Thoughts on TSC Chicks?

It sounds like the only thing Mt Healthy does with bantams is throw them in a box and call them assorted, so I'm guessing the more you get the more likely you'll be to have good M/F ratios. I've seen people post photos of cochins, game birds, polish, silkie and assorted other bantams from the TSC bins.

My large fowl birds from Mt Healthy are VERY active, healthy and growing SUPER fast!!!

My neighbor has a buff orpington roo and he is very, very quiet. My TSC just had straight run BOs. The only bad thing about TSC is they require you to buy 6 at a time and do not always have the breeds you want all at the same time. I have solved this problem by selling the extras on CraigsList quite successfully to "split" the purchase.

I recently purchased from TSC. 6 RIR's, then a week later 6 more RIR's. All very healthy and active.....so far so good

It depends on what you're looking for. If you just want some for pets/egg layers, then TSC can suit what you want, especially if you have 2-3 TSCs within a reasonable distance to check out before buying. If you want specific breeds you can research traits that would help you ID the chicks in the bin (example a Silkie has black skin and 5 toes). I went to TSC yesterday looking for specific birds and actually finally found them: a barred rock bantam and 2 barred cochins, my extras to meet the 6 chick minimum is a buff Silkie and 2 Belgian d'Anvers. Last year we bought some of their bantams and had a Silkie, a Delaware, a Sultan, a Cornish, and some OEGB.

However, if you want specific breeds or varieties, you can't go wrong with a hatchery. I recently ordered an assortment of Cochins from Ideal and am getting Polish and Barred Rock bantams from MPC in May.

I'd scope out your local TSC to see if they have what you want.  I've gotten 9 total from TSC and all my others from another feed store- all are healthy (they come from the same hatchery) and have not had any problems.  If you want specific breeds, you may be better of getting them from the hatchery if it's close, because at least here, TSC doesn't know breeds unless they are labeled by the hatchery, so it's a crap shoot.

Assorted bantams aren't going to be mixed (as is the straight run) from the hatchery, which has nothing to do with TSC.  If you want just pullets, I'd go the hatchery route if that's an option.  Some bantams (like silkies) won't be sexed, although My Pet Chicken offers silkie sexing for $$$$.