A Family Guide To Keeping Chickens (30 page)

A few garden centres and pet shops now sell chickens, as well as housing and supplies. Quality can be variable, while the assistants may have little experience of chickens. Buying chickens from a shop is often more expensive than from a breeder, choice will be limited and there may be little information about the birds themselves.

There are also auctions of poultry, which are exciting but can be risky.

Chicken breeders advertise in poultry magazines (see Further Reference), and most of the popular breeds and hybrids are offered. Many of the larger breeders have websites.

Ask around too – if you can find someone through personal recommendation so much the better.

Try to find a suitable breeder close to home. Apart from being more convenient, this saves subjecting your new chickens to a long and stressful journey. It will also be easier if it’s necessary to return any birds.

Some breeders are enthusiasts specializing in only a few pure-breeds. They will often have won awards at shows and may have surplus stock for sale – usually birds unsuitable for showing but fine as domestic chickens. If you want a particular breed, this is a good way of obtaining chickens from an expert. Specialist breeders can be tracked down through the relevant breed society.

Buying from a poultry breeder

Larger breeders will offer a wider selection. Some breeders sell both pure-breeds and hybrids, while some concentrate on one or the other.

Hybrid hens are usually available all year round, while spring/summer is the best time to buy pure-breeds. Breeders can only raise so many birds at one time, so if you have set your heart on a popular breed, you may have to wait until they are ready.

Try to visit one or two breeders before you are ready to buy your chickens. You can have a look around, discuss your requirements and put your name on a waiting list if necessary. Some breeders will expect you to make an appointment before visiting, but should be happy to show you their stock and take an order for the future. Going without the intention to buy also makes it easier to walk away if you are unhappy about anything.

The birds should be kept in clean, spacious conditions. Overcrowding in a dirty, damp environment is the cause of diseases in young chickens, especially coccidiosis, a parasitic disease of the intestines which often results in death.

The chickens should be bright and alert. Are any sitting hunched in a corner? This is a sign of bad health and poor husbandry too, as they should have been removed. The chickens’ eyes, nostrils and rear ends should be clean with no discharge. Feathers should be bright, shiny and intact.

Ask whether the young birds have been vaccinated and against which diseases. These might include: coccidiosis, infectious bronchitis, Marek’s disease, mycoplasma, Newcastle disease and salmonella. Vaccinations can only be given at a young age and shouldn’t need repeating.

Ask if you can see the parent birds. They also should be bright and healthy. How do they react to their keeper? Ask about flightiness and ease of taming.

The breeder should be happy to give you help and advice, as well as being prepared to exchange any unsatisfactory birds.

There are some unscrupulous breeders motivated more by profit than providing good-quality birds – the chicken equivalent of puppy farmers. Cutting corners to make quick sales usually results in unhealthy birds likely to succumb to disease. These breeders may be able to supply exactly what you want when you want it but will have no interest in dealing with any problems that arise as a result of their shoddy practices. They thrive on people who are too impatient to wait until the reliable breeders have restocked – you have been warned!

You might find chickens advertised for sale privately – perhaps on a board in the feed store. These adverts may be placed by small-scale breeders or people who have just hatched out a few eggs from their own hens. Quality may vary so look at the birds and premises carefully, making sure you ask plenty of questions. Hybrid hens are usually sold through agents so be cautious if someone is advertising ‘Black Rocks’ or other well-known names. They could simply be cross-breeds and, although they may look similar, will not have the qualities expected from hybrids.

The normal advice is never to buy from sales but they are interesting places to visit if only to look at the different breeds. There may also be chicken equipment available (thoroughly disinfect anything bought second-hand), trade stands and a chance to mingle with other chicken enthusiasts.

Salisbury Poultry Auction is one of the largest in the country and close enough to provide me with an enjoyable morning out. Friends have had some successful buys and I have some hens still going strong after a couple of years – as well as a cockerel who started crowing a few weeks after he was auctioned as a year-old hen . . .

Poultry auctions can be interesting and enjoyable

That’s the problem with sales – even if the mistake is the seller’s, there’s no redress. If you buy a sick bird, a hen that turns out to be a cockerel or something listed incorrectly, you are stuck with it. As chickens become ever more popular, it’s likely that more and more unsuitable birds will end up at sales to be bid for enthusiastically by the unwary.

It’s all too easy to get carried away and I’ve seen people pay well over the odds. Sales really aren’t the best way of buying your first chickens – or even your second.

If you are still keen to buy at auction, here are a few tips:

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Sales are noisy, confusing places so first go and have a look round without intending to buy.

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Try to obtain a catalogue before the sale and mark any lots that interest you – Salisbury Poultry Auction publishes its catalogue online.

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Obtain a buyer’s number before bidding – the auctioneer will need this if your bid is successful.

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Arrive early so you can study your intended purchases before bidding starts. There is often a crush around the auctioneer, making it difficult to see the birds.

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Look carefully at the chickens you intend to buy and reject any that don’t appear healthy.

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If a bird looks unwell, don’t consider others from the same seller.

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Sometimes lots are changed or aren’t specified in the catalogue. Make sure you know what the breeds should look like.

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Chickens are often sold as ‘pairs’, ‘trios’, ‘quartets’ or ‘quintets’. All of these contain a cockerel. There should also be some lots consisting only of pullets or hens. ‘As hatched’ means the birds haven’t yet been sexed.

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There will be a buyer’s premium added to your bid and VAT if the seller is registered. Decide how much you are prepared to pay and stick to it.

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You will need a pet carrier or box for your new chickens – you may be able to buy cardboard pet boxes at the sale.

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Take your chickens straight home and give them quiet, comfortable quarters with plenty of food and water.

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Quarantine chickens bought from sales for at least three weeks.

This last point is particularly important if you already have some hens. Sales are a great place for infections and stress makes chickens particularly susceptible. Birds bought from different sellers should ideally be quarantined separately.

Bringing Your Chickens Home

Proper carrying boxes are costly and must be disinfected after every use. For transporting chickens from breeder to home, strong cardboard boxes should be adequate. The box should be large enough for a chicken to stand up and turn around, and you will need enough boxes to carry all your purchases comfortably – preferably one box per chicken. Don’t forget to make plenty of air holes. Make sure the top can be closed securely and take some string so you can tie it shut.

Cardboard pet carriers can be bought cheaply – sometimes the breeder will supply these, but check first so you don’t go home empty-handed.

You could also use a cat carrier, or even a small dog crate – cover it with a blanket so the chickens aren’t panicked by the journey.

Line your boxes with newspaper and add a layer of shavings.

Chickens overheat very easily, leading to stress or even death, so keeping them cool and comfortable is a priority when travelling.

Don’t put chickens in the boot as it may become too hot and airless. Putting them in the car allows you to monitor the temperature – chickens should not be left in a parked car on a warm day even with the windows open. Try not to transport chickens on very hot days – if this is unavoidable, travel early in the morning or late in the evening. Cardboard boxes generate warmth so use an alternative for long journeys in warm weather.

Food and water must be provided for journeys over eight hours – but hopefully you won’t need to travel that far.

Pet carriers can be used for transporting chickens