this page contains information about the welfare and management of our birds.
By choosing Chloe’s, you can rest assured that the welfare of our birds is paramount.
We pride ourselves on a very professional set up, including custom built large steel frame pens with ample run space.
Not only are our birds are safe from predators but they are also safe from the stress of predators, both on the ground and overhead.
Our pens are all fully roofed in both iron and galvanised mesh, and the floors have a dug in mesh barrier.
There’s a cozy, yet well ventilated covered section at the rear of the pen and a bright open mesh sided area at the front.
Our birds are checked a number of times a day and have a constant supply of fresh, clean water and premium feed.
Each pen even has its own custom built swing for the birds to enjoy. In extreme weather conditions, our birds are kept as comfortable as possible. During the heat of Summer, iced water is provided, as well as fruity ice treats and the deep mulch is wet down.
There is also plenty of shade and shelter to protect them from the elements. They are all free to scratch around, dust bathe, lay in the sun and enjoy life in a happy, low stress, comfortable environment.
When visiting our farm, we ask that you kindly adhere to our biosecurity measures. This is always important, but more so now that avian influenza has been detected in Victoria again.
Please do not bring any used pet carriers (even if you have washed them) or bedding in boxes - we have boxes and bedding for you to take your new birds home in.
Please refrain from handling any birds prior to purchase - I know they are cute and it’s tempting, but wait till you get home to touch them. We will show them to you so you can choose.
If your choosing eggs, please don’t pick them up , your welcome to ask us to pick them up so you can choose your favourite colours.
Please don’t wander into other areas of our farm - we are a working farm and have other livestock.
Please don’t just turn up out of hours - we’re more than happy to open by pre arranged appointments if you can’t make it during opening hours.
Please refrain from visiting if you have any sick birds at home, have been around anyone’s else’s sick birds or have been in an avian influenza quarantine area.
And lastly, if you have dogs in your car, please keep them in there - they are not allowed to come out for a run.
This will all go towards helping us maintain a disease free property and help keep our birds and animals as healthy as possible.
Theres no chance of a single egg being mixed up on collection as every pen has its own individual code.
Eggs are collected and marked before being placed in the main collection basket.
Our teams have large automatic stainless steel water feeders so cool, fresh, clean water is always available.
Each pen has its own cleaning brush, which is inside the pen, which makes cleaning the stainless steel bowl very easy and avoids any potential pathogens being spread between pens.
All of our birds are fed on top quality Green Valley Grains feed appropriate to their age.
Feed is supplied in stainless steel treadle feeders, which are fixed to the pen wall for easy access for our birds.
All of our pens are routinely treated to decrease the chances of mites and lice living in them and feeding on our birds. Dusting with coopex is just one of the many ways we achieve this.
Each of our pens has a custom swing built in, which our birds just love
We use supplementary lighting to assist our birds in coming back onto lay in Winter, and we find this routine helps them moult in Autumn and be fully feathered again before the chill of Winter hits.
We use spiral leg bands as a permanent way of identifying and keeping track of our breeding birds
We run a 'rooster only' pen, which is a large pen of roosters. They live in harmony together, away from any hens or pullets. This allows us to keep plenty of spare roosters for breeding, give our breeding roosters a break and select the best roosters for our breeding teams.
All chicks are banded with stretchy ID bands at hatch
Chickens need their nails trimmed from time to time, so we have a schedule in place to check every bird every 6 months and trim if needed.
It is important that chicks get some supervised outdoor time and some sunshine, on short, clean grass. This helps them obtain vitimin D, which is essential to their growth and development and it also builds up their immune systems by exposing them to the outside world.
Roosters naturally grow spurs, which in nature are designed to help them protect their hens from predators, but they can also harm the hens when they mate, so we make sure all of our breeding roosters spurs are checked and carefully trimmed when needed, before they cause any issues.
We value low density living for all of our breeding teams and ensure they have plenty of space to enjoy. This helps reduce any potential stress, bullying, or unrest in the flock.
Overstocking and high density living are things that never happen here.
Having a gap between our breeding pens is important for a number of reasons.
It ensures that roosters are no confronting each other and fighting, as they would if they were to share a fence.
There is also no chance of a rooster fertilising a hen from a neighbouring pen.
It helps all of the birds to feel secure within their own flock, in thei
Having a gap between our breeding pens is important for a number of reasons.
It ensures that roosters are no confronting each other and fighting, as they would if they were to share a fence.
There is also no chance of a rooster fertilising a hen from a neighbouring pen.
It helps all of the birds to feel secure within their own flock, in their own pen.
It reduces the chance for any potential pathogen to spread from pen to pen.
Our birds are all de wormed on a scheduled rotation to ensure they are in the best possible health and parasite free.
Any pen ready pullets we sell are also de wormed prior to being advertised.