Where to Find Your Hens

The average farmer simply picks up the phone, or gets on-line and orders chickens from the hatchery of his or her choice. Within a week the post office will call to tell them that their day old chicks have arrived at the post office.

Mailing chickens? For those of you new to chickens this might come as a surprise. However the US Postal service has been handling chickens by mail for decades.

On the last days inside of an egg shell the baby chick absorb the last remnants of the yolk sac. This yolk will provide the chick with enough moisture and energy to live comfortably for about three days, without additional food or water. In nature this allows the hen to stay on the nest until all of the eggs in the clutch have hatched. Then when all of chicks have hatched from the eggs, the mother can take her new family to food and water. Commercial hatcheries take advantage of this time to quickly ship chicks to their new homes, usually on a farm. The only requirement of the chicks at this point is warmth, since a new born chick should stay between 85 and 90 degrees for the first days. This problem is solved by requiring a minimum number of chicks in a shipment. The number is usually 25 chicks or more to a box, although a few hatcheries will ship as few as 15 to a box during certain times of the year. This number of birds in a box allows the box to stay warm enough for the chicks health by body heat alone.

And this IS a problem. Most urban chicken owners have no place to raise 25 chickens, even if they wanted that many.

Twenty five laying hens could lay an egg each, every day of the week. Very few families could use 175 eggs in a week! To solve this problem many hatcheries allow the small farmer to buy a few sexed pullets of a laying breed and then, fill the rest of the order with a meat type of bird. Some hatcheries even offer special assortments of chickens, and other poultry like ducks, geese, or turkeys. These “barnyard specials” are great for the small farmer with plenty of space but, still a huge problem for the urban homesteader. So, what is an urban homesteader or backyard chicken lover to do? There are several possible options for a person wanting a small laying flock.

Some lucky individuals will have a commercial hatchery close enough to drive to for pick up. Be warned that many commercial hatcheries will not offer this option as their bio- security policies do not allow visitors to the hatchery grounds. This is a good thing, as keeping the hatchery disease free, means keeping your birds healthy.

Many farm and home type stores like, Tractor Supply Company (TSC is a nation-wide chain), will offer day old chicks for sale at Easter time. An interested person could just wait until they are offered and simply buy a few. The trouble with this option is there is a very limited selection of breeds offered and the chicks are usually sold straight-run, which means as they are hatched, with males and females mixed together. It is possible to buy four chicks and end up with four roosters. Roosters not only do not lay eggs, they are usually far too noisy and aggressive for a city dweller to keep. Unless you are willing to eat them, they will have to find new homes and this is NOT an easy task.

Ordering fertile eggs to incubate is another possibility. The time, effort, and often un-certain results, coupled with the possibility of only roosters hatching, makes this a risky and expensive way to get a few hens for eggs. If you have a good hatch, then you will have to find homes for any extra birds as well.

Some research may help you to find a farm near your home that would be willing to sell some sexed baby chicks, or even started pullets. Started pullets are usually around 16 to 17 weeks old when sold. These birds are ready to start laying. Please try to purchase your birds from a farm that participates in the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). This means the birds on the farm are regularly tested for avian diseases and will ensure not only healthy birds for you, but prevent the spread of serious diseases, some of which can be spread to humans. It is also possible to buy older hens, but keep in mind that the first lay cycle of the hen is the most productive and some old hens hardly lay any eggs at all. Since it is very hard for a beginner to judge the age of a chicken it is better to try and buy junior stock.

On line auction sites such as Eggbid.com and Poultrybid.com, to name a few, are excellent sources for started pullets. By waiting until the birds are feathered out and shipping them using overnight services, small quantities of birds can be purchased. Often the birds offered in places like this are of very high quality, being raised by fanciers that are interested in breed improvement. Also, many different breeds of chickens are offered, allowing you to get the special breed you are interested in, or even a breed that is on the endangered list of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Re-homing battery hens is another option. This is when you provide a home for some “used up” hen that has been in a commercial egg facility. In the UK the Battery Hen Welfare Trust is very active placing ex-battery hens in new homes. I am certain that a similar group exists in the US, but a person could simply contact a commercial facility and politely get some information. Commercial hens are usually sent to the soup pot after their first cycle of laying is past. It costs quite a lot for companies to carry a flock through a molt, and then bring then back into lay. Especially since the second laying cycle produces far fewer eggs. Most companies simply sell the “old” (not yet 2 years old) birds for soup, and replace them with fresh started pullets. If this is the option for you, be aware that battery hens often come with health problems, as well as mental troubles from their factory lives. Yet, if you are willing to put in some effort and time these hens can provide you with eggs and you can give them a better quality of life.

Another wonderful option is to join forces with other backyard hobbyists or urban homesteaders. By forming local clubs, people can learn, and share their poultry experiences, as well as share in a chicken order, or other supplies, like egg cartons, that are often sold in larger quantities. With several interested parties sharing, each person can order just the breed and quantity of day old chicks that he or she is interested in, and still ensure enough birds in the order to fill the warmth requirements.

Finally there are a few hatcheries that sell started pullets. There is usually only a small selection of breeds available, but most are high egg producers. The started pullets are usually around 17 weeks of age and come already vaccinated against many diseases. It is also common practice that these started pullets have been beak trimmed. This means that the top and sometimes the lower beak as well have had the ends removed by using a hot blade. This practice is done on battery hens to prevent them from killing and eating each other in the crowded pen in which they usually live. Since many of the started pullets raised by hatcheries are used as replacement stock for egg producers, de-beaking is done as part of the rearing process. The main problem with purchasing commercially started pullets is in the shipping costs, which can be high. Keep in mind though the hatchery has had the cost of feeding and housing these hens for the last 17 weeks and factoring in this cost does make the purchase price more reasonable. Started pullets however, seldom become the trusting pets that day old chicks do.