Where do chickens come from?

Q: Where to chickens come from?

A: The internet!

This post is not to answer the age-old question of “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” but rather where our chickens come from. We have several sources, each with their own pros and cons:

Internet (mail order)

Private parties

Hatching eggs

Let's talk about internet option today.

Ordering chicks from a hatchery is a great way to start or add to a flock. Just leaf through the hatchery's catalog or go to its website and choose the types of chickens you want! Choices can be made based on breed, purpose (meat or eggs), characteristics, or desired egg color. The chicks will ideally arrive 3-4 days later. Hatcheries usually offer other types of fowl as well such as ducks, guineas, geese, turkeys and quail.

You may be wondering how a chick can survive 3-4 days in box, sometimes coming from several states way. Here's how: before a chick hatches it absorbs nutrients and hydration from the yolk of the egg. This provides enough sustenance for it to survive 3-4 days without food or water (although four days is kind of pushing it, in my opinion). The majority of the time, they arrive no worse for the wear. But sadly, sometimes they don't all survive the trip or die soon after.

The following are some, but certainly not all of the pros and cons of mail order chicks.

Pros:

• The ability to choose the exact sex, and breed of each kind of chicken (or other type of fowl) desired. This is especially helpful if you don't need or want roosters in your flock.

• No need for incubating equipment.

• No need for a mature hen to hatch the eggs and care for the chicks. You're the “mother hen”!

• No need to wait 21 days for chicks to hatch.

• It can be difficult to determine the age of a mature chicken, which is a significant factor when it comes to egg laying (younger hen = more eggs). If you've had your chicks from week one. You know exactly how old they are.

Cons:

• You're at the mercy of the postal system to get the chicks to you in a timely manner.

• At least a 20 week wait for the birds to mature and start laying eggs.

• If the order is placed in the cooler months, there might be a minimum order number, for example, 15 chicks. This is so they can keep each other warm during the long trip. During warmer months the minimum order number may go down to 5 chicks.

• For the first four weeks, chicks require a heat source that has to be adjusted at a minimum of weekly, but sometimes daily or more often depending on the weather.

• Chicks are more fragile than adult birds, requiring more care up-front.

• It takes some time for chicks to integrate into an existing flock.

Tips:

• Determine the main purpose of your flock, whether it's for egg laying, meat production, ornamentation, pets, or a combination. Then, make your selections based on that criteria to avoid ending up with attractive hens that may not produce many eggs.

• If you're ordering chicks of both genders with the intention of raising them to maturity, aim for a ratio of 1 male to 3 hens. Reversing this ratio can lead to unhappy hens and potential conflicts among the roosters.

• Have a food, water and brooder set up before the chicks arrive.

• Arrange to have the chicks delivered on a day when you'll have plenty of free time to get them settled in.

• If you live in an area prone to power outages, be sure to have an alternate source of electricity to power your chick's heat source.

• Chicks rapidly outgrow their brooder, so ensure you have a suitably sized area ready to move them into.

We just received our order of "internet chicks" in late February. Watch as they reach their destination after traveling four days through the U.S. postal system!