Would you rather buy day-old chicks for your poultry farm than start raising poultry? Here are 10 important factors to consider when buying day-old chicks.
When you are getting started in poultry farming for the first time, chances are you won’t have your own hatchery or incubator to make your chicks on your own. You will have to rely on other breeders for the initial stock of chickens.
There are two main ways to supply chickens to your farm; The first option is to switch to day-old chicks, and the other option is to switch to slightly mature chicks. Each option has its pros and cons, which I will discuss below.
When you buy day-old chicks, you have full control over the growth of your chicks; You can choose to go organic. You can have full control over your health and your vaccinations. In fact, the history of your chicks from birth is entirely in your records, and in case of a crisis; you would know exactly what to do.
However, there are some drawbacks to purchasing day-old chicks. They require intensive care and attention and have a very high death rate. You would also spend extra money to provide services to them.
Buying raised chickens, on the other hand, has its pros and cons. The first advantage is that it saves you money. You don’t need to create additional institutions to support them. It also requires less attention and time as they are not as vulnerable as day-old chicks. They also have a lower mortality rate than day-old chicks, but the problem with buying chicks raised is that there will be a learning period where you have to get used to them and learn how to care for them. .
Also, you won’t have complete information about their medical history and records, or how they were fed by the previous owners. If you are the type of poultry farmer who prefers to keep organic chickens, buying chickens raised is not the best option for you as you cannot be too sure about the methods vendors use to raise them. important factors such as:
10 factors to consider when buying day-old chicks for sale
1. Medical history and medical history … You must buy day-old chicks from healthy sources. There have been cases where poultry farmers have lost all the chickens they bought because of a disease they did not know existed. You need to make sure that the farm / hatchery you are buying from has a good history and that day-old chicks bought there have a low mortality rate.
2. Organic or inorganic – … If you want to go organic poultry, you should buy your day old chicks from organic farms. This is because for a chicken to be considered fully organic, it must be hatched from organic chicken eggs. Before making a purchase, be sure to do a thorough investigation of the type of chicks that laid the eggs from which the chicks were born.
3. Vaccinations – … Another factor to consider is whether you want the chicks to be vaccinated or not. You have the option of buying day-old chicks that have been vaccinated or to get vaccinated yourself. If you go for the latter option, you must have a veterinarian who will vaccinate the chicks as soon as they reach you to avoid illness or death.
4. Poultry size -. When you buy day-old chicks, they are usually so small that a thousand of them can fit in a small space. But you must not be fooled by this original size; they start to take up a lot of space as they get older, and if you don’t plan the space properly when buying day-old chicks you will have a lot of space problems.
You should be able to know your bird’s capacity and factor in the day-old chick mortality rate when purchasing so that you don’t have overcrowded or underutilized birds. Space and ventilation are very important for the survival, growth and egg production of your chicks.
5 o’clock -: Time is also a very important factor when buying day-old chicks. This is because day-old chicks require a lot of care and attention, especially in the first 5 weeks after purchase. Hence, you need to clarify your schedule and make sure you have time to deal with them when you buy them.
6. Food -: You should also plan how you will feed the chicks when you buy them. Poultry feed is classified into three main categories; Beginners, Breeders and Finishers: Starters are designed for day-old chicks and should be fed for the first few weeks. Producers, as the name suggests, help accelerate their growth, and growers help make them healthier and stronger.
7. Incubator -: Another thing to set up is a brooder, which will hold and raise the chicks until they are mature enough to be transferred to the main pen.
8. Heat source -: day-old chicks need a source of heat. You will need to buy a heat lamp to place in the middle of them ( preferably suspended ) to keep them warm. The light from the lamp should not be too bright to disrupt their sleep, or too dim not to provide enough heat.
The chicks will need 95 degrees in the first week and 90 degrees the following week, down 5 degrees as they mature. A good source of heat is very important for the survival of day-old chicks.
9. Bedding -: You will also need a good bedding so that the day-old chicks can absorb food and droppings. Make sure to lie down where they will be stored with absorbent material so that the food is easily absorbed.
10. Drinker / feeder-: Finally, you need to figure out how to provide food and water for the new chicks. Buy chick feeders specifically designed to feed chicks. Avoid using bowls as chicks can easily drown in bowls of water or even spoil the contents. Their feeders and drinkers should also be suspended from the ground.
