More chicks

[Crickychick]

In light of the current issues with bird flu - what is the safest method of adding new chicks in terms of where to buy? My four girls are all coming up on one year and its going well (knock wood) sp Im a bit concerned about introducing illness. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and expertise, it has all been very helpful in getting us this far!!

 

[nuthatched]

Any hatchery day olds, or npip breeder will be fine.
Biying adult birds locally can be risky to begin with but with proper quarantine procedures, I wouldn't be too worried unless you have confirmed a.i in your region.

 

[Crickychick]

Thank you … are there any on line hatcheries that are recommended? I got my first set of chicks from a retail feed supply store.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I assume you are in the USA. I hate to mention any hatcheries because I'll leave out many good ones. I've used Cackle, Meyer, and Ideal and been happy with all of them. Some other commonly used by us are Mcmurray, Privett, Hoover, Freedom Ranger, Strombergs, Townline and Welp. Purely Poultry and MyPetChicken are not hatcheries but they get the chicks from hatcheries so they are OK.

 

[Crickychick]

 

[SandyRiverChick]

The nice thing about brooding chicks though based on your setup, is a built in quarantine period where any illness that may surface (likely not,) will not spread to the rest of your flock. But like I said, that's assuming you keep chicks separate from the flock for a bit. My chicks all come from Privett and I am not worried, they have good health practices in my opinion and vaccinations.