Where do you all get your chickens?

[aart]

This year I found a NPIP breeder about 10 min from my house. She has more rare breeds so they were a little more expensive but breeds I wanted. I got to see the whole farm and talk with the woman before deciding.

Did you have to wear protective clothing and shoe covers to tour?

 

[hempsteadjb]

I'm fine with tsc but they don't get chicks until spring and I'd like them sooner.

I'll keep looking!

Our Tractor Supply has baby chicks now, I was really surprised to see that.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

View attachment 1119427 View attachment 1119427
Our Tractor Supply has baby chicks now, I was really surprised to see that.

Ours just advertised chick days again. I didn't go look. I thought it was a mistake. LOL

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Did you have to wear protective clothing and shoe covers to tour?

She didn't go that far. She had me spray my shoes and I didn't go in with any unvaccinated birds. She said she vaccinated for the major contagions. I got see how they were housed and handled. For me that's better then a random person from an add somewhere.

 

[James Papin]

I have gotten chicks from Meyer Hatchery, and ready to lay pullets from Murray McMurray hatchery.

 

[aart]

Did you have to wear protective clothing and shoe covers to tour?

She didn't go that far. She had me spray my shoes and I didn't go in with any unvaccinated birds. She said she vaccinated for the major contagions. I got see how they were housed and handled. For me that's better then a random person from an add somewhere.

I thought NPIP didn't allow any visitors without protective clothing...if at all.

 

[PirateGirl]

Apologies if this has been said, but I wish I had gone this route for my pullets. I found a local backyard chickens facebook group, depending on the size of your community there may be one that is town or county specific, or a larger network that is state specific. I found this to be a great resource and there were people giving away chickens on there all the time. There were also breeders selling chicks and eggs, or selling off chickens that for some reason or another didn't fit their breeding parameters. This isn't saying they were inferior birds for those of us looking to get a few eggs a week, but maybe the comb wasn't the right shape or some recessive gene came out and the coloration wasn't as expected. The farm and garden section on my local craigslist would have postings as well.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I thought NPIP didn't allow any visitors without protective clothing...if at all.

Hhmmm... I went looking on the NPIP website and didn't see anything specific. It seems to be decided by site. I found this...
http://www.poultryimprovement.org/documents/AuditGuidelines-BiosecurityPrinciples.pdf
Thought it was interesting.

 

[aart]

Hhmmm... I went looking on the NPIP website and didn't see anything specific. It seems to be decided by site. I found this...
http://www.poultryimprovement.org/documents/AuditGuidelines-BiosecurityPrinciples.pdf
Thought it was interesting.

I've bought from a couple NPIPer's.
One wouldn't allow me anywhere near their coops, said it was against the NPIP rules. Another wouldn't allow me on their property, said it would involve protective clothing, disinfecting of shoes and shoe covers so we met in a public parking lot.
NPIP overall is pretty loose with no real compliance checks, just some testing each year by anyone who wants to pay for the training(not even sure what that consists of) and only word of honor of compliance and a closed flock.

 

[TattooedChicks]

I get all my birds from a local hatchery that travels on chick days close to home, and one batch from Ideal Poultry through the mail though I will likely not use them again. I also use Craigslist to rehome extra Roos to families looking for 4-H birds.