It was a beautiful morning in Iowa, the sun was bright and the sky was a clear blue that offered a long view of the flat landscape.  Even though it was the end of January, the day’s high temperature was to be a welcomed 55 degrees.  Our drive in the Jeep this morning took us through wind turbine farms that decorated the empty corn and bean fields.  Being the new guy in the operation, I took advantage of the opportunity to tap into the mind of a veteran chicken expert like Kent and started with my rampage of questions.  As I looked over the back of the Jeep, I noticed several sets of coveralls, masks, boots, and plastic bags.  Naturally, my first question was, “Kent, what are we getting into today?”  It would soon be evident that I might want to leave my coffee in the Jeep while we conducted our work.

We would visit five different farms today, each unique in their set-up yet similar in their country lifestyles that showcased the results of dedication and hard-work.  Tractors were present in the backdrop of the properties, along with the occasional tree house and tire swing.  For most, raising chickens was a family affair that required all hands on deck especially during the planting and harvest seasons.  While the welcomed arms greeted us onto each property, the casualness of the pleasantries and conversations could not be confused with the high attention to detail that our particular work visit required this day.

I slipped on my plastic boot covers, zipped up the full body coveralls and put on my mask.  I felt like I was back in chemistry class but the absence of Mrs. Deters’ panicky “What did you do?” followed by a ringing of a fire alarm assured me this would be a safer adventure.  We were about to conduct a little experiment – one that Kent routinely does throughout the year, at each farm, as a proactive measure to ensure our chicks have the best health, even before they are born.

Upon entering each building, Kent took out two slip-on nylon booties and put them over his plastic boots.  He then walked around inside each chicken coop making sure he covered the area well in his path.  The chickens’ excitement to see Kent was obvious as they ran around the coop, circling him, some flying to the other side.  It reminded me of when I come home from work and seeing my children running excitedly around the room yelling “Daddy’s home, daddy’s home!”

As we walked through the coop and collected the remnants of the coop on the booties, Kent closely inspected the environment.  He reviewed the nesting boxes, the roosts and of course the chickens.  Kent would pick up a chicken and intricately review him looking at his feathers, his feet, beak and more.  After the inspections, we exited the coops.  Kent removed each bootie, placed them in their respective Ziploc bag and marked each with the designation of what coop, what building and what farm it was collected from.

We exited the barn and headed back to the Jeep.  Coveralls were removed and placed into a trash bag.  Next, the mask and booties were removed and placed into a separate trash bag to be discarded.  As we drove out of the farm and onto the road, Kent stopped the Jeep – there was one more thing to do.  He got out a canister of disinfectant and sprayed the jeep’s tires and undercarriage to remove any remnants of the previous farm.

Again, the natural question arose, “Kent, what’s the deal with changing clothes, boots and spraying disinfectant every time?”

The proactive measures are all part of a plan to ensure the baby chicks are born healthy.  Kent makes several trips a year to inspect the farms for salmonella and other harmful poultry diseases.  Murray McMurray Hatchery participates in the National Poultry Improvement Plan of the US Department of Agriculture program and we operate under the inspection of the Iowa Department of Agriculture.  We have made major investments in our flocks and our flock managers to ensure your baby chicks have the very best start, even before they are born.  At the end of the day, the booties that Kent wears into each coop are sent off to Iowa State University, where they are tested for a wide range of poultry disease evidence.

While this may sound like a lot of technical hoopla, it really is a wonderful way to be proactive in flock management and relates to some common precautions that you can easily integrate into your flock management as well.   In fact, page 6 of the Murray McMurray Hatchery 2012 catalog offers a wealth of information on healthy chicken management habits. 

Risk factors of transferring disease increase significantly when you travel from one farm to another, or from one chicken owner’s house to another.  Car tires, tractor tires and garden tools, if not disinfected, can transfer disease as well.  The overall idea is to ensure your boots, clothes, tires, tools, or cages are cleaned well and disinfected if they travel from one coop to another.

Think of each person’s farm or chicken coop area as a large piece of white carpet.  You wouldn’t walk on your neighbor’s white carpet without first cleaning your shoes, or taking them off entirely, right?

Similarly, you wouldn’t want to bring a disease from your flock to your neighbor’s flock.  The way to ensure this doesn’t happen is proper maintenance of your attire, tools, etc., or best yet, have a designate pair of boots and clothes to use when managing your pens or coops and limit the exposure of those items to within your barn, shed or garage.  Doing such will help drastically reduce the opportunity for disease to be transferred.

Murray McMurray Hatchery takes great pride in the baby chicks we can offer our thousands of customers.  It was wonderful to see the roots of these chicks and know, even before they are born, that they have been thought about and cared for, through the proper raising and nutrition of their mom and pop.

 With chicks fully alert and ready to meet their new homes, it was time to assemble the team quickly.   You could feel the excitement in the air!  New chicks were just born and the team comprised of veterans and rookies were anxious to prepare the chicks for a safe delivery.  Bud began the evening with a word of encouragement and thanks to everyone present.  He reminded us that we were about to make a lot of people very happy.  It felt like Christmas in a way, wrapping a highly anticipated gift and knowing that the recipient was going to love it!  Bud reminded us that while we needed to work quickly, these precious animals needed to be handled with the utmost care and respect.  While everyone was already on board, it was great to hear the head of the company set the priority for the caring of these new lives.

So how do you fill nearly 2000 orders comprised of 25 chicks or more, of various breeds, in each order?  Very carefully.  Murray McMurray Hatchery has been filling baby chicken orders since 1917.  To say they have it down to a science is an understatement.  A science, with a little bit of luck.  You have to keep in mind, orders are filled while hatching continues to happen!  What we have to fill orders with solely depends on how well the eggs hatch.  Each chick type is categorized, each order is separately printed, each worker has an access badge that allows them to take out each chick type they need, etc.  Each box has a couple of scoops of grow gel that is filled with vitamins and electrolytes to ensure the chicks don’t go hungry as well.  And when there is a question, veteran employees are quick to help as they are working side by side with the rookies to ensure each order is accurately filled.      It is a process that is extremely unique and perplexing at the same time.  Thanks to some very knowledgeable computer programmers, dedicated management and caring employees, all orders are filled quickly, efficiently and accurately.  At the helm of the hatch is Kent, a long time employee of Murray McMurray Hatchery.  Kent oversees the newly hatched eggs, enters the inventory levels, marks what orders can be filled, and keeps the general process flowing.  In the midst of what can become a very stressful ordeal, Kent maintains his energy and smile, knowing what this night is all about – happy customers and healthy chicks.  Quality controls are set in place to visually verify each order filled and then it’s off to one of the six possible trucks.  Most chicks will catch a plane, catch a nap at a local post office overnight, and then be welcomed with smiling faces at your home.    

These are no ordinary boxes that we trust with our baby chicks.  To learn more about the design of the box and the many components of it, visit our YouTube page at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPqC2AMmKJU

 The entire process has been an overwhelming learning experience.  With the sound of trucks pulling away and the chirping fading away into the night, I find myself sitting on a lowly stool and realize it’s the first time I sat down during the night.  My first order that I filled was headed to Louisiana.  The next one was to Illinois.  The next one to Michigan.  We sent baby chicks out all across the United States, some into US border crossings for our Canadian customers and one even to Hawaii.  I’ll never forget that first baby chick that I saw being born.  Holding new baby chicks is one of the best things ever to experience, but nothing is better than handing them over to their new family.

My daughter loves chickens.  For the longest time, she would keep saying, “I just want chickens!”  We (my bride and I) thought this was a really cute dream.  We could easily imagine her going out to the coop and talking to the chicks, picking up the eggs, and so on.  My daughter giggles just thinking about chickens and tries to muster through her laughter to say, “They are just so cute and feathery.”  She’s seven and it’s adorable to hear her giggle.

One of the problems with her getting chickens was that she was born into a ‘know-absolutely-nothing’ family when it comes to chickens.  We don’t live on a farm (YET!), I don’t think the neighbors would want to look at a big coop, how do we keep predators away, what would the dog do, I envisioned a mess of an area, etc., etc.  All these “what if” type of concerns came rushing through my mind.  “Someday honey, you can have chickens” we promised to her.  We were willing to learn more about them, no problem.  We will do that – someday.  Have you ever noticed how kids’ dreams and wishes come true despite what our “adult” reasoning and rational might lead us to think otherwise?  Sure enough, she would get her dream before we knew it.

My passion has always been in the marketing field – not one of those telemarketers, or pushy sales people, no, a true marketer.  I love discovering the needs and wants of people through researching and talking with them and being able to create a relationship with them and the product/service they need.  One entity or product type that I have not been involved with….is the chicken.  To say the least, she was out of her mind with excitement when I told her that daddy was going to go work for a place that helps people, just like her, who love chickens.  This place of chicken heaven where poultry passion is at an all time high resides in the sleepy little town of Webster City, Iowa. It is there my journey began with being welcomed to the team at Murray McMurray Hatchery.  While Iowa may be known for the birthplace of Field of Dreams, among other things, the World’s Rare Breed Poultry Headquarters is just down highway 20 from that infamous baseball field.  Though not in the form of baseball, from amongst the corn a new dream would now be realized and a lifestyle of which we embraced is now taking flight.

One of the things that I immediately discovered in my research into chickens is that there is a whole community of chicken lovers that I never knew existed.  I would venture to say there are more of your people (chickens lovers) than you might even know!  Now, please welcome the Huseman family into your wide world of feather loving friends.  In my short time at Murray McMurray Hatchery, I have to tell you that I am getting completely giddy learning more and more about chickens.  It has been amazing and energizing reading customer posts, hearing stories and learning more and more about the wide variety of chicks (and other birds) that my company offers!

Learning something new is exciting and frustrating at the same time.  The more I read and discover the more I want to know.  To have to ask a question about every new discovery can be a bit frustrating.  My friends at Murray McMurray Hatchery are amazing individuals.  I have never met a group of people who are so self-less and ready to help a novice, like me.  I have asked the dumbest questions, I know, but each time they empathetically explain the why’s, how’s, do’s, don’ts and because’s.  There are a wealth of individuals who have worked here for well over 20 years.  They don’t just show up to work, they live and breathe chickens and the related life-style, each with unique preferences of their favorite breed.  It is a refreshing atmosphere – and I haven’t even experienced the first hatch yet!

My first resource to peruse was the Murray McMurray Hatchery 2012 catalog.  What a wealth of information!  I learned all the varieties of chicks, rare birds and products we offer.  In addition, if you know nothing about chicks, all you have to do is read the first four pages and you will start walking a lot taller in your knowledge.  These guys have obviously answered a lot of questions before and now are translating that information into the catalog.  If the catalog isn’t enough, you can see a wealth of FAQ’s, How-to-Videos, and more on the www.mcmurrayhatchery.com website.  Further, for anyone who would rather get an even more first hand experience, we have more than a dozen operators waiting to answer your phone call at 800-456-3280.  “Operators” really isn’t a good term to use for these chicken pro’s – this group of individuals consists of the most knowledgeable, friendly people I have experienced.  The cool thing is that they are “real” people – pictures of their family, friends, and chicken drawings they have received dawn their desks.  Each call is treated as an opportunity to help another chicken lover!

I have settled in well to the new environment and things are starting to become much clearer than before.  Those doubts and concerns that I initially had have been quickly pecked and scratched out of my mind.  With the wealth of books, coop plans, how-to-videos and other resources available, I am confident I, as well as you, whether you live on a farm, acreage or in town, can own chickens and be very happy with the experience!  I can’t wait for the first hatch and hear those first new chirps of life!  Now, of course, as I continue to look through the catalog with my daughter and review the mass variety of chicks that are offered, the million dollar question looms with her asking, “Daddy, what chickens are we going to start with?”  Needless to say, your suggestions are more than welcomed….

My daughter and I searching through the mass variety of rare breed poultry in the Murray McMurray Hatchery 2012 catalog (Photo by Emily Huseman)

Excited about chickens,

Chris

There are two distinct species of peafowl, then Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) and the Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus).  These two species can interbreed in captivity to produce the Spalding, or Spaulding, variety.  A third species of peafowl of a different genus also exists, the Congo Peafowl (Afropavo congensis).  Little is known about the Congo Peafowl.

There are many different color variations of peafowl and color patterns within those variations.

When raising Peafowl chicks, you should keep them in a brooder for the first month.  The temperature in the brooder should be kept at 95 deg. F for the first week, then reduced by 5 deg. F per week until supplemental heating is no longer necessary.  Peafowl begin to fly well even at a few weeks of age, so if you use a homemade brooder, a mesh lid is a good idea.

For the first 30 days, they need a game bird feed with 28-30% protein content. In addition to the feed, they should be given access to green material such as cabbage or chopped lettuce. They should also always have access to fresh water.

Photo by Barbara DuVall

When selecting a broody hen, you want a hen that will be a good setter and a good mother.  Our Facebook fans helped us come up with these lists of desirable traits and behaviors.

A hen with good brooding, or setting traits …

• is protective of her nest and eggs,
• is not easily discouraged from setting,
• and will not quit the nest before the eggs hatch.

A hen with good mothering traits …

• knows where her chicks are at all times,
• teaches them to forage and dust bathe,
• protects her chicks against predators,
• is attentive to her chicks,
• nurtures her chicks,
• teaches her chicks to eat,
• will accept and care for chicks that she did not hatch,
• and protects her chicks from the rest of the flock.

What Are Your Thoughts?

What are the traits, instincts, or behaviors that you most look for in a good broody hen? And in a mother hen?  Which breeds have you found to be the best setters? And the best mothers?

• Keeping the Chicken Water from Freezing
  
• Preparing Your Laying Flock for Winter (Part 1) and Part 2 – this two part article covers temperature, ventilation, water supply, eggs, feed, and lighting.
• Why Aren’t My Chickens Laying? – this article explains the lighting needs of hens to stimulate laying through the winter.

Thanks.

We have found a document produced by the US Department of Agriculture that shows that cedar oil is toxic to insects but weathered cedar looses it oil and is no longer toxic to insects (see bottom of page 60). I cannot say for certain but I believe the same would be true for chickens.

We will be doing more research so watch our blog for an article on Chickens and Cedar. We want to do a complete and accurate article so it may take us a few weeks to get it posted.

Rhonda Silva won first place with this photo of her duck ramp. As first place winner, Rhonda won a $100 gift certificate.

Photo by Rhonda Silva

Here is Rhonda’s description of the ramp:

Our Rouens needed a larger pool as they grew, and the new one had 18″ high sides, making it impossible for them to get in. So, my husband constructed this little deck with duck ramp for them. It has the long ramp to the ground and a shorter one that rests on a concrete block inside the pool for them. They can easily and safely get in and out of the pool this way. We have kept this setup as our juvenile/hospital area now that they have a pond.

Second Place

Greg Bagley won second place with this photo of nest boxes and received as a prize a $50 gift certificate.

Photo by Greg Bagley

Greg used five gallon buckets for the nest boxes.  He made a bracket that holds three buckets on top and three on bottom. He said that the hens love the nest boxes for laying, and the nest boxes are easy to remove for cleaning.

Greg provided this detailed description:

I got the idea for the buckets from someone online, but they used a couple of screws in the back of the bucked to screw it to the wall.  I did not like this because you could not remove it easily enough to clean them when the hens poop in them or break an egg, so I came up with this bracket to hold some five gallon pails so that they were easy to clean and it would not break the bank. I have six nesting bucket in each coop, and I only spent about 50 to 60 dollars on the materials for the twelve nesting buckets.

The buckets rest in the bracket, and I have a screw that goes into the bottom front of each bucket.  I leave the screw out about 5/8 of an inch, and there is a hole drilled in the bracket. When the bucket is in place the screw drops into the hole and keeps the bucket from rolling around while the hens go in to lay their eggs.

To remove the buckets you just lift straight up, and when the screw on the bottom front is out of the hole you can pull the bucket straight out towards you.  Then you can clean them and replace  them in a snap.  They have held up well and work just as well as the day I made them.

In the new coop I made one adjustment in that I took pail lids and cut the lid in thirds and put them on the front of the bucket so that it keeps the shavings in better.

The gallery at the end of this article has additional photos of Greg’s nest buckets.

Third Place

Cathy Lott won third place with this photo of her daughter feeding the chickens. Cathy’s prize is a $25 gift certificate.

Photo by Cathy Lott

Cathy describes the photo:

Our daughter enjoys our Buff Orpingtons. She has helped raise them from the time they arrived in the mail. Gathering their eggs is like a treasure hunt for her. Each egg she finds brings her pride and excitement. As you can see, the Buff Orpingtons are gentle enough for her to feed out of her hand.

She picks up the hens and carries them around the yard and swings with them beside her in our porch swing.

Other Photo Contests

To see information about our other poultry-related photo contests, visit the link below:

2011 Photo Contests

Gallery of Photos

Click any of the photos below to see a larger view.

Many of our breeds are well-suited for cold climates.  Some of the most popular cold hardy breeds are listed below.

Breeds that Lay Brown Eggs

• Rocks – Barred Rocks, Buff Rocks, White Rocks,  Partridge Rocks, and Silver Penciled Rocks
• Wyandottes – Columbian Wyandottes, White Wyandottes, Golden Laced Wyandottes, Silver Penciled Wyandottes, and Silver Laced Wyandottes
• Orpingtons – Buff Orpingtons and White Orpingtons
• Brahmas – Buff Brahmas, Dark Brahmas, and Light Brahmas.
• Cochins – Black Cochins, White Cochins, Buff Cochins, Partridge Cochins, Blue Cochins, and Silver Laced Cochins.

Breeds that Lay White Eggs

• Hamburgs – Silver Spangled Hamburgs and Golden Penciled Hamburgs
• Rose Comb Brown Leghorns – Rose Comb Brown Leghorns
• Silkies – Buff Silkies, Black Silkies, Blue Silkies, and White Silkies.