Why Do People Buy Live Chicks From Breeders and Farm Stores‭?

[snow5164]

I have talked to and purchased chicks/pullets from a few breeders here in Canada . I was not allowed on the property since I have birds, they met me at a neutral location and wouldn’t come to my farm either.

The serious breeders know about and practice bio security here.

As for Hatchery’s ? The general public is not allowed on the property either, they deliver to a store in town at a set time .

In each set up chicks are not raised by the hen , chicks in one place , pullets in another , roosters have a separate house.

There are good people trying to do the right thing, the problem is your idea of the right thing is different then mine

As to hatching? I don’t do it for the same reason I don’t breed my dogs /cats there are so many for sale and I don’t want males of any species , my hubby is the only “rooster” allowed on my property

 

[Shadrach]

Some hens manage to hatch chicks quite well. Some manage to half incubate them and then give up, or start kicking the eggs out of the nest. Some even kill chicks once they've hatched. It's nowhere near a guarantee of success to let nature take its course.

That was gross mismanagement if they were dying of coccidiosis while on wire floors. Also mismanagement to not acclimate them effectively and not take care in regard to predators.

You can use hens only if you like, it's your flock. Personally, I refuse. I want a specific amount of chicks at specific times and from only certain hens, not randomly when a hen decides she'd like to sit on a mixed nest of eggs. And my coop is not set up in such a way to indulge a broody hen's whims.

Maybe it's a language thing, but I find your posts mildly aggressive towards people who choose to use an incubator and brooder raise chicks, there are reasons people choose to do it that way and they're just as valid as the opposite choice.

Hopefully its a language thing.
I'm not American and often fall foul of the style of posting.
If you read my first post, you'll read that I suggest incubating in prefernce to buying chicks.
Am I against incubating in general, Yes I probably am. However, lots of people do it and I don't have to do likewise.
I can manage a specific amount from a specific hen, I have the space and facilities. I realise lots of people don't.
However, what I'm interested in for this post is peoples experiences of breeders and hatcheries.

 

[WVduckchick]

I love my incubators and love hatching chicks. After a few years of doing so, I now mostly sell anything I hatch in the incubator, as chicks raised in indoor brooders (moved outside when appropriate). I let my broody hens expand my personal flocks. I mostly let those grow out, and sell off ones that I don't want to keep, or when I just have too many to keep! My broodies were very (VERY) active this year, and hatched almost every egg that I let them keep. (I do try to limit them to 4-6 eggs each)

As far as biosecurity.... I prefer to remove chicks and meet customers out somewhere, instead of them coming to my home. But with the older grow-outs, sometimes they want to come and choose particular chicks. I have let them come and look, point, ooh and aaahh over them, but nobody handles the chicks except me, and only I enter the pens. Inside the pens are off-limits. (I have made very minimal exceptions to this, depending on the situation and the customer).

This year, I added 2 new breeds. Had eggs shipped to me. One set did fabulous, the other set was ruined by the postal service. I only got 2 to hatch, so I was lucky enough to find a local individual breeder with the same breed, excellent quality, that had hatched on the same day as mine. So I purchased 4 2-day old chicks.

I've never been to a big-time hatchery, and I've only visited the one "breeder" that I bought those last chicks from. Almost every other bird on my property was hatched by me, from eggs, with the exception of maybe 5 older birds (out of 100+ total)

 

[Shadrach]

I have talked to and purchased chicks/pullets from a few breeders here in Canada . I was not allowed on the property since I have birds, they met me at a neutral location and wouldn’t come to my farm either.

The serious breeders know about and practice bio security here.

As for Hatchery’s ? The general public is not allowed on the property either, they deliver to a store in town at a set time .

In each set up chicks are not raised by the hen , chicks in one place , pullets in another , roosters have a separate house.

There are good people trying to do the right thing, the problem is your idea of the right thing is different then mine

As to hatching? I don’t do it for the same reason I don’t breed my dogs /cats there are so many for sale and I don’t want males of any species , my hubby is the only “rooster” allowed on my property

Thank you.
So for the hatcheries you specify the breed you want and you get what they supply? There is no choice of individual chicks?
I'm just curious. I've recently read a number of posts from people who have bought diseased chicks from breeders. It brought to mind the experience in the UK in my first post.

 

[Shadrach]

I love my incubators and love hatching chicks. After a few years of doing so, I now mostly sell anything I hatch in the incubator, as chicks raised in indoor brooders (moved outside when appropriate). I let my broody hens expand my personal flocks. I mostly let those grow out, and sell off ones that I don't want to keep, or when I just have too many to keep! My broodies were very (VERY) active this year, and hatched almost every egg that I let them keep. (I do try to limit them to 4-6 eggs each)

As far as biosecurity.... I prefer to remove chicks and meet customers out somewhere, instead of them coming to my home. But with the older grow-outs, sometimes they want to come and choose particular chicks. I have let them come and look, point, ooh and aaahh over them, but nobody handles the chicks except me, and only I enter the pens. Inside the pens are off-limits. (I have made very minimal exceptions to this, depending on the situation and the customer).

This year, I added 2 new breeds. Had eggs shipped to me. One set did fabulous, the other set was ruined by the postal service. I only got 2 to hatch, so I was lucky enough to find a local individual breeder with the same breed, excellent quality, that had hatched on the same day as mine. So I purchased 4 2-day old chicks.

I've never been to a big-time hatchery, and I've only visited the one "breeder" that I bought those last chicks from. Almost every other bird on my property was hatched by me, from eggs, with the exception of maybe 5 older birds (out of 100+ total)

Interesting that you keep two distinct flocks.
May I ask what the attraction of incubator hatching is?
What breeds so you sell and why?

 

[Mosey2003]

Thank you.
So for the hatcheries you specify the breed you want and you get what they supply? There is no choice of individual chicks?
I'm just curious. I've recently read a number of posts from people who have bought diseased chicks from breeders. It brought to mind the experience in the UK in my first post.

You don't get to pick out individual chicks from hatcheries, no. You either pick from a large bin of them at a store (a farm store) in which case you can have an employee pick up and show you the chicks and decide if you want, or you order them from the hatchery directly and they ship you a box. You specifiy breed and sex, and you get what they send you. Some hatcheries will also let you pick up at the hatchery, but you still tell them what you want and they bring your box of chicks up.

I don't think most breeders will let you pick individual chicks out. Depends on the breed, if some are able to be sexed at hatch they may let you choose males or females or whatever mixture you want, but unless they know you well, most private breeders aren't going to let you come paw through the brooder to pick individuals. Most breeders will have a set number of chicks they are looking to sell, and you can have however many you want, but the breeder will pick them out and box them up and likely meet you somewhere off the farm to exchange.

 

[Kessel23]

Has anybody reading this thread been to a hatchery?
If so, what impression did they come away with?
How does the system work if you actually go to a hatchery to choose chicks?

This is what a US hatchery looks like. https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2...ite-house-on-the-hill-tour-mcmurray-hatchery/

All registered hatcheries are forced to use biosecurity. People buy chicks from hatcheries because it is very safe, there are a lot of breeds to choose from and you can get 90% sexing rates with chicks at most hatcheries. Hatching eggs is stressful for first timers, you have to basically cook an egg for 21 days and manage the temp and humidity for 21 days. It is very easy to make mistakes. It is also way more expensive to get started by hatching, if you buy chicks you will just need brooding supplies and supplies for later life stages, if you hatch them then you need to get an incubator.

Cheap incubators are $50 USD and they are pretty much just foam box that comes with a plastic tray, some metal wire, paper clips, a thermometer, and a cheap and old fashion heating system. They are also still air. So if you want to try and save some money and buy the $50 one then you will be flipping those eggs 3 times a day for 21 days and you will have no way on monitoring humidity. I use one of these incubators and I have high hatch rates but it is pretty stressful waiting 21+ days and only being able to check the temps.

If you do hatch the chicks then a lot of them are going to be males. You will also get some deformed chicks and weak chicks. Hatcheries rarely send you deformed chicks, those are usually culled at the hatchery so you do not have to worry about them.

Another problem with hatching eggs is it is harder to add new breeds or more birds to your flock, most of the time you will need to ship eggs. It is hard to find the breed you want in the area you live. People who buy chicks also need to worry about shipping most of the time but a chick is way more durable than an egg. Shipped eggs also have lower hatch rates.

The reason why people buy chicks is because it is cheaper, easier, and less stressful. It is also safer, adult birds have been around for months and have had a ton of time to get diseases, chicks from a hatchery never have contact with mature birds and have a lower chance of picking up diseases. Of course eggs are usually more safe when it comes to diseases. You have a lot more control over chicks from hatcheries than you do with hatching eggs.

 

[WVduckchick]

Interesting that you keep two distinct flocks.
May I ask what the attraction of incubator hatching is?
What breeds so you sell and why?

I breed Seramas, bantam cochins, and Old English game bantams. I have 2 separate pens of seramas, 3 pens of cochins, and 1 OEGB pen. This year I added Black Copper Marans and Cream Legbars. All of my breeds are separated and never co-mingle (no danger of cross-breeding), although some pens share common chicken wire separator walls. I also have a small flock of Call ducks, they get to mingle with whichever group of chickens is out in the free-range yard at whatever time.

Hatching is just such a fun thing to do! I love candling prior to hatch, and seeing the little active embryos growing! And then the hatch, watching a chick zip the egg and bust out never gets old. Taking care of tiny chicks is just something that I enjoy immensely.

 

[Chickassan]

I incubate simply due to the fact I like imprinting the chicks to myself rather than a hen. It makes it much easier to manage them at least in my situation. Since save for two of my flock have known me as the hen I can control them like a maestro. This year I also purchased day old female chicks as my own hatching was turning out a riduclous amount of males 4 to 1 ratio. I can use a broody if I so choose but to be quite frank iv'e had less losses and better birds doing it myself.

 

[Shadrach]

This is what a US hatchery looks like. https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2...ite-house-on-the-hill-tour-mcmurray-hatchery/

All registered hatcheries are forced to use biosecurity. People buy chicks from hatcheries because it is very safe, there are a lot of breeds to choose from and you can get 90% sexing rates with chicks at most hatcheries. Hatching eggs is stressful for first timers, you have to basically cook an egg for 21 days and manage the temp and humidity for 21 days. It is very easy to make mistakes. It is also way more expensive to get started by hatching, if you buy chicks you will just need brooding supplies and supplies for later life stages, if you hatch them then you need to get an incubator.

Cheap incubators are $50 USD and they are pretty much just foam box that comes with a plastic tray, some metal wire, paper clips, a thermometer, and a cheap and old fashion heating system. They are also still air. So if you want to try and save some money and buy the $50 one then you will be flipping those eggs 3 times a day for 21 days and you will have no way on monitoring humidity. I use one of these incubators and I have high hatch rates but it is pretty stressful waiting 21+ days and only being able to check the temps.

If you do hatch the chicks then a lot of them are going to be males. You will also get some deformed chicks and weak chicks. Hatcheries rarely send you deformed chicks, those are usually culled at the hatchery so you do not have to worry about them.

Another problem with hatching eggs is it is harder to add new breeds or more birds to your flock, most of the time you will need to ship eggs. It is hard to find the breed you want in the area you live. People who buy chicks also need to worry about shipping most of the time but a chick is way more durable than an egg. Shipped eggs also have lower hatch rates.

The reason why people buy chicks is because it is cheaper, easier, and less stressful. It is also safer, adult birds have been around for months and have had a ton of time to get diseases, chicks from a hatchery never have contact with mature birds and have a lower chance of picking up diseases. Of course eggs are usually more safe when it comes to diseases. You have a lot more control over chicks from hatcheries than you do with hatching eggs.

It's a big business then. I didn't realise.
I've just looked at Kiki hatchery guide
I keep what I think is called a closed flock so I've never really taken an interest in the hatchery and breeder business.
At some point I will have to introduce new blood here. The French Marans are dying out and the muts I'm so fond of will be the dominant breed (?)
I have British bantams here as well. I may have to get eggs for these and incubate at some point. I am hoping, given they go broody every ten minutes that I'll be able to pursuade a hen to do the eggs for me.