Information that goes with every chick and hatching egg purchase

[17 chickens]

So we have a poultry farm here outside of Spokane Washington, We sell eating eggs, hatching eggs, chicks, ducklings and young poultry. We started small and now have grown so fast and have tripled in size. It is the end of the chick season here and before the next season starts we are going to print out a little information sheet on how to care, feed, set up brooders, supplies, information on the breed they buy and recommend Backyard Chickens!
We have been telling customers to com here to backyard chickens for information because it has such great people that are willing to give a helping hand.
Does anyone out there in backyard chickens do anything for their customers like this or a little different when selling to others?
We just want to add that extra service that no pet shop, hatchery or feed store does.

 

[Orpingtons43]

Congrats on your farm/business!! I think you seem to be doing great!

 

[Folly's place]

Good helpful information, written for them, is an excellent idea, and will prevent many difficulties that new owners will experience, and blame on your chicks. Verbal information gets forgotten or garbled, but in writing, the people who read it will do better.
And good for you!
Mary

 

[DmCrawlz]

We don't have a business by any means, but my five year old and I sell plants, eggs and baby chicks, usually just at garage sales. It was a lot of work to set up, especially if technically challenged, but I created our own website. It's still in the works, but it explains everything we do here.
Its kind of cool for people to see where their eggs come from, what kind of plants the chickens eat, the science projects we do here etc.
If your site generates enough traffic, you can even make money off it through ads and affiliate links and e-commerce...
www.chickenlittlecocoa.com is our site. It was a huge learning curve for me, but I have a good grasp on it now. Message me if you need any advice!

 

[kayjk27]

Hey there neighbor! I'm probably about 4 hours West of you! I think this is an amazing idea. I was given a 4 month old rooster by a friend about 2 weeks ago and now have 3 chicks as well. These are my first birds! I've done a lot of reading here on BYC and asked a lot of questions at the feed store where I got my babies. It would be so so helpful to actually have something in writing to look back at!

 

[Grampascarlett]

I have been thinking about making a sheet on incubating and brooding myself for my customers. As of now I just let them know about BYC and tell them to call or text me with any and all questions.

 

[townchicks]

I think that is an excellent idea, and ethical too. I believe those who breed and sell animals of any kind, should do their best to ensure the continued health and well being of those animals. There is little that those who sell hatching eggs or chicks can do, once they leave the premises, except to try to educate the new owners. I think everyone that sells eggs or chicks should do this.

 

[17 chickens]

Thank's for all the information!
One thing that I have not thought of is the information on hatching eggs both duck and chicken!!
This is going to be a great winter project for us. My husband suggest that we have a few extra things on hand such as waters, feeders, light's (ones that are teflon free) and a few small chicken coops.
I was looking in the backyard store here and seen they have business cards too...
Wow, so much to do when the snow fall and when we are not shoveling snow!
Thanks everyone!

 

[Grampascarlett]

This is what I've got so far any and all input would be awesome
First things first if you're using a still air incubator you will find it hard to maintain a steady temperature. An easy fix for this is to install a computer fan. You can buy USB computer fan and use a cell phone charger to power it.
Now find a place to set up your incubator in a draft free area where it won't be disturbed and get it all set up and running at least 24 hours before you put in your eggs then get the temperature stable at 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.5 degrees Celsius.
Now if you're using an egg turner you could set your eggs in the trays. If not and you're turning by hand draw an x on one side of each egg and an O on the other side and put them in the incubator with all the ex's facing up in turn your eggs over at least three times a day for the first 18 days.