Question 1

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE BUYING BIRDS ELSEWHERE !

Accepted Answer

You found a cheaper option great who doesn't love a bargain!

BUT!

Has this bird been looked after with top quality feed that will in turn nourish your family & garden with its eggs / manure?

Will this bird you've just brought bring in disease to your existing flock and potentially put them at risk? Some diseases can live in the soil up to 7 years.

Have these birds come from a clean environment? OR were these birds from dark, smelly, cages with minimal space to roam and enjoy the sunshine?

Have you checked over the birds to make sure they don't have any deformity that will hinder their ability to thrive?

After all this.

Consider what's right for you and the animal. BUT REMEMBER YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Question 2

Are our birds sexed? YES! We are 98% ACCURATE!

Accepted Answer

Our birds are sexed at day olds by the owner and professional sexer we fly in from interstate for each hatch.

We are currently using a instrument sexing method which sits us at 98% accuracy. When purchasing you accept the slight risk you may have a rooster.

This method is A LOT more accurate than vent sexing, especially for heritage breeds. The probe gives us a inside visual, rather than a sexer guessing whether they can or cannot see a cloaca. Therefore this is why we use a probe, it doesn't injure or hurt the bird and gives more accurate results. WIN WIN!

Question 3

Why choose 'The Farm' instead of some backyard breeder online?

Accepted Answer

We are PROFESSIONAL BREEDERS!

We are third generation breeders and have great industry contacts that we regularly network with to keep us up to date with all industry news.

We don't have any visitors on our property, minimising risks to our biosecurity, keeping our birds as safe as they can be!

We don't bulk buy from a hatchery and on-sell at a premium price. #BUYLOCAL. We hatch everything on-site ourselves, nothing gets onto our property unless we hatched it SIMPLE. For this reason we don't do rooster returns, as you can't promise us what your birds come in contact with.

We've bred our birds to be show-quality, and keep to the Australia Poultry Standard as best we can. Our birds are generations of breeding, and not something you can breed or create overnight. It's hours of bloodline selection and culling to keep the best birds being produced.

You don't know where these backyard breeders have gotten their birds from, have they bulk bought birds from all over the place. Put them together into a pen and gone, here you go breed? Now are selling you chicks are a premium that could be carrying various diseases they didn't know the breeding birds had in the first place?

Do these backyard breeders follow strict sterilising protocols which actively kill the various poultry diseases they've most likely brought in?

Are these breeders doing tests to see if their chicks are healthy? Or are they doing the - she'll be right approach? They look healthy!

Think about all this before you bring birds onto your property, once any disease gets in. It's VERY HARD to get rid of, some can live up to 7 years in the soil.

We don't tell you this to overwhelm you, we are sharing this so you can make educated decisions on where to buy your birds from. As they old saying goes - Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean it's the best!

Question 4

Our Fertile Eggs - Are always fertility tested before being sent!

Accepted Answer

Our fertile eggs are collected daily and shipped same day AUS WIDE if ordered by 11am:

1. Eggs won't be sent unless we have tested the fertility and it's over 85% from our breeding pens (we do this by setting the eggs weekly and cracking open eggs from that breeding pen to see fertilised bullseyes.)
2. All fertile eggs are from pure breed pens only
3. Breeding stock is fed currently only a premium organic feed we have meticulously blended.
4. Show quality breeding stock ONLY

Question 5

Why 'The Farm' has a closed farm gate approach - one word - BIOSECURITY

Accepted Answer

Our property is not open to the general public, minimising risks to our biosecurity, keeping our birds as safe as they can be! 
We follow strict sterilising protocols which actively kill many poultry diseases from coming into our property.

As a professional breeders we do regular testing on our chicks to make sure they are healthy! We work closely with a Avian Vet who have over 30+ years of experience in the industry.

WE DO NOT BRING birds onto our property, we have another property that any birds we can not hatch via eggs can be reared at, and cleared for breeding purposes. Once any disease gets in. It's VERY HARD to get rid of, some can live up to 7 years in the soil. We hatch everything we have on our property.

We don't tell you this to overwhelm you, we are sharing this so you can make educated decisions on where to buy your birds from. As they old saying goes - Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean it's the best!

Question 6

Are we certified organic?

Accepted Answer

We feed and use ONLY certified organic products on our farm.

No we haven't applied for our certification at this stage, as it's a expensive and long drawn out process.

Currently we are adhering to the exact guidelines required to become certified, so in the future we can apply.

Question 7

How does our PRE-ORDER work & difference between WAITLIST? It means you'll 100% get the breed you want as soon as one becomes available.

Accepted Answer

We set 1000's of eggs weekly! We're crazy, we know!

Meaning one thing, we have lot's of eggs & chicks available regularly.

BUT

We don't count our chickens before they hatch, as nature sometimes has different ideas.

Either our breeding birds go off the lay (which can be for any reason at all!) Meaning we don't have eggs of that breed to set that week. Or sometimes that egg wasn't meant to hatch.

Our stock levels are live on our website, so if something is out of stock currently its accurate. 
Therefore if we are out of stock and you desperately want something, you can place your order via our PRE-ORDER tab and pay in full. This way don't miss out ordering that specific breed you want, you'll get the next available stock of that breed.

Our WAITLIST is a little different, it's more just a notification as soon as stock is back in. We take your email address and then send you a notification when it's back in stock. Remember though this is first in best dress, we don't hold any stock via this method as no payment is captured this way.

If you have concerns please feel free to contact us directly.

We don't have time to chase people that are semi-interested then pull out at last minute. Our birds are in demand, and until full payment is made we take that you're still looking. It saves a lot of admin and messing around this way. We hope you can understand this process, as we are running a full-time farm.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Frequently asked questions