New to raising baby chicks...HELP!

[katheyschickens]

Hi! I have 4 Rhode Island Red hens that have been laying eggs for about 4 months. They are doing great and I love them! One, the one I call Quizer, has been broody for about 3 weeks now. We have been moving her each day to get to the eggs she hordes from the other 3 hens. I feel so bad for her, since she wants to be a mom and we don't have a rooster yet. I have a few questions I need help with before I get a rooster. #1) I want to sell baby chicks to our local Rural King and I have scheduled our state poultry people to come out to certify us as NPIP so I can do this. Do I need to get a Rhode Island Red rooster to keep the breed pure or does that matter?
#2) Right now all my hens use the coop and nesting boxes. Do I need to add on another area specific for the rooster and hens I want to breed and keep the layers separate?
#3) How will I know if the eggs laid by the hens housed with the rooster are fertilized or just layer eggs for eating?
#4) Should I just buy fertilized hatching eggs at first instead of getting a rooster? If so, I have looked at some sites and they don't seem to say that you are getting specific breeds. They seems to all say "assorted" hatching eggs. Will that matter if I want to sell them?
I know this is a lot of questions, but like I said I'm new and have so many questions and no one near by to ask. Thanks!

 

[Perris]

hello @katheyschickens ! welcome to BYC
I can't help with your #1, but I'd assume your Rural King store can tell you exactly what they require to sell your chicks.
#3 is solved by following your own suggestion in #2.
re #4, for pure breeds you need to seek out breeders of the desired breed. They will be better quality birds too.
Good luck!

 

[katheyschickens]

Thanks for the answers!!

 

[Willowspirit]

I think your rooster needs to be included in your tested chickens to be included in your nip certfication. You might check. And good luck!

 

[Shezadandy]

Thanks for the answers!!

You might want to post over on the "managing your chickens" forum (as opposed to "raising chicks" as yours are laying eggs now) for best practices in terms of breeding pens etc.

 

[katheyschickens]

I'll do that. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Managing roosters is another issue entirely, and this breed can have 'difficult' cockerels too.
Talk to your RK manager to find out exactly what the store wants in chicks, before committing to raise anything for them.
All birds in your flock will need testing for NPIP certification. It's a state program, so find out exactly what's involved. It costs $$ too.
'Production reds', as in hatchery type RIRs, aren't anything like actual heritage (SQ) RIRs, who are very very dark red in color. Which are you doing?
Mary

 

[GambleFamilyHomestead]

if you want pure bred RIR you need an RIR rooster. if you are fine crossbreeding any rooster will do. If you put some research into it i'm sure you could come up with a cool breed depending on the rooster you get. hope this helps.

 

[CindyinSD]

There’s a lady near me who just buys a boatload of chicks every spring from Runnings, raises them up and sells them on Craig’s List. No NPIP, but that’s legal for personal in-state sales. (Laws will vary from state to state.) The older they are, the more feed she’s put into them so they cost more if they’re on the brink of starting to lay. Then of course if winter’s coming on and some are left over, they begin to cost less...

 

[katheyschickens]

Welcome! Managing roosters is another issue entirely, and this breed can have 'difficult' cockerels too.
Talk to your RK manager to find out exactly what the store wants in chicks, before committing to raise anything for them.
All birds in your flock will need testing for NPIP certification. It's a state program, so find out exactly what's involved. It costs $$ too.
'Production reds', as in hatchery type RIRs, aren't anything like actual heritage (SQ) RIRs, who are very very dark red in color. Which are you doing?
Mary

Mine are very very dark red, almost black around the body with slightly lighter, more red around the necks.