Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry, 4th Edition: Chickens, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Guineas, Gamebirds by Glenn Drowns

Author:Glenn Drowns [Drowns, Glenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781612120003
Amazon: 1612120008
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2012-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

Buying Your Birds

Once you have your brooder set up, you are ready to add the birds. To obtain game birds, you have three options: You can start by purchasing adults locally or via the mail; you can buy day-old chicks and have them shipped to you in the mail; or you can buy hatching eggs from a local source or through the mail.

Although having day-olds shipped to you is the most common beginning route, it’s a choice that can be rather pricey. Unless you are able to pick up your babies at the hatchery or from a local breeder, you’ll see shipping charges add up quickly. This choice also has its risks. Shipping can be tough on baby birds, particularly during very cold and hot, humid times of the year.

If you purchase adults locally, you not only save shipping costs, you also bypass the challenge of rearing from day-olds. Instead of brooders, you’ll start with secure pens. But keep in mind that adults are usually about five times the price of day-olds.

SHIPPED GAME BIRDS

It’s best if you get game bird chicks shipped express in the mail to keep shipping time to one day, or two at the very most. Express mail has made it possible to receive healthy chicks from all over the country and has increased the availability of all different kinds of birds. In the last century, acquiring tender game birds by mail was not an option. If hatcheries were not located nearby, you had no choice but to hatch game birds yourself.

These days, losses of shipped day-olds are minimal. However, because heat- and cold-related disasters do occur, make sure that the hatchery or breeder insures the chick order shipment to protect both parties in the event of a loss.

Adults must also be shipped by express mail. Keep in mind that because of their weight, express mail charges can get quite pricey for grown birds.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.