Viewing posts from February, 2022
A hatchery is a place that incubates eggs and sells the resulting chicks. In some cases the hatchery doesn’t own the breeder flocks that lay the eggs but contracts with local farmers to obtain eggs from the desired breeds. In other cases the hatchery may own the breeder flocks and contract with local farmers to care for them, giving the hatchery somewhat greater control over the quality of the breeder flocks.
Lots of people get their first chicks from a neighbor, which has the advantage that the strain is already acclimated to your local environment compared to birds you might purchase from some distant place. Connecting with local poultry keepers gives you someone to contact when you have questions or concerns about raising your own birds. Buying locally also gives you a chance to see the parent flock and verify for yourself that they are maintained in a sanitary and healthful condition.
breed. A genetically pure population having a common origin, similar body structure and other identifying characteristics, and the ability to reliably produce offspring with the same conformation and characteristics brood. To sit on eggs until they hatch or raise a batch of hatchlings.
The main purposes for keeping chickens are for eggs, for meat, for both eggs and meat, for exhibition, and for fun. Theoretically, these purposes are not mutually exclusive, but in reality a breed or hybrid that is considered suitable for both meat and egg production — called a dualpurpose or utility chicken — neither is as efficient at producing eggs as a layer breed nor grows as rapidly as a meat breed.