Spoilt for choice
Which chicken should / will I buy?
Buying chickens is one step closer to having your own eggs and happy chickens. But now comes the most difficult question: Which one should I choose? As with other “domestic” animals, it depends on what the owner wants and what requirements I have of the poultry. Just as it makes no sense for a sedentary person to buy a husky who wants to walk and run several kilometers a day, it makes no sense for someone who wants a “cuddly chicken” to buy the Drenther breed, for example. If you have now decided that you would prefer more eggs and natural brooding – i.e. you need a mother hen – many other breeds will fall through the cracks. Here in our table you can sort according to the most important characteristics. The fact that each breed is also available in several colors presents a new challenge.
Where can you buy chickens?
As already mentioned, you can find further links to regional associations and poultry breeders on the BDRG homepage. However, if you don’t want your chicken from a commercial breeder – unfortunately there are also some black sheep – you can try the Internet. It used to be common to buy chickens and chicks at weekly markets, but fortunately this is no longer the case. On Ebay classifieds, for example, you can find a considerable number of advertisers selling chickens, mostly from hobby farms, and/or hatching eggs. You can also ask your friends, because keeping chickens is becoming very fashionable again.
What to look out for when buying chickens
If you value eggs, you should not buy a hen that is older than one year, because in the second year the laying performance – with the exception of a few breeds – drops sharply. The animal must be vaccinated against New Castle disease, this is the law. Ask for proof of vaccination and make a note of the date, as it must be revaccinated regularly. Of course, the chicken should also make a generally healthy impression. Unfortunately, there are always sellers where the chickens are kept so badly (too little space, the coop is dirty and overcooked) that you cannot be sure whether the animals are healthy and whether it would be better to leave them alone. On the other hand, there is also the need to “rescue” the animal from these conditions. You have to weigh this up and decide spontaneously. However, if you already keep chickens, you run the risk of your own chickens catching something.
Buying chickens: Is the chicken healthy or sick?
This is sometimes difficult to say, but there are a few things to look out for and then the chance of buying a seriously ill / infectious or doomed animal is very small. First of all, the animal must “look” healthy. If it moves normally and quickly, is lively and doesn’t give the impression that there’s something wrong with it, that’s a good start. It is best to have the animal caught and take a closer look at it. It is important to look at the beak and the feet. Hatching birds can have deformed/ crooked beaks that prevent them from eating. Toes and feet can also be crooked and make it difficult for the animal to walk. The nostrils must be free of secretions or discharge, which can be contagious and sometimes fatal.
If the chicken makes noises when breathing, this is usually a bad sign and we strongly advise against buying it. What the animal will not like so much is to look at the rear end. Namely the area around the cloaca on the outside. To do this, stroke a little through the feathers. You would see any mites on the skin or sores. If the skin is intact and not reddened, everything is fine. With the legs you can still make sure that they do not have "puffy" scaly legs. This indicates a mite infestation under the skin scales of the legs. If the animal has a nice shiny plumage, everything is usually fine. Just like the coat of a dog or cat, the plumage would become dull and no longer look so beautiful if the animal is not well.