Growing Stages

Grant Brereton looks forward to getting excited about growing stock...

- Grant Brereton

Much is written on hatching your own chickens. Whether you opt for pure breeds or cross breeds, it is a truly wonderful experience. In fact, the crossbreds can be much more exciting because you never really know what you’re going to get; you might just produce something quite unique to you. In either case, most of us hope that nature will be kind and not give us too many cockerels, and perhaps quite obviously the pure breeds are much easier to move on than crossbred cockerels, despite how beautiful they may look.

When it comes to having tame growers, as you might imagine, theories vary. Some people think that rearing chicks under a heat lamp makes for tamer chicks than those reared under a broody hen. But many factors are at play, including breed temperament, individual strains, the amount of time spent handling by the poultry keeper and so on.