Bowmans is Place to Pick Up Chicks

If you have a hankering to raise chickens, Bowmans is the place to go.

Manager Randy Martin said he gets weekly shipments of chicks from a hatchery in Ohio and expecst to sell around 11,000  by the time mid-May rolls around.

He will also sell baby ducks and turkeys.

"People are moving back towards self-sufficiency; it's a trend that started years ago," Martin said.

According to Martin, with a relatively small investment, people can raise chickens that produce about an egg a day.

"It's easy to raise chickens," Martin said. "You have to raise a chick inside (indoors) but it will be grown in about three months and producing eggs at about six months."

Martin said once the chicken is full grown, it can live outside year round. A full grown chicken will weigh six to eight pounds, Martin said.

Bowmans is offering a two-hour seminar at the Ag Center on March 27 to teach people how to raise chickens. Martin said that last year 200 people attended the event and he is expecting more this year. The store also sells starter kits to make it as simple as possible for first-time chicken owners.

Not every jurisdiction allows chicken-raising, and Martin will let residents know the law in their area.

He said Carroll County doesn't have a law against it but the county does have a policy of trying to prohibit residents from purchasing chickens as pets.

"There is a county policy that requires a minimum purchase of five chicks to keep people from buying them for fun or as a pet," Martin said.

The chicks at Bowmans sell for $2.50 each.

Bowmans opened in Union Mills in 1928 and moved to Westminster in 1960. Brothers Dirk and Dale Bowman now run the business that was started by their grandfather. There are currently four locations--two in Westminster, one in Hanover and one in Keymar.

To learn more about Bowmans or raising chicks, visit the website at www.bowmansfeedandpet.com.