Show quality CHICKS???--no one shows Chicks--and no one knows if a chick will grow up to be "show quality"!
To raise "Show Quality" birds of any breed, requires some years of experience and selection of a breeding flock. You can not purchase a trio of birds that have been Show Winners for starters, and expect to be a breeder of "show quality" offspring. Have been raising bantams for 25 years, and keep records of every egg hatched, birds sold--and who purhased them, know "pedigree" of my birds. I repeat best breedings and keep enough lines of each variety to rarely need to obtain new birds. (New birds set one back several generations to sort out the best of the "new" birds.) Of course, you may already have that experience--but thenyou will know that you can never expect "show quality" chicks from a hatchery. They have no clue what that chick will grow up to be--out of 1000s of eggs--there indeed MAY be one that can win at a show, but raising a chick to be a show winner in any breed requires a lot of study and examination--or just a lot of good old LUCK. Still, whatever we raise is FUN and always ANTICIPATION of some really nice offspring! For proper housing, pasturing, equipment (even winter heating in some parts of the country) FEED, vaccinations, there is a great cost to raising healthy birds, and one has to do a lot of selection from each hatch. I do not sell chicks or eggs. Birds should be at least 4-5 months old to assess their best futures, and to ship safely. I make no promises of Show Winners--(but have sold birds that were awarded BEST IN SHOW, all breeds ) that is up to the competition and the judge--but I work on breeding only correct TYPE --and with good care and preparation for a show, one can be proud of their birds! Cost? Birds are still more costly than the shipping and their shipping box. I have occasional culls (still beautiful bantams) from my best breeding birds, that can be sold locally,for $10 (well fed, safely housed, vaccinated for Marek"s Disease, handled and tame) but only as colorful "banties"--no breed name. Raising the best birds of any breed takes study, time, work, and expenses--GREATLY ENJOYED, and worth the charges for the birds, to recoup most expenses!
Purchase of well grown birds, if you want GOOD ones, will save a lot of expenses raising chicks, and you know what you are getting--not losing a season, if you do not receive suitable chicks of any breed. Experience is a good teacher--if you have it, you will use it for any future with poultry--great pleasure for those of us who are just chickien farmers by nature! Good luck, J R
