Straight from the Chicken Hatchery: Breed Selection Tips
Getting your chicks from the chicken hatchery to start your poultry with is an exciting activity. Aside from the fun that comes with choosing the breeds that you want for your farm, there is also the enjoyment of waiting for them to come via mail order to be picked up at the local post office.
Yes, it is possible—and quite customary—to order chickens and have them delivered by mail. This is because chicks absorb most of the yolk’s content right before they hatch. This gives them enough food to last for three days, so they don’t need to be fed for that duration. When you pick them up and take them home, they are only likely to be thirsty but they will be fine.
That settled, the bigger challenge lies in selecting the type of chicken that you want to raise. To decide on this, you need to consider at least two questions. First, do you want your poultry to produce eggs by themselves? If you do, you may want to check out some of the heritage breeds rather than the modern crosses as the former are likely to be more productive.
The next thing that you need to thing about is whether you want your chickens to lay eggs or be good enough to sell as meat or both. Some breeds will have tender meat while others will be great layers. You need to decide which ones you want, and if you want the best of both worlds, you need to think about the breed proportion.
