What kind of babies do I have?

Bought my chicks at TSC. The sign said Americaunas but the guy called them Straightrun. How can I tell what breed they are? They look like little owls.

'Straight run' means that they had not been vent sexed at the hatchery - you will very likely have both cockerels and pullets. Ameraucanas sold by hatcheries and suppliers like TSC are most likely Easter Eggers - not purebred Ameraucanas.

hi. I'm sure someone will tell you there breed but I need to help you out with what Straight Run means. it means that it is a mix of NOT SEXED MALE AND FEMALE BIRDS. The ratio is NOT always 50/50 so many factors come into play. if someone is good at sexing they can pick the females from the straight run bin. if you want females any breed they are called pullets. if you want males they are cockerals. a mix of not sexed aNY breed is straight run
hope this helps you out a bit. they sure are cute!♡♡Congratulations!!

Usually when the sign says Ameracanas they are Easter Egger chickens. They are the chickens that lay green, blue, pink or tan eggs. When he said straight run he meant they could be boys or girls. Usually the case is boys. You want to buy the pullets so you will get hens. Even in that case I have still gotten roosters.

if they are Easter Eggers lucky you! They lay beautiful colored eggs! How fun!

pattyhen said:

Usually when the sign says Ameracanas they are Easter Egger chickens. They are the chickens that lay green, blue, pink or tan eggs. When he said straight run he meant they could be boys or girls. Usually the case is boys. You want to buy the pullets so you will get hens. Even in that case I have still gotten roosters.

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Please don't let this scare you. As others have posted all straight run means is that the chickens haven't been sexed. Statistically you should (but seldom) get three of each sex. Our Tractor Supply thankfully doesn't let the public handle the babies. At ours you do need to take a minimum of six chicks. Last year I got 5/6 pullets and once I had 7/7. I've also had 3 while I do know one person got 5 cockerels and another who got 25 babies got only 7 hens from the group.
Our TSC has some bins that are straight run while they do have all pullet bins usually priced $1.00 per chick higher.
If you can handle and look at the chicks there are some ways you can tip the scales in favor of pullets (but still not a sure thing). If you are selecting Ameraucanas/Americanas/Easter Eggers from a bin I've found it best to stick with the ones that appear to have a "chipmunk" design. Everyone that I've seen that has been speckled or spotted or has broken lines as a baby has been a cockerel. Of course someone else will post and tell you that their speckled one was a pullet so who knows?

can you have males where you live? if not I'm sure TSC will allow you to return the "straight run" batch for "pullets or females. If they know you didn't quite understand what Straight Run meant I'm sure they will help you out. If your looking for egg layers and not crowers i might consider replacement with pullets. Even in the pullet bin or anywhere else birds are sexed a male can sneek in every now and then but it's a LOT LESS likely than straight run where you will SURELY get some males. I do hope this helps you out.

Because of bio security, it is very unlikely that TSC will take back any chicks. If they do, they really shouldn't.

Is there a link to all the terminology? And if I did get Easter Eggers, yeah me! I have been wanting colored eggs!

I'm not sure that there is a link? However basic terms that might be important are Pullet= a female chicken before laying age. Hen= a female after laying age. Cockeral= a young male before sexual maturity. Cock/Rooster a male after sexual maturity. The Comb= the part on top of the nose. Waddles= the fleshy part that hangs on each side of bottom beak. Vent = where the bird eliminates waste or egg. The Crop = where the food is stored after eaten (bulge on upper chest) and here are two illnesses you should learn about= 1. coccidosis, chicks can get a overload of cocci from feces or dirt making them puff up, very sleepy, lethergic, and sometimes pass blood in stool. can be fatal if not treated with Amprolium.
2.Mareks disease= can cause paralysis, tumors death. very prevalent. very contagious. to control get a vaccine at hatch. I can't really think of much more but I recommend a really good book on chickens. if you have the kindle app. Amazon.com has some really great books that you can download about chickens. They have some great ones available. I highly recommend getting a book or two on raising chickens. it's great and easy reading and really helpful. I hope this post helps.