Chook Me!

Where to find a good hatchery? 10 points will be rewarded for the most helpful answer!?

I have searched the web and could not find any good hatcheries or poultry farms that sell full grown or older poultry (chickens, turkeys, and ducks) that are full bred. Everywhere I have looked only sell one day old chicks. Does anyone know of somewhere I can find some that are more mature? Web or somewhere in the Southern United States region? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time. JJM

Public Comments

1. Most hatcheries will not sell full grown birds for a variety of reasons. First, many hatcheries don't really have any breeding birds. They contract the eggs from other breeders and then hatch and sell the chicks. Hatcheries that do breed don't want to sell their main source of income. They'll keep the birds until they no longer lay well. It's also very easy to ship chicks and very hard to ship adult birds. Then there's the fact that there are lots of rules and regulations about moving birds especially if you want to move them between states! So, what are you going to do! You're going to have to find a local breeder. They are usually pretty easy to find. Do a search for your favorite breed and your state. Or do a search for "bird swap" or "poultry swap" and your state. Go to the swaps near you and meet the breeders. You might also try Craig's list for your area. They have a farm catagory where they let you offer livestock for sale and you could look there or post a want ad yourself. I've used them often to both buy and sell. You could also contact local 4-H clubs and see if anyone is in the chicken project and has birds for sale. You could also put up ads at the local feed store. Good luck!
2. Why not ask the places wher they sell chicks where they're getting their chicks from? Sounds logical to me to start there. .
3. This site advertises adult hens and roosters: http://www.zippityzoo.com/silkiechickensforsale.htm You can find some adult poultry on this site: http://www.agriseek.com/sale/e/Livestock/Poultry/ Here is another one: "Dixie Chiks Ranch" Contact: Mary City: Custer, Kentucky Phone: 270-536-3034 Email: Dixie_Chiks_Ranch at yahoo.com Website: http://www.freewebs.com/dixiechiks/ We sell farm fresh Brown Eggs. We also have blue, green and pink tinted eggs. Occasionally we sell baby Chicks, Adult Chickens and Banties. Please phone for directions. http://www.lionsgrip.com/farms.html This one sounds good, though they are not in the South: Stromberg's Chicks and Gamebirds Unlimited PO Box 400 Pine River, MN 56474 800-720-1134 218-587-2222 fax: 218-587-4230 e-mail: stbchix@uslink.net Stromberg's supplies many varieties of domestic poultry and also deals in pheasants and wild waterfowl. They handle adult stock as well as day-olds. I understand that they do not keep stock, but act as a middleman, finding whatever you want. They also sell supplies and books. I find their prices quite high. I think that the books published under their own name are for the most part ghastly. They are sloppily put together, unindexed, and mostly anecdotal with minimal references (see my review of Poultry of the World). On the other hand, when they screwed up on an order for me and sent some adult birds that cost $100 more than I expected (having ordered juveniles), they were very good about it. They told me to keep the birds and they swallowed the difference. I do note that this was back in 1988 -- can't say how they are now. http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKHatcheries.html Hope you find something in all that!