Before Buying Chickens…

Decisions, Decisions

When deciding whether you should purchase chickens, the first thing is to determine whether it’s permissible by law in your area. A good beginning search is “’your city’ poultry ordinance.“  In our town, you can have three pullets with no permit or up to twelve with a $25 yearly permit.  Cockerels are not allowed.

After getting a legal “thumbs up,” choose a breed.  This is a great form to help.  Next, you’ll need to decide where to purchase your chicks from. Below are some pros and cons to the different options. Unless you’re purchasing “sex-linked” chickens or buying mail order chicks from a hatchery, straight-run is the only way to purchase day-old chicks. Sex-linked chicks are cross breeds specifically bred so their color is differentiated by sex. Hatcheries have specialists who are able to sex day-old chicks with 95% accuracy.

Hatchery Pros:

• Many breeds to choose from, purebred
• Can choose straight-run, pullets, or cockerels

Hatchery Cons:

• Minimum order of 15-25 chicks
• Higher mortality rate due to shipping day-old chicks
• “Factory setting” possible exposure to more disease from high volume of birds
• With shipping costs, this is the most expensive option

Atwood’s/Tractor Supply Pros:

• Fewer breeds to choose from, purebred
• Can choose straight-run or pullets
• No minimum number to purchase
• Lower mortality, these can be a few days to a few weeks old, not true “day-olds”

Atwood’s/Tractor Supply Cons:

• Purchased from hatcheries, so same “factory setting”
• Additionally exposed to disease from customers

Local Farmer Pros:

• More natural setting, not exposed to thousands of birds
• No minimum number to purchase
• Cheapest option
• Low mortality rate

Local Farmer Cons:

• Will be straight-run only, unless purchased at an older age
• Often will be mixed breed

Buying chickens is not a decision to be made lightly, but it might be the right one for your family.  Raising chickens creates memories.  My grandma is in her 80s and still remembers the brooder box her mother kept in the kitchen.  She remembers leaning down to scoop up the furry, peeping chicks.  She also remembers walking her tame pet rooster on a leash.  Raising chickens helps children see that food doesn't just come from a store.  It gives them a sense of responsibility in the feeding and care of another life.  Of course it's a "green living" choice, all but eliminating fossil fuel needs for your eggs (and potentially chicken meat).  It's also a more nutritious egg, and you know the chickens have been raised humanely.  Not to mention, extra eggs/meat can be sold for a profit. 

Ready to take the plunge?  Before purchasing chicks you’ll need a few items:

• Brooder box
• Heat lamp and bulb (infared lighting helps with pecking, although that isn’t usually an issue with small flocks)
• Feeder
• Waterer
• Food
• Newspaper or wood shavings to put down in the brooder box
• Chicken coop or plans to build one -- plans for ours will available sometime in the future

Coming Up: Break down of start-up costs & Chicken Food: forage, fodder, or store bought?