Whether you aim to occupy a chicken coop for the first metre or you want to add together to an existing flock , sourcing your chickens can be tricky because there are so many option . Here are some of my favourite way of life to grow my great deal family .
1. Hatcheries
you may easily regulate chickens online from a hatchery website . With so many hatchery open , it ’s in all probability good to order from one closest to you , rather than from one decipherable across the country . The less time the babies are traveling , the better .
The best reason to order from a hatchery is the selection of so many rare and endangered breed , many of them rare and/or endanger . If you ’re into keeping chickens for pets or eggs , order from a hatchery is well deserving the high toll of shipping .
early on in the twelvemonth you might be outrage to see mandatory minimum orders of 15 chicks or more . Until spring , it ’s too cold for the chick to retain enough heat inside the merchant marine container unless there are enough of them to warm each other to survive 24 to 72 hours in transit . In the winter month , only larger club will do . For those of us in low urban environment , set up despatch for spring and early summertime works well . Many hatcheries will ship as few as three wench to your Emily Post office during the warm months .
Consider that sometimes a baby chick does n’t make it , even when the luck are exactly veracious . Adding an spare chick or two to your order help ensure you ’ll get as many chickens as you need , as losses ca n’t be predicted . Between stroke with the software system to unlooked-for wellness or developmental problems , your order is at the mercy of many random variables . However , bonk that the U.S. Postal Service has been shipping baby chicks through the mail for more than 100 years . While chance event can happen , USPS does its proficient to handle live animals with swell maintenance .
2. Local Farm Supply Stores
A swell time to foot up poulet at your local farm and garden supply centers is early spring . Not only can you foot these babes up for “ peep , ” the store has been handle for them , so they are n’t likely to be day - olds when you work them home . That have in mind they ’ve survived those first critical days of life , and those that would die likely already have . While you ’re there , any chicken supplies you might still need to pull together can be buy when you buy your chicks ! It ’s a one - stop - shop .
strain and sex option might be fix , unless the memory board source them from a hatchery and they know exactly what they ’re selling . It ’s possible they ’ve ordered a variety , and even a straight run ( male and females ) to bring down costs . Ordering only females come with a surcharge .
If the chicks were sourced locally , the chicks might not be true breeds , but mix of many breeds . raise miscellaneous - strain wimp can be fun , and full of colorful surprisal when the birds feather out and begin lay ball . Plus , mixed - breeds are more genetically various than truthful breed , which can help protect them from disease .
Rachel Hurd Anger
Later in spring , some of these store even sell pullets . Pullets are unseasoned hens under a year old . These doll will be substantially more expensive than baby chicks , because the store has bring up them for you . But , this saves you from investing in a brooder and other supplies you ’d demand to raise chicks yourself .
3. Adoption
Sometimes people bring home chick from farm provision entrepot right around Easter because they think the birdie will make fun favorite from the Easter Bunny . It does n’t take long for them to see the Bunny ’s generous gifts poop without abandon , grow at an alarming rate , and require more care and protection than the humans can supply .
After Easter is a great time to suss out out on-line classified websites such as Craigslist , your local newspaper ’s classifieds ( either in print or online ) , and even social - medium radical related to backyard agriculture . Sometimes the great unwashed move and ca n’t take their established flocks with them , they ’re transitioning out of the sideline , or they ’re breeding wench at menage .
4. Farmers
If you ’ve gotten to know any farmers at the farmers ’ marketplace , call for if they or anyone they know breed chicken for cut-rate sale . Some Fannie Merritt Farmer near you probably dream up their own chicks to keep cost down and also to supply backyard chickens to keepers in the community of interests . If you do n’t live any farmers , look for site and social media pages for some in your area .
Rachel Hurd Anger
