Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens Read Online Free PDF Page B

houses that market chickens from outside sources, often with little knowledge of or concern for the birds’ condition or bloodlines.
    Some hatcheries specialize in exhibition breeds, but rarely do they sell prizewinning strains. If you want quality purebreds, look for a serious breeder who keeps records on breeding, production, and growth. If possible, make a personal visit so you can ask questions, examine records, and see the conditions under which the birds live.
    Your county Extension agent should know who keeps chickens in your area, and may know a 4-H member with chicks or chickens for sale. The county fair poultry show is a good place to meet people who own chickens; if you don’t see what you want there, perhaps one of the exhibitors knows someone who has that breed. Many parts of the country have a regional poultry club whose members can be helpful in getting you started.
    If you can’t find someone local who has the birds you want, seek a reputable seller willing to ship. Many breeds have a national association whose members are dedicated to their chosen breed and a directory of members with birds for sale. The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities publishes a membership directory. The American Bantam Association Web site maintains a list of links to members’ Web sites. Several Web sites have a place where sellers list chickens for sale.
    The bimonthly magazine
Backyard Poultry
has a breeders’ directory. The newspaper
Poultry Press
offers monthly commentary on who’s winning at shows and who has birds for sale. Canada has a similar paper called
Feather Fancier
. Ask exhibitors and judges at poultry shows for tips on who to deal with and, just as important, who to stay away from.
    If you’re looking for a classic production strain, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy or Rare Breeds Canada can help you find a producer. Seek one who specializes in the specific chickens you want, has worked with the same flock for a long time, and has taken the trouble to trace the flock’s history to verify that it is an original strain.
The Right Time of Year
    A good time to visit poultry breeders and examine their flocks is late November or early December, when young birds are nearly grown and old birds have finished molting. A good time to raise chicks is March or April, when the weather is turning warm but is still cool enough to discourage diseases.
    Large breeds started in December and bantams started in March will feather out in time for fall exhibitions. Spring pullets will start laying in the fall and will continue laying throughout the winter.
Flock Size
    One of the most common mistakes made by novice chicken owners is getting too many birds too fast. An extreme example is a young couple I knew who had the noble idea of setting up a chicken zoo where they would display every known breed. Before their facilities were ready, they went around buying chickens and crowding them together in a holding pen. The exciting venture soured when, within a few months, most of the chickens had sickened and died.
    Decide how many birds you want or need, build your facilities accordingly (or a little larger, in case you catch Chicken Fever and have to expand), acquire the number of birds you planned on, and keep your flock that size. When you buy chicks, get at least 25 percent more than you want to end up with to allow for natural deaths and the elimination of any that turn out to be undesirable as they grow.
    If you’re starting a laying flock, decide how many eggs you want and size your flock accordingly. As a rough average, you can expect two eggs a day for each three hens in your flock. Since hens don’t lay at a steady rate year-round, you may sometimes have more eggs than you can use, and at other times too few.
    If you plan to breed show birds, a mature trio or quartet of birds will give you a nice start. A trio consists of one cock and two hens; a quartet is one cock and three hens.
    Unless you’re