Where to buy a chicken? Laying hens can basically be bought from three different places. First, you can buy a hen from the hobby breeder. Nice to support a small business owner or a pure hobbyist. Just be careful not to buy from a bread breeder. A good hobbyist raises his own laying hens from chick or on and does not let the chicken go to the new owner until it is fully grown.
A professional poultry farmer has his own houses. These are often huge and the main purpose is to make money. On the other hand, the professional chicken farmer does have the wisdom when it comes to caring for chickens.
An interesting option is to rescue a “discarded chicken. These are otherwise slaughtered. Often chickens are also offered on websites like Marktplaats, but experience shows that Marktplaats laying hens still sometimes have problems, such as unreported diseases.
BUYING AN LAYING HEN FROM THE HOBBY FARMER
Where to buy a chicken, at a hobby farmer? Buying an laying hen from the hobby farmer is perhaps the best option. You can get a good look at how someone passionate about the chicken does it all. For many hobby farmers, it is their joy and their life and they love to tell you about how to raise a chicken and keep it healthy. Feel free to ask them a question for further clarification.
Before buying a chicken from a hobby farmer, it’s a good idea to inspect it. Take a good look at the chicken: do you think the chicken looks healthy, or is it disappointing? If you have doubts about the conditions in which the chicken was kept or if you have doubts about the health of the animal, it is better not to buy it. A chicken’s health should always come first. Where to buy a chicken? Many hobby farmers love to keep chickens, while there are a few rotten apples among them who breed for money.
OPTING FOR THE BIG HOUSE
If you go straight for a large number of chickens, you could make an appointment with a professional poultry farmer. A professional farm has a large barn where many chickens sit together. Sometimes the poultry farmer has no more room for a chicken or just wants to be able to sell the chicken.
You can then buy from one to ten chickens. Often more is also possible. You pick them up by appointment. The good thing about a professional chicken farmer is that he or she has a lot of experience and can give you good advice. Give them the best chicken feed. Also provide them with grit.
CHARITY: SAVING A CHICKEN
Where to buy a chicken, charity? A fantastic initiative is saving a laying hen. When laying hens in the industry no longer lay an egg daily, they are discarded. That means they are ready for slaughter. This is a waste, of course, and those who simply enjoy having a few chickens can save these animals.
There are all kinds of ways to rescue laying hens through organizations, instead of buying young chickens. In addition to rescuing discarded laying hens, you can sometimes rescue ornamental chickens.
WHEN TO BUY LAYING HENS?
It is best to buy a laying hen in the spring. Temperatures are still mild then, allowing the chickens to get ready to lay. The ideal age for buying a chicken is 18 to 20 weeks. At that time, some hens are already laying eggs. In others, it may take another few days to two weeks before they start laying.
The dealer of the chicken can tell you approximately how long it will take before you can expect the first eggs. Are you buying a chicken from a reliable dealer or through a community action? Then you can assume that they have also been pseudo-bird flu vaccinated and are in good health.
It is good to give the same feed they were given at the farmer in the first weeks. After that you can slowly switch to the feed you choose. Be sparing with kitchen and garden waste.
