What To Look For When Buying Chickens
Now that you have decided to raise some chickens, how do you know what to look for and which ones to purchase? It is imperative that you know at least the basics when it comes to choosing the best birds for your coop whether they are laying hens or broilers and fryers. buying baby chicks is one way of getting a head start on giving your flock the best diet and raising possible for the best possible egg production or meat consumption. With so many different breeds and types to choose from, having some knowledge about them will help to make the best decisions possible.
There are tons of websites that are good sources of information on many of the different types of chickens and which breeds are the best for the purpose you are raising them. Depending on your intentions you may need to purchase one specific breed over another to best suit your plans. Gathering information about the many types and brreeds of chickens and what breed is best for either egg laying or meal production will greatly benefit you when the time comes to buy your chickens.
If gathering eggs for your personal use or for selling is your main goal for raising chickens, you will need to consider the best breeds for that type of production. Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds are most often preferred for excellent egg production, and the laying hens do their job well. Getting a rooster is not a must to the egg laying production unless you want fertilized eggs for hatching. If not, opting not to purchase a rooster will save you time, money and hassle. When choosing a good laying hen, watch for signs of bad health. The eyes should be bright, and alert with the chickens moving around frequently. Their feathers should be in good condition with excellent color and definition. Avoid purchasing laying hens that tend to sit still frequently, or do not walk in the usual peppy manner known to chickens.
When choosing chickens primarily for meals and meat consumption, the most common breeds that provide excellent quality meat are Ross, Arbor Acres, and Peterson chickens. These three breeds are the most commonly preferred for their meatiness and provide proper amounts of nutrients as well. Purchasing these chickens requires a good eye for healthy specimens or good quality chicks from healthy laying hens that are able to be raised healthy to produce the best quality meat when the time arrives.
Saving money is a good notion, but buying the cheapest chicks, laying hens, broilers, or fryers is not always the best idea. Sometimes those cheap chickens are cheap for a reason and that reason could be an un-noticed disease or a sickly bird that could infect an entire coop, leaving you with dead or damaged chickens. If you find a good supplier that produces top quality specimens, sticking with them would be wise and perhaps working out variations of deals or payments can be made with consent to continue purchasing from them exclusively. Finding a supplier is not difficult, but finding a trustworthy and excellent one can be. Trust your gut instinct and for whatever else you don’t know — learning is the key.
Timothy A. Crane has an online auction site, where it is FREE to buy or sell anything from real estate to chickens. It was started by my daughter and I. Stop by and register for FREE http://www.chickenauctions.com