No, hens lay eggs without the presence of a rooster.  Roosters serve the purpose of protection for your hens, fertilizing the eggs, and looking beautiful.

Many people bring boxes or dog crates.  The chickens are nearly half grown, so you can put about 5 in a medium size dog crate. Please be sure to bring your own way to transport your new chickens, as we do not provide that for you.

Absolutely! Generally speaking, the hatch date is approximately 2 months before the pick up date.  We can also check our records to provide the exact hatch date.

We sell a number of great layers in our “Top Egg Producer” group.  These breeds have been bred to begin producing early and often. Many of the hybrids also were bred to consume minimal feed.

Since we order from a hatchery, we are able to provide the variety of birds based on their hatching schedule.  Some breeds are available all year while others only at certain times  of the year.  Some breeds may not be offered at all for a given year.  Our goal is to offer each breed at least once during the year.

The best time to introduce new birds is in the evening when all of the other birds are already on the roost.  Oftentimes, we just add the new birds in and watch their interactions.  They have to establish a new pecking order.  We watch to see if there is a dominate bird that won’t leave the new ones alone.  We generally would do something with her until they get established.

It is better to add a larger number of younger birds with fewer older birds, as it distributes the bullying from the older birds a bit more.

I have found when you introduce new birds to birds that haven’t been in the coop but a few months it really isn’t an issue.

Remember they all behave differently.  The best thing is to keep an eye on them  and to have a backup plan going into it.

You want to wait long enough for the chickens to realize the coop is their new home.  We would wait a week or two to ensure they know where “home” is.  The first few days they will return to the coop area but may not go in, and you might need to usher them inside.  Once they figure out how to go in and out of the door they will coop-up on their own.  Don’t forget to close the door at night. Also, consider the size of your chicken. If they are 2-3 months old (or younger), they are a prime target for hawks and other predators. We suggest waiting until they are at least 4 months old before letting them free-range for extended and unsupervised periods.

Absolutely, variety is the spice of life.  The chickens don’t know what breed they are.

That will depend on the breed.  Some will produce as early as 4 to 5 months others won’t start to lay until 7 to 8 months.

You need 1 next box for every 5 chickens or so.  They will take turns.

The brand of feed isn’t as important as the type of feed.  We recommend feeding a grower feed until they start laying, then switch them over to a layer feed once they begin laying.

We feed Nutrena medicated starter grower.  You don’t need to feed the same brand.  We suggest that you keep them on grower feed until they begin laying.

Grit helps chickens digest food and provides additional nutrients.  If a chicken is eating only chicken feed they generally don’t need grit.  If you are free ranging your chickens or feeding them food other than chicken feed, grit would be beneficial.

Since we do not hatch our own chickens we are not NPIP certified.  However, the hatcheries we use are.

Yes, they are vaccinated for Marek’s Disease.

Yes, we feed medicated feed to prevent Coccidiosis.

The first thing you need to do is separate it from the rest of your flock and give us a call.

There are many different viruses and bacteria that can affect your flock.  We always watch their eyes and nostrils.  If either is running or they start acting lethargic, we suggest that you separate them and watch the rest of the flock.

Make sure you have a wind-break for the chickens.  It could be the wall of your coop, or you can put up a tarp.  I generally put my wind breaks on the northwest side of a coop because that is generally the direction the winter wind comes from.  You can also put a heat lamp in with the chickens, which work well heating an area.

Chickens feathers act as great insulation, however their combs tend to get frostbit.

The summer heat can be rough.  Make sure they have plenty of water and shade. Some people put a fan in the coop or run for their chickens.

No, we are not a hatchery.  We do not hatch our own chicks.  We get our chicks from a hatchery and grow them through the brooding stage.

No, we begin selling our chickens at two months old when they no longer need heat and are ready for the coop.

We do not sell our roosters online (with the exception of the Bielefelder roosters September 23, 2023).  We order females from the hatchery and usually get a few roosters per hundred.  Since we are not sure which roosters or how many we will have we do not offer them through our online store.

To prevent the chance of spreading disease we do not bring any birds into our flock from the outside.  You can advertise your rooster on Facebook and Craigslist.