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Buying Birds
We have a wide selection of birds for sale, from chicks to point of lay birds. All our birds are in pens that you can walk around and take your time. Someone is always about to talk about the different breeds and help with what might suit you best.
Our birds are all wormed, checked for mites and sold healthy to the best of our abilities but we are selling livestock.
Birds can either be collected from Page’s Poultry or a courier can be arranged at a cost of £65 (price can vary depending on size and amount of birds). If you are collecting we do sell carry boxes that will take 3 average birds at a cost of £3. You can alternatively bring your own transport box (please ensure ventilation is good, especially on hot days) if we deem the transport box to be unsuitable you will need to purchase a box or the birds will not be allowed to leave. Sorry but their welfare comes first.
In adherence to APHA and DEFRA ruling, we have to keep records of birds leaving the premises and their new homes. We will ask you for these details at the time of purchase and unless you give us permission this will be all its used for in case of a bird flu outbreak.
The Boring Bit…. Our birds are covered by our warranty for the first 2 weeks, the vets state that any illness brought with the bird would show in the first week and to make sure our service is spot on we offer an extra week to be sure. This unfortunately only covers illness and if the bird became injured we cannot cover this when they are out of our care. Should something go wrong we will discuss the best option for you, either help, exchange or refund. For an exchange or refund, the original bird must be returned to us. Should the worst happen and a bird dies during the first 2 weeks please place the birds in a bag or box and return to us for inspection, we really need to know what has happened to take action or a post mortem if necessary? We will not cover any costs or vets treatments so please contact us and if necessary we will treat or consult our vets.
We hope you won’t need any of this but we want to let you know we will be here to help.
So Are You Thinking About Hatching Some Eggs?
We are here to help, at Pages Poultry we specialise in breeding, rearing and hatching. This page is designed to help you with what to do with your eggs once you get them home.
Let’s start at the beginning, our eggs are fertilised by a cockerel once he has mated with our breeding hens. A hen can fertilise a week’s worth of eggs after mating with the cockerel. Having fertile eggs isn’t an exact science as cockerels can have their favourite hens and not mate others hence why sometimes we have infertile eggs.
We collect the eggs every day and store the eggs in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Our eggs are either collected or posted out to customers as quickly as possible. Once you get them home, if you are not ready to either pop them under a broody hen or into your incubator, store the eggs in a cool place & away from direct sunlight, it is best to store them on a tilt and to move them around at least once a day. The eggs are normally their most fertile within the first 10 days from being laid, each day after that the fertility rate drops, this is not to say they won’t hatch as we have hatched eggs up to 3 weeks old.
If you have had your eggs through the post you will need to let them settle for 12-24 hours before incubating them. If you have collected them you can put them in the incubator or under the broody as soon as you like.
There are 2 ways to incubate eggs, mother nature (under a broody hen) or with an incubator. There are pros and cons to both options and we have put together a simple guide for you. If you are having difficulties with either option please give us a call or pop in for a chat.
During the Spring and Summer some hens, if they are feeling so inclined, can go what’s called broody. This is when they will spend most of their day in the nesting box, sitting on all the eggs and can be aggressive if you try to move them. The broody hen will increase her body temperature and sometimes remove some of her breast feathers, this helps her to transfer heat to the egg to start the egg developing. In the absence of a cockerel, a broody hen can be more of a hindrance than a help in the hen house, as she will super heat all the eggs and make them inedible. Before you add any fertile eggs to the broody hen, move them to a separate nesting box or separate house (this is best done in the evening/night as she will be less likely to come off being broody). If she is still showing broody attitudes then you can add your eggs. She should then over the next 3 weeks rotate the eggs and will only leave the eggs 1-2 times a day to eat, drink and relieve herself. If all goes to plan the eggs should start hatching after 21 days.
It is best not to interfere once the hatching start as the chicks do not need to eat for the first 24-36 hours after hatching.
Plus it gives them all a chance to bond, a broody hen will happily hatch any hens eggs they do not need to be related.
It is important to get some ‘chick crumb’ and a water drinker that the chicks can access (but won’t drown in).
The mother hen should care for the chicks, keep them warm and make sure they eat and drink.
She will also clean out the nest area of an eggshell or any eggs that she knows are not going to hatch.
Incubators can be a big investment, so if you are only planning one of the hatches, perhaps think about borrowing one first. If it’s something you are going to do each year, an incubator is a great investment.
The most important thing with all incubators is the temperature. It seems silly when a hen just seems to sit on the egg, but it’s true. It’s really important to read the instructions that come with your incubator and run it for a few days before you plan to use it so you can check the temperature to make sure it doesn’t vary.
It is also important to think about where you are going to put it in the house. Away from direct sunlight (as this can affect the temp) and away from drafts and heat sources.
If your incubator is an auto-turner (meaning it turns the eggs throughout the incubation period) to ensure that it is turning, if you place an X on the eggs you should see that it has moved throughout the day.
If it isn’t auto turning, then you will have to move the eggs manually, again check your incubator instructions.
Species Incubation Period
Chicken 21 days
Bantams 20-21 days
Turkey 28 days
Duck 28 days
Muscovy Duck 35-37 days
Goose 28-34 days
Guinea Fowl 28 days
Pheasant 23-28 days
Peafowl 28-30 days
Bobwhite Quail 23-24 days
Coturnix Quail 17 days
Inexperienced broody hens can sometimes abandon the nest or accidentally damage the eggs while turning them.
Sometimes they can also attack the chicks and sadly kill them.
Hatching too early or late in an incubator can normally be related to the temperature being too high or low or an issue with humidity too much moisture or not enough.
We check the fertility of all our eggs regularly. If eggs are collected from us we will guarantee at least 50% fertility.
However, due to the postage system etc we cannot guarantee eggs that are posted out.
We do package the eggs to the best of our abilities and most people have had good success if the eggs are stored and incubated correctly.
If you do not have experience please do your homework before purchasing eggs. A broody hen is always the best way to hatch if you have one.
It may take a few days to collect your eggs as they are always collected as fresh as possible.
Should you have fertility problems please contact us and we can discuss sending the eggs back, eggs must be returned for replacements to be dispatched and the buyer must pay the postal costs to return them.
If you do not agree to these terms please do not purchase our eggs. Full Ts & Cs for purchasing eggs can be found on the link below.
So pop over to our shop (tab at the top of the page) and pick your eggs