Hyline Chickens For Sale [9 Questions You MUST Ask Before You Buy!]
G’day Green Thumbs,
Ok, you’re looking for Hyline Chickens for sale. You see an ad for “chickens for sale” and it catches your attention. It’s important to be savvy when you’re buying chickens. Especially if you want them to be good egg layers.
Hyline Chickens are sometimes referred to as Hyline Brown chickens or may be spelt Hy-line Brown.
These chickens might be perfect for your backyard.
These chickens might be perfect for your family.
These chickens might produce the most eggs possible!
But… they might not.
Here are 9 questions you absolutely must ask before you commit to buying laying hens when you see a ‘hyline chickens for sale’ ad. This is super important especially if you’re keeping chickens in a small backyard in a residential area.
So, let’s dive in!
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Table of Contents
Are They Genuine Hyline Chickens For Sale?
Hyline Chickens are a carefully bred hybrid chicken. They are designed to be optimum layers (around 300 eggs per year) with a friendly temperament which makes them a very popular commercial laying hen but also a fantastic backyard chicken. They are great with kids so can also be used in an educational setting.
Genuine Hyline chickens should come with breeding paperwork so that you can be sure they are directly produced via the Hyline breeding program.
Without papers it is possible your Hyline chicken has been bred with other good layers such as the Australorp, White Leghorn or Rhode Island Red.
Sometimes Hyline Chickens are referred to as ISA browns which is also incorrect. ISA browns are their own brand of hybrid chicken, also designed for optimum laying. They are similar, but not the same and the names are not interchangeable.
We cover this and more in our Top 17 questions about Hyline Brown Chickens.
Is Their Health Guaranteed?
There are alot of common pests and diseases that can impact the health of your Hyline Brown chickens. These include viral infections, bacterial infections and parasites.
Viral Infections
- Infectious Bronchitis
- Infectious Larangotracheitis
- Mareks Disease
Bacterial Infections
- Salmonella Enteritidis
- E-Coli
- Campylobacter
Parasites
- External Parasites
- Internal Parasites
If your seller guarantees the chickens health it’s probably a fair assumption that they’ve done everything they can to best protect your Hyline brown pullets from pests and disease.
Our children became super attached to their chickens as soon as we brought them home! It would be heartbreaking for them to bond with new pets and then lose them to ill-health.
Generally if health is guaranteed it is for a set time period. For example, 4 weeks after purchase. It’s reassuring to know if you pay up to $40 AUD for a point of lay pullet that you won’t lose that value if they die within a month from purchase. High quality breeders with chickens for sale will likely replace your chicken in this instance. Best to check their terms of purchase!
Have The Hyline Chickens For Sale Mixed With Different Breeds/ Ages?
This is really quite critical to their health. Quite often hobby farmers or farm stay animal farms breed chickens that live amongst other animals.
Different breeds of birds such as ducks or geese or even other varieties of chickens can carry many diseases.
If where you are purchasing from isn’t a dedicated chicken breeder please ensure they keep their young chickens separate from other animals up until the time you purchase them (usually as point of lay pullets).
4) Rooster VS Hen, Is Their Sex Guaranteed?
You don’t want an unwanted surprise Rooster when you’re looking for Hyline chickens for sale! You’ll be fielding neighborhood noise complaints and left trying to rehome the alarm clock. Trust me, we’ve been woken up by a close neighbor’s rooster every morning at 3am for months. I really wouldn’t wish it on anyone. My kids wake me enough without adding a rooster to the mix.
No-one wants that awkward knock on the door.
If you’re buying at point of lay they should be accurately sexed. If you’re raising younger chickens it can be tricky to sex them. This is when you want a guarantee on the sex so you can return and swap any roosters.
This is less important if you have a large property and were intending to breed them anyway, but roosters aren’t welcome in most residential areas.
5) Are They Vaccinated?
If you’re buying your hyline chickens for sale from a reputable breeder at point of lay your chickens should be vaccinated. Ask for proof.
If you’re buying day old chickens or younger than the point of lay you may have to administer vaccinations yourself. If you are buying Hyline or ISA Browns there is easy to follow vaccination schedules to stick to. These are available via Hy-line or Baaida.
Chicken vaccinations are generally administered with a spray, directly on to or above the chicken. So it’s quite easy to vaccinate your own chickens! However if you don’t wish to do it yourself, a quick trip to the vet will have you sorted in no time.
If your chickens are bred from other varieties like silkie chickens, bantam chickens, australorps or leg horns there is less control over breeders. So it’s up to you to ask for proof of their vaccination schedule.
6) Are They Guaranteed Laying Hens?
If you’re buying genuine Hyline brown chickens they will be extremely good layers. Producing approximately an egg a day up until around 2 years old when laying efficiency can start to decline.
But, if your chicken isn’t laying, are you guaranteed a return? If you are buying primarily for egg production this is important to check. If you’re simply looking for friendly backyard pets, this may not be a concern to you.
7) What Have They Been Fed?
It’s important to ask what your hyline chickens for sale have been fed to ensure continuity of care for your hens. Good nutrition can make a huge impact on egg production.
Widely available commercial brand pellets are generally not great in the nutrition stakes so make sure you ask the question and check the brand.
As your chickens age, food scraps are not enough to ensure good egg production. You’ll need to supplement your chickens diet with quality feed.
Chickens’ nutritional needs change throughout their life cycle. Your breeder should be able to detail their requirements for you but ideally you need to be aiming for about 16% protein.
We love Barastoc Golden Yolk because it’s a good, balanced mix for everyday layers.
8) Have They Been Handled?
If chickens for sale are handled from a young age they will develop a friendly temperament meaning they can be handled as they age. This is really important if you have young children or your chickens are in an educational setting.
Personally we ensure our kids handle our chickens regularly to get them used to that level of affection! Not that we even have to try, our youngest especially LOVES the chookies or “book books”. So they are definitely not lacking in affection.
9) Do You Deliver?
This is a curly one. It’s a nice convenience but it’s better to check out the environment your chickens have been raised in up until point of lay. For this reason we don’t recommend accepting delivery when answering Hyline Chickens for sale ads.
You will want to take note of:
- Are they in a separate area to other animals/breeds of poultry
- What bedding is used?
- What have they been fed, check the brand
- Are their droppings cleared out of their bedding area
It’s really easy to transport chickens in a cardboard box or a travel cage. Don’t stress too much about space in this instance as they will feel safer snuggled up together. Ensure they have access to fresh air and if you are taking them on a long journey stop to offer freedom, water and food.
We hope you feel ready and armed with the 9 questions you MUST ask when buying Hyline chickens for sale.
FAQ’s
How Many Years Do Hyline Chickens Lay?
Hyline chickens produce approximately 300 eggs in their first year. They maintain high egg production until two years old when it can start to decline. However backyard Hyline chickens can still lay eggs for their entire life.
How Many Eggs Do Hyline Chickens Lay?
About one a day or 300 per year from the point of lay to one year old. They will still lay up to one a day until two years old and then egg production can start to decline.
Healthy, happy chooks will continue to lay regularly. Ensure their nutritional needs are met especially in regard to protein to keep them laying.
Can You Breed From Hyline Chickens
Hyline brown chickens, as well as ISA brown chickens are carefully bred hybrid chickens. If you breed them you are affecting the quality of their genetics and they are technically no longer Hyline or ISA brown chickens. If you are buying Hyline or ISA brown chickens they should come with branded paperwork to reflect their authenticity.
Are Chickens Noisy?
No, chickens aren’t noisy. They are quiet enough to keep in any residential backyard. Chickens ‘cluck’ when they are laying their eggs, excited, scared or broody but it is not too loud to keep them as pets. Roosters are noisy and are generally not welcome in neighborhood backyards.
There you have it folks.
I hope you’ve taken notes! Our top 9 must ask questions before you answer a ‘Hyline chickens for sale’ ad.
You might be looking on gumtree, craigslist, facebook marketplace or your local hobby farm pages but it’s important to be armed with the knowledge to make the right choices when it comes to buying Hyline brown hens or buying any chickens!
Their environment, bedding, chicken feed and genetics are really critical in determining how successful your chickens will be as egg-layers and backyard pets.
We love our Hyline Brown Chickens and so do our kids! We find them wonderful egg producers and backyard pets.
We are curious to learn more about silkie chickens and other chicken breeds though so tell us, do you have silkie chickens for sale? Or do you have them at home? Tell us all about your chickens.
So, Let’s Get Digging!