In need of advice: avoiding an accidental rooster

[curiouseclectic]

I, on the other hand, recommend going with started pullets. I raise and sell 100's of started pullets just for people in your situation. You can't take the chance of ending up with a cockerel plus in the long run, it is cheaper as you aren't investing in all the supplies to raise chicks on a casual basis.
First thing first. Educate yourself about the breeds you are interested in. Even by 10 weeks, a beginner should be able to identify some cockerel traits to where you lessen the chance of taking one home. There are plenty of snakes out there passing off cockerels as pullets so spend the time looking at pictures of chicks at different ages. Pullets and cockerels side by side. Feathering (yes, the fancy pretty ones tend to be the boys), body stance, size, legs, combs and waddles, the "look", are all things to look at. Trust your gut with both the seller and the chicken. Going with autosexing breeds can simplify things but you must know what the sexes look like. 99% of home breeders do not know how to sex chickens past the autosexing ones at hatch so they are sold straight run not something to deal with. Hatcheries average 90%+ accuracy in sexing so there is still a chance of ending up with a boy. I average less than 3% boys.
Ameraucana have not proven to be great layers for me. Best case I get 4/week.
There are a few hatcheries who sell started pullets. I suspect they will be in short supply this year as the hatcheries are able to sell everything they hatch. Also consider shipping will average $100/bird as they go priority overnight. Add the cost of the pullet and it pushes her to $125+.
Finally the best reason to go with started pullets when you are not planning on getting them until fall is not having to wait until spring for eggs.

Thanks, I will definitely educate myself a bit more if I go the pullet route. Interesting about your Ameraucanas! Always good to hear someones lived experience with a breed.

 

[curiouseclectic]

If you want friendly birds, hand- raising is really the best way. There are a few autosex choices, Bielefelders & Cream Legbars come to mind (Legbars lay blue eggs too) or sex-link hybrids. If I absolutely had to have pullets, I would go with one of these.

If you are only getting 3, and aren’t sourcing locally, I would suggest Mt Healthy Hatchery. They have a minimum 3 chick order, and have both Legbars & Bielefelders. You could get one of each and a sex-link for the third if you are interested in that!

Thanks for the recommendation! Yeah, I've suspected as much that chicks really are the best way to get friendly birds. I'll check out Mt. Healthy!

 

[curiouseclectic]

I have to second going with chicks. I've gotten maybe one accidental rooster from buying day-old sexed chicks from major hatcheries. Go ahead and get your Ameraucanas but don't get started pullets because as mentioned above you are much more likely to being home diseases or even the wrong breed. I have done it and had success but also done it and regretted it. Now I hatch my own from fertilized eggs so I have a much higher chance of having roosters but I am so careful about bringing sick birds into my flock now. One of my worst experiences was buying a started pullet who was healthy but brought in a strain of cocci new to my birds and one of my not physically strong (bought as a pullet) birds died of it before I figures out what was wrong. More can go wrong with pullets. Some hatcheries like Murray McMurray sell pullets and that would be a good alternative but buying from other people is not something I risk anymore

I'm so sorry to hear that! Disease introduction is definitely something for me to think about, thank you.

 

[NagemTX]

On ameraucanas I suggest Cackle. They have a city female pack. They have true Ameraucanas. And on my order all my sexed chicks came correct.

 

[curiouseclectic]

On ameraucanas I suggest Cackle. They have a city female pack. They have true Ameraucanas. And on my order all my sexed chicks came correct.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check them out. It's good to know they have true Ameraucanas because I know a lot of the times they are EE's etc. Also great to hear they all have come sexed correctly for you!

 

[miss heny]

If buying locally research the seller, make sure they are npip/AI and honestly dig around. Don't just trust their five stars locally try to find online reviews, helped me from some headache with two local farms that while NPIP/AI have very bad track record.

If not my vote for hatchery is Cackle personally. We're gonna restart our layer flock with their Welsummers and Ameraucanas.

 

[Rurumo]

Find all the local feed stores and see how they do chicks, and where they get them from. Lots of small feed stores will put together a large order once they have enough customer orders, and it's a great way to get chicks-typically larger orders are safer for the chicks for a variety of reasons, but it also means the feed store will encounter any immediate chick deaths and not a fresh owner who gets them in the mail. They may also be able to assist with rehoming a rooster-an Americauna rooster will not be hard to rehome. Good luck to you!

 

[Sally PB]

If you are only getting 3, and aren’t sourcing locally, I would suggest Mt Healthy Hatchery. They have a minimum 3 chick order, and have both Legbars & Bielefelders. You could get one of each and a sex-link for the third if you are interested in that!

Just a heads up: Yes, you can get as few as 3 chicks from Mt Healthy, but they have a "small order" fee that is $30. Since I really wanted Bielefelders, but not till May, I ponied up the bucks.

When I dealt with their customer service person on the phone, she was VERY nice and helpful. Perhaps if you stress the fact that you cannot have males, they'd take note? Anyway, I ordered Biels because they are sexable at hatch; the males look different from the females.

 

[curiouseclectic]

Find all the local feed stores and see how they do chicks, and where they get them from. Lots of small feed stores will put together a large order once they have enough customer orders, and it's a great way to get chicks-typically larger orders are safer for the chicks for a variety of reasons, but it also means the feed store will encounter any immediate chick deaths and not a fresh owner who gets them in the mail. They may also be able to assist with rehoming a rooster-an Americauna rooster will not be hard to rehome. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the suggestion! I’m starting to look at Freehling Farms locally to explore this strategy.

 

[curiouseclectic]

Just a heads up: Yes, you can get as few as 3 chicks from Mt Healthy, but they have a "small order" fee that is $30. Since I really wanted Bielefelders, but not till May, I ponied up the bucks.

When I dealt with their customer service person on the phone, she was VERY nice and helpful. Perhaps if you stress the fact that you cannot have males, they'd take note? Anyway, I ordered Biels because they are sexable at hatch; the males look different from the females.

Yeah I agree I would definitely be fine paying extra. Have you had Biels before? How do you like them?