Point of Lay Chickens| Everything You Need to Know When Buying Them Leave a comment
Have you seen the recent ads for “Point of Lay Chickens for Sale”? Do you want point of lay chickens to replace your stock? Are you new to the idea of chickens that lay eggs when they reach a certain age?
If you said “yes” to any of those questions, you’re lucky to have found this page. I wrote this guide to help you avoid shady or dishonest breeders or sellers by showing you how to find and buy the right point of lay chickens or pullets. For people who don’t know much about point of lay chickens, I’ll answer some of the most common questions about them.
We always try to give our readers the best. If you want to buy a point of lay chickens, please click here.
What does it mean to say “Point of Lay Chickens”?
Point of lay chickens are young pullets that are about to start laying eggs. From the words, it sounds like they are hens that are ready to start making eggs. People sometimes call them POL, which stands for “police officer.”
Even when things are going well, different chicken terms can be hard to understand. If you want to buy chickens or add to a flock you already have, you’ve probably heard the term “point of lay.”
Our dictionary says the following about point-of-lay:
“Term for a pullet that is about to start laying eggs for the first time. “Most are between 18 and 22 weeks old.” Basically, it means that the chicken is getting old enough to start laying fresh, tasty eggs.
If the breeder is selling a chicken that is ready to lay eggs, this means the chicken is old enough for its breed to lay eggs. When a chicken usually lays its first egg varies. For example, Isa Browns may lay their first egg between 3 and 4 months of age, while Silkies may take longer.
The breeder has looked at the chicken’s body to see if there are any signs that it is about to lay eggs. For example, check to see if the chicken’s pelvic bones have separated.
Don’t worry if you buy a point of lay chicken and it doesn’t start laying eggs right away. It may take a few days or weeks for your chicken to start laying eggs after you buy it.
There’s no way to know exactly when your chickens will start laying eggs, but if you buy them when they’re already laying, they shouldn’t be too far off. It can be eggstremely hard to find the right breeds of chickens for you and your family, and it can also be hard to decide how old your new chickens should be. From how they look to how they act to how well they lay eggs, where do you start?
As chicken keepers, we want to take good care of our feathered friends, but many of us have trouble with health or behavior problems, especially in the first few years of having a flock.
How old are hens that are ready to lay eggs?
A chicken that is ready to lay eggs should be around 16 weeks old. Yes, that is the normal age for pullets that are ready to lay eggs. But pullets in their 14th or 15th week are still thought to be POL. When you go on the Internet, you can see people of all ages.
How much is a lay chicken point?
People set different prices for their own stock based on things like the breed, the rate of demand, the number of purchases, market inflation, the cost of production, the location, and the logistics, among other things. For a price that applies to your country, you will need to talk to local sellers or breeders. In Nigeria, a point of lay chicken costs an average of 1500NGN (about 3.85USD).
Why it’s a good idea to buy point-of-lay chickens
- The problems that come with hatching eggs and raising chicks will be gone.
- Turnover is fast, especially when the chickens are good.
- It’s cheap as long as the birds are okay.
- Time and effort are saved.
I’d like to talk about how to find and buy the best point of lay chickens now.
How to Find the Best Place to Lay Chickens
Getting POL is a risky move. This is because there are some dishonest breeders and sellers who only want to make money and don’t care about how happy their buyers are.
Some dishonest breeders will want to cut costs even if it hurts the chickens’ ability to lay eggs in the future. Because of these things, it’s important for someone who wants to buy point-of-lay chickens to learn how to spot good point-of-lay hens.
The focus should be on how healthy the chickens are and how old they are. I’ve written a list below of some of the things you should see or notice.
- The birds are very active and full of life inside the pen. None is found to be sleeping or isolating herself from the rest of the flock. If such is seen, there is a high possibility that the affected chickens are not feeling well.
- There are no forms of injuries, swollen heads, combs or wattles, and no discharges from the nostrils or beaks, no ruffled feathers, curled toes, paralysis and lameness. There are no pasty or dirty vents and vent gleet.
- The birds respond to feeding. When they are served feed, they are happy to eat.
- They are over 2.1 kg in live body weight
- They are heard making some sorts of cackling or crowing noise.
- The chickens have red, waxy pronounced combs and wattles.
- The chickens’ pubic/pelvic bones are already separating from each other. The wider these bones are apart, the readier the chickens are to produce and lay eggs.
Note that number 1-4 are compulsory for birds from 14 weeks and above, while number 5-7 are expected for birds that are 16 weeks old and above.
Questions you need to ask
You need to ask the POINT OF LAY seller a few questions before you move forward with the deal. Please try to ask them these questions, because if you wait too long, you might not be able to get your money back.
Since it’s your money, you can ask any question you want about the chickens. If a seller or breeder doesn’t like your questions or won’t answer them in a way that makes you happy, you should back out of the deal. Some of the most important questions to ask are:
- How old are the birds, and do you have proof that they are that old? In this case, the receipt of payment for the chicks is the best.
- Where did the birds start their lives?
- What kind and brand of food did you feed them?
- How many people have died since they were born?
- How many shots have been given so far?
Use the list of vaccination below to know what vaccines have been administered.
- Vaccine for Newcastle Disease
- Vaccine for infectious bronchitis
- Vaccine for infectious bursal disease
- Fowl pox vaccine
- Vaccine for Avian Encephalomyelitis
- Vaccine for infectious Coryza
- Vaccine for laryngotracheitis
- ND, IB, and EDS (3 in 1 Vaccine)
The 3-in-1 Vaccination Scam
From experience, some breeders will claim they have administered the 3-in-1 vaccine. However, you will later discover (through the laying performance) that the vaccination was not done right or there was a vaccine failure. For some, it was an outright lie being told—they never administered the 3-in-1 vaccine.
So, to avoid falling for a lie or a vaccine that doesn’t work, it’s best not to buy POL chickens that are said to have been given the 3-in-1 vaccine. Go for the ones that haven’t been given the vaccine.
Purchase and administer the vaccine to the vaccine yourself under the supervision of an expert or veterinarian. This will give you the rest of mind in that respect.
The Buying Decision Rule
The chart below will help you with deciding either to buy point of lay chicken or not.
The Buying Decision Rule
The chart below will help you with deciding either to buy point of lay chicken or not.
| Birds are active | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| No physical abnormalities/disabilities | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| Active response to feed | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| Red, pronounced combs & wattles | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| Live weight is over 2 kg | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| Pelvic bones are separated | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| From a reputable hatchery | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| Mortality rate is 2% or less | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| All vaccines administered except the 3-in-1 | Yes | If this is Yes & others are No | If this is No & others are Yes |
| DECISION | BUY | DON’T BUY | DON’T BUY |
|---|
Other Red Lights or Danger Signs
Beware of the following red lights or signs:
- The seller continues to press you for payment while telling you that other people are also interested in purchasing the birds.
- The seller isn’t ready to divulge any useful information about the birds
- The seller wants you to pay first before seeing the birds.
- The seller keeps making contradictory statements, like saying one thing now and saying another thing later.
- The seller sounds like a non-expert or is unable to answer your questions confidently.
Where to Buy Point of Lay Chickens
Finding sellers of good point of lay chickens is not easy. Some would have been out of stock, and there are some sellers whose flock has already been completely booked. Nevertheless, you can book and buy point-of-lay chickens from:
- Poultry farms Individuals Agents
- Online marketplaces such as htsfarms.
Should I Engage the Service of a Middleman?
When you have no experience with buying POL, the best option is to use the service of a middleman or a third part—someone who has in-depth knowledge and expertise in this area. Doing this will increase your cost or budget, but it really worth it.
8 Facts About Point of Lay Chickens And where to buy
WHAT DOES POINT OF LAY MEAN?
Point of lay meaning. The term point of lay chickens is popularly used in poultry to describe pullets not far from laying eggs. We can say the birds have like a week or two to start producing eggs.
POINT OF LAY CHICKENS AGE
The age is between 18-22 weeks old for most of the common layer breeds we have. Determining when a bird should start laying must not always depend on age. You can also perform a physical examination to tell if your bird is close to laying.
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF A CHICKEN IS POINT-OF-LAY?
Put your hand at the back of the bird.
You should feel sharp bones around the vent.
If the bones can move apart then the birds is not far from laying.
ADVANTAGES OF BUYING POINT OF LAY CHICKENS
- It saves you time and sleepless night of brooding day old chicks.
- You don’t bear the cost of dead day old chicks, which is a normal occurance.
- Vaccination cost also reduces when you buy pooint of lay chickens.
- You don’t need to build a separate structure for day old chicks.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY POINT OF LAY CHICKENS
The best time to buy point of lay birds is when your old flocks are producing below the expected range and you need to replace the stock for a new production. No two ways about this, sell your old birds when they are almost 2 years old.
HOW TO BUY POINT OF LAY CHICKENS
Request for medication history of the birds from the farm.
You have to make sure the birds are free from diseases or infections.
Check the history of the farm, don’t just from anywhere buy from trusted sources.
POINT OF LAY CHICKENS FOR SALE
We always look for the best for our readers. If you are interested in buying a point of lay chicken click here.
Conclusion
it is a great idea to go for point of lay chickens if you want to save time and money . Also if you want to start laying eggs immediately, it is a good idea to buy point of lay chickens, but there are always downsides to every decision, and as regards point of lay chickens, we have pointed them out in this article, so you need to careful when buying. Better still, just buy from htsfarms.ng , as they have the best.
