Dogwood Honey Co.'s
Breeding Practices
Prioritizing quality over quantity.
Whether we are hatching and raising chicks for ourselves or our customers, our goal is healthy, thriving birds. We prefer small hatches to ensure each bird receives the best care possible.
We have a couple small incubators that are the perfect size for hatching small clutches. Eggs spend three weeks in the incubator before brand new baby chicks move to their brooder box. The chicks in the brooder get to remain there for at least three weeks, until they get moved to the "playpen". This indoor grow-out area has served us well by giving the birds more room to move while still having supplemental heat if needed. By five weeks of age, they are ready to start venturing outside for short field trips, and at six weeks we either move them out to our grow-out pen or send them to their new coops as started pullets/cockerels.
​
Surplus hatching eggs will be available for purchase, however, we have no intentions of expanding our hatches. Selective breeding to improve our breeding stock, maintaining sanitation practices to provide the healthiest birds, and keeping the joy in our work are top priority!