Chicks from Westholme
Coming soon to a brooder near you!
I’ve dabbled in hatching and selling chicks in the past but it’s never been a regular thing here at Westholme. Until now I’ve been too focused on growing my flocks to have the time to devote to hatching on a regular basis.
My first experience hatching chicks was in the spring of 2023 when I hatched my original flock in an incubator that I built myself. You can learn more about that incubator build here. That little incubator worked great but it needed a lot of input from me, I lovingly hand turned my eggs five times a day! To make hatching a little less work (and leaving the house while hatching easier!) I’ve since purchased a couple of fully automatic incubators to replace my homemade one. This year, I have plans to keep those incubators running as I hatch throughout the spring and summer months. I expect to have small groups of adorable little fluffballs available for purchase starting in April 2025. I will also have hatching eggs available starting sometime in March, it depends on the chickens.
My Goal As A Breeder
My goal is to provide affordable and adorable chicks to good folks who raise chickens in their backyard as pets with benefits. My main focus is on producing genetically and visually diverse birds from healthy and friendly parent stock.
All of the roosters included in my breeding program are gentle and friendly (as are the hens). None of my breeder boys have ever shown a bit of aggression towards myself, my husband or my son and all are great at watching over and caring for their flocks. Some of them love a good snuggle and wattle rub, some like to sit on my lap and investigate my clothing while they “talk” to me, and some of them are more hands off and prefer my company over any type of physical affection but all are gentle and trustworthy with their humans. It is my hope that this gentle temperament is passed on to the chicks that I raise.
What Breeds Do I Offer?
Because my main focus is on producing genetically diverse birds, you won’t find any pure breeds among the chicks I sell. I believe the healthiest animals are the ones that have the most genetic diversity.
Unless the breeder works to bring in new stock from elsewhere (some breeders do this but not all), purebred breeding pools can be quite small. Especially for the more rare breeds. In smaller areas, a lot of folks buy their chicks from the same places further contributing to a smaller breeding pool. When the breeding population is small, it tends to lose genetic diversity over time. When you’re breeding related birds as some do (unknowingly or on purpose), you can compound problems in the chicks that are produced.
Crossing different breeds to produces chicks with MUCH more diverse genetics. Remember how healthy that old mutt dog you had as a kid was? No one ever took it to the vet, it ate whatever it wanted and it still lived to be 15 without any major health problems. It works the same way in chickens. Chickens produced from completely unrelated parents are likely to grow up to be better/more hardy than either parent. It’s called “hybrid vigour” or “heterosis” and farmers use it to create plants and animals that better suit their needs. That’s not to say that purebred chickens are unhealthy, not at all. When the breeder works to ensure new genetics are brought in the birds are just as healthy. Even inbred birds can grow up healthy. Your odds of issues are higher though.
A little disclaimer: There’s nothing wrong with purebred chickens and I’m definitely not hating on breeders of purebred chickens or the chickens themselves. A lot of my parent stock are purebred and I have good friends that breed pure breeds, after all. You just won’t find any purebred chicks here at Westholme for the reasons mentioned above. If you’re looking for pure breeds, I can definitely recommend some great breeders to you. Just ask me!
All of the chicks sold at Westholme would be considered “Barnyard Mix” chicks. Their parents will be of different breeds and they will carry characteristics of two (or more) breeds because of this. In our breeding flocks we have Black Copper Marans, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Ameraucana, Leghorn, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Columbian Rock, Olive Egger, Easter Egger, Sasso Irona, Blue Azur, Bovans Brown, and Brahma genetics. Depending on which flock your chicks come from, your chicks will be some combination of these breeds. How, exactly, those genetics will combine will be a surprise – and that’s half the fun of crossbreed chickens! They will likely all look different even if they share the same Mom or Dad and are half siblings. This will make it a lot easier for you to tell them apart as they grow and that means you’ll be better able to care for them than if they all looked the same. When you have ten chickens that look nearly identical, it’s much more difficult to monitor the health of each individual bird (ask me how I know!). Giving individualized care to my Bovans Brown flock is a nightmare because they all look so similar but, in Ted’s flock (for example) I can pick out an individual chicken from across the yard because they all look completely different.
Pullet chicks from our flocks will grow up to lay shades of brown, cream, white, blue or green depending on the cross. Again, what you get will be a surprise but I can give you an idea of what to expect in terms of potential egg colors based on who each chick’s parents are. I make no guarantees but I can narrow it down and give you the most likely egg color you’ll get.
If you want to see the potential parents of our chicks, you can see (almost) everyone on our Meet the Birds page. I still have a few more hens to add at the time I’m writing this. Note that Noel’s flock is not included in our breeding program due to Noel’s anxiety and neither are Poppy and Nem as they don’t have a rooster in their flock. Ginger and Hazel are also excluded. Ginger due to poor quality egg shells and Hazel because the rooster of her flock (Levy) is her full brother.
It’s important to note that my birds will not be able to be shown because they are not pure. They will be beautiful just the same but, if you want to show your birds, I’m not the person to get chicks from. Most backyard keepers aren’t interested in showing their chickens anyway but I want you to be aware upfront just in case.
Buying Chicks From Westholme
In addition to producing genetically diverse chicks, another of my goals as a breeder is to be affordable. You definitely won’t find crazy expensive chicks here. They are sold “straight run” which means that they are NOT sexed. There is no sure way to determine the gender of any of my chicks without vent sexing them and, since I haven’t been trained, I’m just not willing to risk their well being to attempt that. It’s too easy to hurt them. If you purchase chicks from me, you should be prepared for the possibility of getting a rooster and plan ahead for what you will do with him. It’s very likely that you will get one or more boys in your group of chicks. Whether you plan to keep them, rehome them to another flock or butcher them to feed your family, definitely plan ahead. Since our parent roosters are all super chill, friendly guys I’d recommend that you consider keeping at least one of them!
I hatch in small batches (10-12 per hatch) so that I can keep a close eye on each individual chick. Chicks are not sold until they’re several days old so that I can make sure they’re 100% dry, eating/drinking and thriving before they leave me. I highly recommend that you take at least three but I have a minimum order of two chicks. I will not sell you a single chick because that’s not fair to the chick. Chickens need friends and it’s also much easier to introduce the chicks to your existing flock (when they’re old enough) if you introduce a small group or pair instead of a single bird. I recommend three chicks or more in case something happens to one of the birds, this way you won’t end up with a single chicken all on their own, but this is a recommendation and not a rule.
I do not feed medicated chick starter to my chicks. The feed I use is the un-medicated starter from Sollio (purchased at Scotian Gold). You are, of course, free to feed them medicated starter feed if you’d prefer. I will ask what you will be feeding your new chicks before you take them home and, if we are not feeding the same thing, I will send the chicks with a small bag of feed from here to mix with whatever you will be feeding them to make the transition easier on them.
Am I The Best Breeder For You?
The information on this page should give you a pretty good idea as to whether I’m the best person for you to purchase chicks or hatching eggs from but I’ll break it down in point form to make it super simple.
I’m the right breeder For you if:
- You want genetically diverse chickens.
- You want chickens from someone who breeds for health and temperament specifically.
- You want at least two chicks.
- You like having a flock of different colored chickens.
- You like the surprise aspect of waiting to see what each chicken will grow up to look like and what color egg they will lay.
- You are willing and able to handle any roosters you may get.
I’m The Wrong Breeder for you If:
- You want purebred chickens.
- You want to show your chickens.
- You prefer a uniform flock of one color or breed.
- You prefer a to be guaranteed a certain egg color.
- You are not able to handle a rooster.
If I end up being the wrong breeder for you, that’s totally ok. I’m not naive enough to think that our chickens are the best option for everyone. As I said above, I’m happy to point you in the direction of someone with chickens that better fit your needs so don’t be shy about asking about some other great, local options if I’m not the right fit.
After You Take Your Chicks Home
Once you leave with your chicks, you’re not on your own. You can always check in with me if you’re not sure about something or you need help. I’m happy to answer whatever questions you may have both before and after you purchase your chicks and, if I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my best to point you towards someone who does. I’d absolutely LOVE to see pictures of the chicks as they grow so feel free to either tag me on Facebook or Instagram (@WestholmeFarmsteadNS) when you post pictures or to just send them to me directly.
Looking For Hatching Eggs?
I am happy to provide hatching eggs for you to hatch at home in your own incubator. Hatching egg orders will likely resume in March but watch my Facebook page for an official announcement. You are free to pick and choose eggs from any of my breeding flocks and combine them in whatever quantity you’d like. A full dozen hatching eggs is $15 or you can purchase eggs individually for $2 each if you only need a few to slip under a broody hen.
Please be aware that, while I have had high hatch rates here at Westholme, hatching rates are not guaranteed for eggs that leave our property. There are too many factors involved in hatching eggs to be able to guarantee a certain number of chicks will hatch. I’m more than happy, though, to give guidance and answer questions so that you can have the best hatch possible. I definitely want your hatching experience to be a great one.
Questions?
As always, I’m happy to answer any questions that you might have about our parent stock, chicks, hatching eggs or anything else. If you’ve been hanging around on my Facebook or Instagram pages for long, you already know that I believe in transparency. I’ll tell you the good and the bad honestly and won’t shy away from the hard questions.