Yesterday I picked up my first pullets from a breeder out of town. He was a real chicken enthusiast, and would have been willing to chat about his birds all day if I didn't need to get mine home!
The first thing that impressed me was the state of his coops and runs. Remarkably, there was no smell despite him having 1400 birds on the property, in a relatively small area. He had probably 50% more coops and runs than he was using, and he explained that was deliberate so he could rotate the birds around between the different areas. All the runs that were stocked had something green growing in them. The only bare soil was in runs that he had recently de-stocked, and they would be left to recover before he put more birds in them.
(Now do bear in mind that this is the end of the season and I got some of his last pullets, so stocking numbers would be lower now than other times of year. Also we have a different climate to most of you, so we are lucky there.)
The other thing that struck me was how calm all his birds were around him. I had been to see another breeder recently that caught her pullets by chasing them with a net, and they ran a mile as soon as they saw her! The birds yesterday were very calm and allowed him to handle them. I remarked on this and he said he spends as much time as he can sitting in the runs on an upturned bucket, watching his birds, talking to them and handling them.
When I had first called him and talked about buying some pullets, we chatted a bit. I now think he was probably "interviewing" me for the job of looking after some of his birds. He was just quietly checking on my knowledge and attitude. I suspect if I hadn't passed his test he may have encouraged me to do a bit more preparation before getting my own chickens, or possibly he would have just turned me away.
He also seemed genuinely interested in following up after he sold the birds. He said I could call or email him if I had any problems, or if I just wanted to let him know how they were getting on.
One of the reasons I'm telling this story is because, as a newbie to chicken-keeping, I really didn't know what to expect. I am very glad I eventually bought my pullets from this guy, after some very bad experiences with others.
I would like other newbies to know that these people do exist, and if you have the time and patience it might be worth searching them out before buying chickens from someone else. The good guys need our support and encouragement - including our money when we purchase birds from them.
P.S. Every year this breeder lends his incubators to local schools and gives them fertile eggs to hatch. It costs him money but as he explained, the more kids know about keeping chickens the more likely they are to take it up as a hobby or lifestyle in the future. And that can't be a bad thing.
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June 18, 2011, 12:58