they pip and emerge.
  1. Any fun collective name?
    • A group of baby chickens is often called a brood or sometimes a peep of chicks.

SEO bits (for your post)

  • Focus key phrase: “what is a baby chicken called before hatching” – answer: a chicken embryo; after hatching, a chick.
  • Related phrases you can sprinkle in: baby chicken , chick , peeps , pullet , cockerel.

Meta description suggestion:

Wondering what a baby chicken is called before hatching? Technically it’s a chicken embryo inside the egg, and once it hatches, it’s known as a chick or “peep.”

TL;DR:
Before hatching, it’s a chicken embryo ; after hatching, it’s a chick (sometimes called a peep or hatchling).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.