Tips on Buying Birds
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Tips on Buying Birds

When buying any live bird, the first thing I look for is curiosity. A healthy bird is curious and will approach you. Moreover this type of bird will also be more manageable.

Avoid birds with physical defects such as

• Twisted beaks
• Flat toes
• Twisted toe nails

Look for

• Alert eyes
• Breeder activity (redness in the beak and shins of the male, and hen's wing action during the breeding season)
• Feather shine and growth
• Individual visual bird identity such as a neck tag that agrees with the farmer's records (if no visual id. how can a farmer identify which hen laid what ?)

Check farmers' records. Simply get hold of one bird, read the mocrochip and request the farmer to show you his records on the bird. You need to know the past performance of the bird.

If required get a second opinion - you can use of a vet who can scan the ovaries of a breeder hen to check that that she has the capacity for laying eggs. This helps to limit risks.

Another thing you can do is pull a feather out of the bird - do this quickly and sharply. Check for lice - lice eggs cling close to the stem. Most birds however do have lice and treatment can help eradicate this problem. Also find out from the seller what veterinary treatment the birds have received over the past year.

In the event that you are looking for young chicks, ensure that the chick also has an identity tag and then request the farmer to show you his records on when the chick was born in order to establish the age of the chick.

Hope these few pointers help you in your search for birds. Indeed tell us what you require, and we will see what we come up with.

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