Choosing a Seller or Breeder

Am I active here this week or what??!  😉

Well, it’s just a very active time I guess!

The seasons are changing, days are getting shorter, and soon the dwindling daylight and eventual cold temperatures will take their toll.  Fertility will decrease, hens will stop laying without supplemental light for many, many flock keepers.  People are getting their Fall chick orders in before settling down for the winter.  It seems as good a time as any to bring up where to purchase chicks.

Personally, after this winter, I don’t plan on hatching and brooding chicks in the winter.  Yes, that’s what I told myself last year, and that is what I’ll tell myself next year too.   Ok…. maybe just a few…..

If you’re looking for hatchery quality birds, then I would do just that– buy from a hatchery.  But if you are seeking out rare breeds, rare colors, heritage lines, etc find a breeder!

Now, it would be nice to be able to just take people at their word– that birds came from this lineage, are this quality, are pure, and that the seller will deliver on a promise– but people are people, and the fact is that not all people are honest and not all birds are created equal.

You really must be pro-active in protecting yourself.  It’s called personal responsibility, and why would you not practice it all the more if you’re plunking down a lot of money?  If anything, you should be all the more cautious not less! So, I just thought I would take a minute to make a checklist of steps you can take to protect yourself from bad dealings when purchasing from private flock keepers and breeders.

• If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably no good at all.  If you’re seeking out a rare color, rare breed, top quality and someone is selling far below the market price, there’s probably something very wrong.  As a breeder explained to me, you tend to get what you pay for, and if you’re buying something rare for pennies on the dollar, chances are good that all you’ve really bought is that breeder’s problems ie. sick birds, junk birds, culls. It’s also possible that you’re purchasing from someone who just doesn’t care.  They have no love for the breed and just see a money maker which means they’re probably not investing any time at all in producing quality.  They’re just pumping out chicks.
• Ask for photos.  Even if a breeder is selling birds at, or above, market price it doesn’t mean they’re selling better, quality birds.  You could still very easily be dealing with someone selling culls or that thinks they found an easy money maker and has no interest in quality or improvement.  If a seller is proud of what they have, they’ll have no problems showing you photographs that are clear and that give you a well rounded visual of just what you’re getting or what kind of quality your chicks, eggs, pairs, or trios are coming from!  If a breeder or seller does not have photos or won’t produce photos for you to view, go elsewhere.  There are too many out there that will happily jump on a chance to show off their stock if they aren’t showing it off already, to deal with someone who gives excuses for why they can’t offer a photo or take the time to take more so that you can feel sure.
• Do your homework!  Ask around for referrals!  But even then, don’t take a recommendation at face value! You still need to look for more information on the seller or breeders you’ve been referred to since what you feel constitutes a good seller, good practices, and good quality may be vastly different than what another person thinks constitutes a good seller, good practices, and good quality.
• Ask the breeder questions.  What questions you ask are specific to you as each person places importance on different things.  For you, just as an example, it may be — do you show, have your birds won awards, or you may prefer someone who operates an entirely closed flock and never shows.  For me personally, of course I want beauty!! but health comes first!!! and it isn’t necessarily any one specific question that makes or breaks the deal, but rather how I feel about the answers and the seller’s reaction to my questioning them as a whole.  When I first purchased from a private seller, a couple of my questions were 1.)  have you ever had an illness in your flock, and if so, how did you handle it, and what steps are you taking now to prevent it from happening again  2.)  Do you offer vaccines?  I didn’t want or need the vaccines, but felt that the offering showed concern for the health of the breed overall and responsibility on the seller’s part.   The seller was patient, answered my questions honestly and in depth, never offended by any question I put forward.  They weren’t in a rush to get me to shut up, and I also didn’t suddenly feel like I was talking to a used car salesman!
• Go NPIP. NPIP certainly has it’s holes, but I do think that purchasing NPIP birds is a step in the right direction, especially when combined with these other steps in reducing your risk of purchasing unhealthy stock.  For the record, not being NPIP certified doesn’t mean a person does have sick birds, just as being NPIP doesn’t mean a person has completely healthy stock.  It’s just an extra step to increase your chances.  Myself, I am not yet NPIP, but I plan to be, and I’ve been extremely cautious with my hatching egg purchases.
• Trust your gut.  If something about a breeder or seller feels “off”, don’t take your chances.  Be patient and look elsewhere.  If one person has what you’re looking for, someone else will too so bide your time, and look for someone who makes you feel comfortable!

In summary, be willing to go the distance to get what you really want.  Be willing to spend the money or even to travel if you have to.  Be responsible.  You won’t do yourself any favors if you cut corners just to save money or a little of your time.  You’re not saving anything if the quality isn’t there, and you’re certainly not saving anything if you aren’t careful, don’t do your homework, and introduce sick stock.

Is there anything I left out in choosing a good breeder?  Post it in the comments section!

New Chicken Room, New Brooder, and Chick Pics

LF Black English Orp Chicks

So many chicks and nowhere to put them!

We have a rather tiny house, and it was pretty obvious I would need a second brooder, and with more hatching eggs coming in, that I will need several more especially as they start to grow.

Having a brooder shoved off in a corner for six to eight weeks, with all its dust and little chicken odor, is manageable.  Having brooders in every room of the house for six to eight weeks, not so much.

John and my son, Michael, did a wonderful thing and cleared out the closed back porch.  It is now the official brooding room, effectively solving our space and dusty house challenge.

I am still going to have to set up more brooders– probably two or three more– but perhaps not four or five or six!  For hatches 1-4, I used a kitchen pantry to make a brooder large enough to accommodate them all.  They were all born close enough together as to not be little bullies just yet when adding new chicks.

New brooder made from a kitchen pantry! Remove shelves, take off the door, and voila!

 

I think having the brooders on the back porch will be a good thing too since the porch is not temperature controlled.  As the weather turns cooler and cooler, they’ll get more of a taste of the cold when they venture away from the lights for a drink or a bite to eat.  It will not be as cold as it is outside, but cold enough that perhaps they’ll get an appropriately thicker coat of under fluff.

Despite the dust, I’ve been very happy having so many chicks!  Sending them out of the house will be very hard no matter how well I prep the coop for them.  I’ve taken quite a few pictures of my babies, knowing they will grow up and be out of the house in a blink, and with it being my favorite season on top of it all, with my favorite holiday around the corner, I’ve definitely been taking advantage.  From the looks on their little faces, I’d say they are plotting their revenge for the indignity of being plucked out their nice little brooder and plopped down among various props for the sake of my cooing and giggling as I snap their pictures!

Come now! How can I be blamed??  😀

Happy Fall from Happy Chickens!

Our Winter Coop

We have lots of chicks here at Happy Chickens now, and we are hopefully adding more!

Right now, we have LF Black English Orpingtons, bantam Orpingtons in blue, black, chocolate, and mauve, Langshan eggs in the incubator, and are hopefully adding Lavender Orpingtons and possibly others to the incubator in October.

As if the idea of keeping chickens snug through winter wasn’t just a little scary already, right??  But they can’t be kept in the house forever.  A shame though.  I’d love a few feathered friends to sit on the couch and watch T.V. with!  A hen at the dinner table! A rooster on the bedside table at about 6 a.m.  😉

It’s only the beginning of Fall, but now really is the time to start prepping the coop for winter.

I see questions posted a lot in the Fall from newer folks, worried and wondering if chickens are winter hardy and if there is anything they need to do or if they should plan on giving their flock supplemental heat.

Well, let me start by saying that some breeds are more cold hardy than others, but generally chickens are very well capable of handling the cold, and given proper care and a good coop, adults do not need supplemental heat.  People keep chickens in Alaska just fine, some only offering heat in minus degree temperatures.   In fact, you may actually do more harm than good giving your flock supplemental heat.

Adjusting from the warm, comfy confines of a heated coop to the frigid winter temperatures when a chicken ventures out is very stressful and can weaken their immune systems.  Furthermore, a bird accustomed to a warm coop may not survive if the worst happens and the electric goes out…..

So, rather than eating up your utilities budget by running electrical cords across the yard and risking the fire hazard of running heat lamps or space heaters all winter for adults perfectly capable of thriving right on through the long, cold winter your best bet is to just have a properly winterized coop that is sized correctly for the number of birds you are keeping.

In our case, we’re raising chicks, so offering heat when they go outside is a necessity.  They’ll be leaving a warm house and will have to be placed in the coop in November and January.  Outside of the supplemental heat, everything I’m doing right now to prepare the coop for winter is the same as I would do if I were preparing the coop for an adult flock.

First of all, though it may come as a surprise to people newer to chicken keeping, we are actually discussing ways to open up the coop for more ventilation.  We want plenty of air exchange in there to avoid a build up of ammonia that can seriously damage the respiratory system of our flock.  What we don’t want is a draft or air that blows directly on our birds.  Before we put our chickens in the coop we will seek out any possible drafts and seal them up.  However, we will keep our sources of ventilation wide open.

We have a very large coop.  I always want my birds to have more than enough space, but in winter, there can be such a thing as too much space particularly with bantams or chicks.  We never overcrowd, but we are sectioning off our coop to a size that is more winter friendly and will help chicks retain heat.  Next winter, when they are grown and supplemental heat is not needed, we will create a temporary dropped ceiling over the roost so that body heat doesn’t just rise and dissipate, but rather, is put to use where the birds are roosting.

We will also use wide roosts so that our chickens’ feathers will completely settle over their feet when they roost to protect those funny little chicken toes from frostbite.

Winter doesn’t mean the end of parasites and pests.  Lice and mites can seriously weaken a flock’s immune system– not something you want on top of their facing frigid temperatures.  The less they have to deal with, the better off they are. Fall is a good time to change out  bedding and treat the coop for bugs and mites in preparation for winter.

We have removed all the bedding and scraped it to earth and sprinkled Sevin Dust to kill bugs capable of carrying disease, sprayed the coop from the ceiling down to the ground, and so far, we’ve painted the walls where the chicks will spend the winter.

It’s a good idea to paint or use a sealant on any wood surfaces in the coop to help seal off the little nooks and crannies that tiny pests might hide in since not all parasites stay on a chicken all the time.

After speaking to a couple of very capable and experienced flock keepers, I’ve decided to combine the advice given to me before my chicks go into the coop to prevent parasites.  I’ll spray the walls with Permethrin spray and then place a good layer of DE on the coop floor before putting down a nice, thick layer of bedding for the chicks to snuggle down into.

As to the chickens themselves, a little cracked corn every day will help them put on weight and help keep them warm along with treats such as warm oatmeal, cream of wheat, or rice.   It’s also very important to make sure they always have access to water– the ultimate winter challenge.

Last winter I schlepped hot water several times a day.  This winter, I believe I’ll make a heated tin to keep the water from freezing.

We’re almost ready for winter!

Almost prepared section of the coop where our chicks will spend the winter