If you know me, you know that I research, research, research before doing… just about anything anymore.
I have a soft spot for animals. Sigh. So, you can imagine I hit the books and internet when looking to order chicks! What?! I know… Since moving onto a few acres, I look at the mirror and ask, “who is this woman?” daily.
After reading over the many (many) hatcheries (local would have been best, however we were new to the area and had specific birds in mind). Here’s some of the information that helped to make our decision…
Are hatcheries humane?
https://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/09/are-hatcheries-humane.html (I did not/could not watch the video.)
We chose to order our chicks from… https://thechickhatchery.com/
“Chicks are hatched from NPIP Certified Flocks and carry minimum classifications of Avian Influenza Clean as well as Pullorum Typhoid Clean. Marek’s Vaccination is available for all Chicken Breeds for a small fee. We operate NO KILL Facilities! All Poultry are raised Humanely. Unsold Male chicks are shipped to large Amish Family Farms.”
I sleep better at night knowing my chicks came from a facility that does NOT participate in grinding, gassing, etc… baby chicks. Nor do they automatically vaccinate – you have to opt-IN, instead of opting OUT.
In our first order, we requested 15 chicks: Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, Dominique, Easter Egger, and Salmon Faverolle. They sent us 18 very healthy chicks. All doing wonderfully!
I have found CHICKENLANDIA to be an amazing resource for chicken care.
We’re using a wonderful chick starter from Scratch & Peck feeds through Azure (have you signed up yet??). I highly recommend fermenting the feed. (here’s why and how, here and here) AND it has helped us avoid dealing with “pasty butt“.
p.s. a few natural remedies for chickens, click here.