4-H Chickens

[Lily21]

Is anyone else having trouble getting good quality chicks for 4-H. I've used McMurray and My pet chicken. I've talked to judges at the fair and they suggested just hatching your own, but where do you get eggs that are from good show quality chickens? What do you do with all the roosters you end up with if you have to order straight run? There are some small poultry breeders in my area and have talked to them about getting some chicks in January, but they can't for sure say what they will have on hand when I need them. Reputable hatcheries like Cackle Hatchery make you buy 5 of the same breed, I don't need 5 of the same breed. My daughter would like to show in all the classes at the fair, so I need 5 different breeds. I do not at this point kill the older egg layers that we have, but if I have to order at least 15 chickens every year then I will have to start, also I would run out of room in the coop for them. I am just frustrated at finding what she needs. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Lisa
Dubuque, Iowa

 

[Pyxis]

Hatcheries do not have good quality showbirds. They are concerned with production, so you can get really great egg layers from them, but they do not breed to the standard and oftentimes let many qualities of a breed fall to the wayside. Hatching eggs are a good way to get started with better stock. Find reputable breeders that have the breeds you are interested in, and then make inquiries as to whether they sell eggs. If you go over to the Exhibition and Showing section of the forums, there are threads for many breeds, and the people in those threads are breeding their birds to the standard for showing. You could ask there if anyone had eggs available. Good luck!