Cheap chickens - part 3
Provided by New Zealand Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today, magazine.
In the final part of our series on cheap chickens, LSB editor Nadene Hall and poultry expert Sue Clarke look at one of the cheapest ways to create your own flock, if you want to start from scratch.
When you see a purebred hen of a rare breed selling for hundreds of dollars, sight unseen, you know the new owner has not done their research very well.
Some rare breeds are valuable because of their rarity and because of the hard work done by the breeder over many years to keep the breed alive and up to standard. Their work will have involved hatching possibly hundreds of birds, culling out the ones that didn't reach the standard, feeding and keeping those that do, then breeding generation after generation, trying to get the perfect bird.
But $400+ for a bird you haven't even seen? That could come into your environment and possibly die within days from local diseases it has no immunity to? It's not a recommended step for beginners, and why you should keep new birds in quarantine for at least 10 days.
However, if you are interested in a particular breed, one great way to get started cheaply is to buy fertile eggs from a breeder. It takes some planning though, as Sue Clarke explains.
Sue's guide to hatching fertile eggs
Strictly speaking, eggs with the potential to hatch should be called hatching eggs rather than fertile eggs, as no-one can guarantee they are fertile until they are incubated. First, you must consider how you are going to hatch them.
- Have you got an experienced clucky hen that will sit reliably, hatch out and look after the chicks? If you are buying valuable rare breed eggs you should consider using an older hen with proven abilities rather than a young hen going clucky for the first time.
- Have you got a back-up hen(s) in case something goes wrong with the first one?
- Make sure you do not put too many eggs under the hen, or the chances of them getting chilled are high. Six is probably enough for a normal size bantam and 8-12 for a large hen.
- Are you going to use an incubator? Is it a new incubator that you haven't used before? If so, it may pay to try hatching some not-so-valuable eggs first, to work out the little adjustments that small incubators can need, especially when it comes to humidity levels and fluctuating temperatures. Ask the breeder whether they hatch under a hen or in an incubator.
- Are you ready for the statistical odds that half the chicks will be roosters, but if you only hatch a few eggs then the sex ratio could well swing one way or the other. It would be bad luck to hatch all roosters, but it happens!
- In a clutch of eggs from a reputable breeder, chances are you may well get a super quality show bird or a dud, or both. If you buy eggs from a breeder who aims for perfection with his/her stock, who has had success at poultry shows and who knows what the breed standard is, then the chances of getting some good chicks from their stock are much higher than someone who breeds for the selling of high-priced stock, without regard for the bird's type.
- A breeder may be able to give you an idea of what the hatchability of the eggs is likely to be, as they will have likely already hatched some for their replacement stock and will only be selling the later eggs now they know what the offspring are like. Probably November-December is a good time to get eggs as by then the hens should be laying, the breeder will have hatched enough for themselves, your hen/s should be going broody and the resultant chicks will grow through the warm summer months.
- The cost of fertile eggs can vary quite a bit depending on the breed. Some are sold by the egg and others by the setting of 6 or 12, or however many you want. Perhaps $2-$2.50 per egg is an average price to pay.
- If you decide you just want commercial layers or meat breed fertile eggs, they can be obtained all year round from the commercial hatcheries (Golden Coast Commercial, free phone 0800 HYLINE, or Bromley Park, phone 09 236 8011). The benefits of these eggs is that these companies can certainly give you an expected hatch rate and you will be able to sex the chicks on hatching, either by the down colour (layers) or wing feather length (meat chicks). Plus, you will know the eggs have come from healthy, vaccinated stock, giving your chicks a good start to life, free from disease.
Transport and storage of hatching eggs
Eggs for hatching are shipped all over the world, every day. Hatching eggs by the thousands leave New Zealand every week by air for various destinations, mainly to the Pacific Islands and south Asia, but even as far as Bhutan and Japan.
Hatching eggs usually travel 30 eggs to a tray, six trays to a cardboard box, the boxes are stacked on a pallet - about 8,000 eggs per pallet - and then the whole lot is encased in shrink-wrapped plastic.
Commercial poultry breeding stock come into New Zealand as hatching eggs on a regular basis, mainly from North America, from health-checked stock. These eggs are then transported, hatched and reared here under very strict quarantine conditions.
- As long as the eggs are clean (not washed or scraped), stored below 18°C and above 10°C, and are as fresh as possible - preferably no older than one week since laying - their chances of hatching as well as those that are kept on the breeder's property are good.
- The eggs should be cooled from laying temperature (42°C) to storage temperature (10-18°C) in the six hours after laying. Ask the breeder if they do this and how they store their eggs - they should be stored with the pointed end down.
- By the way, if eggs are too fresh (ie, it's under 24 hours since the egg was laid) they do not hatch as well as those left for 24 hours or more.
- If you store eggs longer than one week they should be turned gently each day by tipping the container 45° one way and then the other, or they should be turned upside down, and then back again the next day. This keeps the yolk from drifting upwards and sticking to the inner membranes.
- For transport, eggs will travel fine if packed securely. The best way is for a breeder to use the cardboard egg tray/flats you get at the supermarket, cut down to fit the number of eggs that are being sent. Another can be put on top and then the whole lot should be bound together with tape, then packed in a shoebox or similar. All the space around the tray should be packed with crumpled newspaper.
- If you use the normal egg carton (6 or 12 size) you will have to pack inside the lid firmly with crumpled newspaper.
- Always transport pointed ends down. When the eggs arrive, keep them at around 16-18°C until you are ready to put them under the broody hen or in the incubator.
This article was provided by NZ Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today magazine.
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