We have been playing phone tag for a couple of days, so I thought I would ask my questions here (also because I noticed that you've been very good at replying to all of the forum questions in the past!).
I'm a vegan exploring the possibility of getting backyard chickens. I'm trying to minimize the amount of harm done to male chicks as a result of me getting some females. At what point in time do you identify the sex of the chicks and what happens to the males?
I have a large side yard that is concrete and was hoping to put the coop there (with thick ground covering over the concrete part), but that part of the yard also gets full sun for most of the day. Are there some steps I could take to still make this a viable location?
Thank you for your help!
Hi Catherine, We purchase all sexed female chicks from NPIP certified hatcheries to ensure that urban chicken keepers don't end up with roosters that are not legally allowed in most cities and urban areas. We don't do the hatching or sexing here, so I can't tell you the answer to that specific question. However, any chickens that are sexed incorrectly that are accidentally males are returned to our farm and quarantined until they can be re-homed, or integrated into our laying flock to protect our hens.
It sounds like your side yard would be a fine place for chickens with some modifications. Concrete isn't ideal, but you can essentially create a litter box for them by covering the ground with sand, or you could use straw or other bedding that would be cleaned regularly. Shade cloth draped over their protected run space would give you enough protection against afternoon heat to help them stay cool.