Buy Chickens
Buy Chickens - Get Chickens Best Fit For You And Your Needs
So you are thinking about raising your
own chickens and are wondering
what kind of chickens you should buy. You might be wondering how
many you need for your family. Before you
buy chickens, read the
information below to help you make an informed decision.
Things To Consider When Buying Chickens
If you haven’t purchased or raised
chickens before, there are some things to consider before you buy. One
of the first things to consider when buying chickens is having a proper
living quarters for them. You will want to assure that their living
quarters is large enough for roosting. Unfortunately, many people forget
about this. The most important consideration when raising chickens is to
make the chickens’ home secure and safe. Protecting your chickens from
predators is of utmost importance.
Another thing to consider when preparing
or making a chicken coop is to have an easy way to clean your chicken
coop. If you don’t already have a chicken coop, you need to get some
good plans for building your own chicken coop. You don’t want your coop
to be filthy or smelly. You will need to provide your chickens with
clean fresh water along with nutritious food. They should never go
hungry or thirsty. The actual food you feed your chickens is determined
by what kind of chicken you have and what your purpose is for raising
them. For egg layers, the food will need to be rich in calcium, but if
you are raising fryers, the nutritional elements will need to be
different to accommodate fast growth in the chickens.
Chickens are a social bird, so let them
socialize. You don’t want to keep them locked up all the time and keep
at least a dozen chickens at all times. You want them to be happy. Happy
chickens do much better.
Monitor the health of your chickens at
all times. If you sense one chicken to be ill, make sure you separate it
from the rest and give your local vet a call. They will be able to
assist you with the chicken’s care.
Where To Buy Chickens
If you have committed to raising
chickens, you need to check out all of the available sources. You may or
may not be aware that there are many species of chickens to choose from.
Although there are many species, there are three basic categories of
chickens. There are pure breeds, egg laying hybrids, and mixed hybrids.
Each species of chickens has its own unique quality. As an example, the
egg laying hybrids’ body size is very small but they lay eggs more often
than other species.
Whether you look online of in the local
yellow pages, look for a chicken breeder. You can also ask around with
others that raise chickens. You want to go with a reputable chicken
breeder. When you are considering a particular chicken breeder there are
some things to look for. Consider the breeder’s chicken living
conditions. If you sense their chickens are unhealthy don’t buy them.
The best price doesn’t always determine the best chicken. You can buy
chickens online from various hatcheries but keep in mind they don’t ship
chickens during the winter months. That being the case, spring orders
can get backed up some. As a
result, you may want to plan ahead.
Make sure you choose chickens that are
active, energetic and vocal. Their feathers need to be full and without
any bald spots.
How To Raise Chickens
Little chicks are very fragile even
though they are really cute. You will need to know the right method of
taking care of them. When picking them up you will need to grab them
firmly but at the same time gently. Use one hand to hold under their
tummy while using the other hand to cover them. It’s important to keep
your chicks warm. Also be careful to keep them dry. Their living
quarters need to be kept above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make sure your chicks always have enough
water and make sure it is dust free. When buying water trays, make sure
they are heavy enough not to be turned over by the chicks. Make sure
your feeders are not close to the water and that they also are heavy
enough and placed on a firm surface.
Go to a local farm or pet shop to
purchase food for your chicks. You will want to find chicken starter
feed. The chicks need to have some grain in their diet. The little
chicks need to have their tummies full at all times. Don’t worry about
them overeating. They will only eat what they need.
Make sure you clean their box at least
daily. You can line their bed with dry leaves or sawdust. If you don’t
have any, you can buy chicken boxes at a local pet store or farm store.
To keep the chicks warm you need to put a red light bulb with wire mesh
on top to keep it warm. It is good to use dry leaves, sawdust or even
shredded paper to line their box. You want to create a safe and cozy
environment for them to play in. The dry leaves or sawdust will help
absorb most of the chick poop.
How And What To Feed Chickens
For your chicks to grow and be healthy
they will need the proper food. You will want to make sure you provide
good healthy food for your chickens. Find out from your local feed store
what will give the best results for the species of chickens you are
raising and for the results you are wanting.
Even though it is tempting to give your
chickens scrap food from the kitchen, this isn’t what they need. It’s
important they your chickens get a number of kinds of nutrition and
vitamins.
As a rule of thumb, an average laying hen
will eat approximately 100 pounds of feed per year. The average cost of
a 50 pound bag of laying feed that contains 20 percent protein is around
$15 per bag. So it will cost you approximately $30 per year for chicken
feed per chicken.
Chicken feed is specially computer
formulated to nutritionally provide what type and age of chicken you
have. There are a number of manufacturers but the quality of most is
pretty high. This feed contains all the nutrients that are required for
your chickens to thrive. Starter feed is used for chicks from hatch up
to a few weeks of age. This feed typically contains 18 to 20% protein.
For raising fryers, the protein level is closer to 22%. This will
maximize growth. A grower and developer feed is fed to growing chickens.
This contains closer to 15% protein and is formulated to sustain growth
to maturity. Layer or breeder feeds are fed to egg producing chickens.
Layer feed is formulated for chickens that are laying table eggs while
breeder feeds are formulated for egg hatching chickens. The layer feed
contains slightly more protein and contains extra vitamins for proper
chick development. For layers, you may need to supplement their diet
with oyster shell, which provides more calcium and provides harder
shells.
Most commercially produced starter diets
contain medication to prevent any of the common diseases found in
chickens. These medications are less commonly found in the grower or
layer diets. The bag should be clearly marked if medication is used.
Chickens are a scratching bird. They will
use their feet to stir up various seeds, grit, or insects to eat.
Feeding them scratch grains can promote this behavior.
But, if they are receiving good formulated feed, they probably
won’t need this scratch grain.
Chicken Egg Production
A good laying hen can produce
approximately 250 eggs per year. They will average about two eggs every
three days. Feeding your chickens the proper feed will aid in good egg
production.
Egg production normally begins when a
chicken reaches about 18 to 22 weeks of age. Production is best through
about twelve months. Then egg laying declines by about 35%. Typically
the egg weight also declines.
Things that can affect egg production
include the quality and quantity of fee consumed, water intake, the
amount of light and intensity of light received, parasite infestation
and disease. Hens can live for a number of years and continue to lay
eggs; however, after two to three years, production significantly
declines. Older hens will molt more often and lay less consistently.
Interesting enough, if a chicken’s diet
is low in salt content, the chicken will start pecking its feathers and
egg production will also go down. It is good for chickens to get feed
that contains sodium chloride. Sometimes iodized salt is used. A
deficiency in salt can cause a loss of appetite. This can also
contribute to a lack of energy and problems with reproduction.
As stated earlier, if egg shells are too
thin or fragile, increasing calcium in a chicken’s diet will help.
The best egg laying chickens include the
Leghorn, Minorca, Andalusion, Rhode Island Red, Wyandotte, Delaware,
Welsummer, Sex-Link, and Black & Red Star. For white egg production you
need to use Leghorn, Andalusion, or Minorca chickens. For brown eggs,
you can use Rhode Island Reds, Black & Red Star, Sex-Link, Wyandotte,
Delaware, or Plymouth Rock chickens.
Raising Fryer Chickens
If you intend on raising chickens for
fresh poultry meat, it is important to have a well-planned and
well-managed flock. Owners of small flocks shouldn’t plan on producing
more birds than their family can use or market.
The best breeds to use for this purpose
are the Cornish, Plymouth Rock, or the New Hampshire. These particular
crosses have been bred for the most economical conversion of feed to
poultry meat. Breeds such as the White or Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhode
Island Reds, and New Hampshires generally don’t grow as fast as the
crosses do, but are used for farm flock meat production.
Of chicken meat birds, the broilers or
fryers are slaughtered at seven to nine weeks of age. They normally
weigh about 3 to 5 pounds at that age. To produce a Cornish game hen,
the same bird is slaughtered at about 5 weeks.
When raising these poultry meat chickens,
the cost of production will run about 5 pounds of feed to age six weeks
and 8 to 9 pounds to raise a chicken to 8 weeks.
Buying or Building a Chicken Coop
If you have are going to get a flock of
chickens, you should probably invest in a chicken coop. These are
available for sale in many different sizes. However, if you are a
woodworking hobbyist, you can build your own chicken coop with some
chicken coop plans.