I usually frequent my TSC at least once a week, especially because it is literally 2 miles down the road from our farm, and it's a brand new store as of January.. but I'm getting a little irritated with the employees.
About a week and a half ago, my boyfriend and I stopped at TSC for some chick feed and other misc items. I noticed that 3 of the chicks in one of the pullet bins had majorly pecked & bloody bumblys (bootys, you get the point). Anyway, so I pointed it out the the manager and he said he'd definitely take care of it. I stuck around to make sure he wasn't BSing, and a few minutes later the woman who had been cashering came over to the chick area with some bag balm. She better slather that crap on, I thought to myself.. So I stood there and watched as she barely put any product on the wound, and put them back into the bin! $#&@%$!!!!!!!! I watched for a second and waited for the inevitable: more pecking. I told her that they needed to be quarentined or she at least needed to put some blu-koat on those wounds so the other chicks wouldn't smell the blood. (I don't care how much stinkin' bag balm you put on a bloody wound, when there are 238764357234 chicks in one bin, they're going to be close enough to smell blood!)
Anyway, I told her that I had 8 chicks at home that I had just hatched about a week and a half prior, and the injured chicks seemed to be about the same age and offered to take them home with me so they could be properly cared for. Ever since then, I've been stopping in every few days to check on the chicks, and when I stopped in today I thought my skin was going to turn green and I was going to rip out of my clothes, Hulk style.
The first thing I noticed upon entering the store is the blood curdling screams of a baby chick. You know the sound, that high-pitched panic-stricken "HELP ME" that a baby makes when it's distressed to the max. I walked over to the chick bins and immediately saw 2 very bloody bumblys. (At this point I go into Mama Bear mode, and am willing to rip the throat out of any moving thing that stands in my way on my journey for help.) I scan the store for employees: One busy at the register, and one at the service desk. The man at the service desk is picking up the phone to dial out as I'm walking up.. "Excuse me sir, but.." "I'll be right with you." UM, HELLO! Put the dang phone down and help me please!!!!!! So then he dialed the number and I walked away, towards the cashier. I told her what was going on and she said she'd let someone know.
I stood by the chicks and tried swatting away the bullies from the victims (through the freakin' gates, mind you) for probably 4-5 minutes (which feels like forever when you're in Mama Bear mode). The tall service desk jerk comes over and grabs the 2 chicks out and puts them in a box.. Oh good, I think to myself, he must have someone coming to pick these poor things up.. HA! I gave this guy way too much credit. He puts the chicks into ANOTHER BIN!! WITH OTHER CHICKS! THEN WALKS AWAY!!!!!! I felt my muscles start to bulge and I could see my skin turning green and all of a sudden my clothes felt tight against my body.. Whoa, whoa, deep breaths.. In.....Out.... Of course the other chicks are going to town on these poor guys. 2 of the other chicks literally grabbed one chick by it's wing (which was bloody of course) and were trying to tear it off the poor chick's body! "Hey, you gotta get someone over here NOW to get these chicks out of here, they're getting torn up" I yell to the cashier. She gives me some half-dumb "oh, they're still getting pecked"response and goes to find the tall guy. She could've said the sky was falling for all I know, I have selective hearing when I'm in Mama Bear mode and can only comprehend sentences like "I will remove them immediately" or "Help is on the way" or "I know what to do" or "I'll take care of this right now, and I'll do it correctly"!!!!!
Anyway, while she's getting the tall guy with the great ideas I notice another baby getting pecked in the original bin. When they come back the cashier grabs a box and pulls the 2 original cuties in it, and he grabs the new victim that I'm pointing out. He puts the third one into the box with the other 2. Luckily, they weren't pecking each other as I think they were too exhausted. "You have someone coming to pick these guys up, right?", I say. The cashier said that yes, someone was coming for them, blah blah, but all Mama Bear heard was "Help is on the way."
I don't have anything against these employees, or TSC, but it really upsets me that they have no sense of urgency when it comes to an injured chick, OR, any knowledge of how to propely handle a situation when a chick is being pecked. When I'm in that store, I become Mama Bear, and each one of those little chicks are my bear cubs. GAH! I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks
About a week and a half ago, my boyfriend and I stopped at TSC for some chick feed and other misc items. I noticed that 3 of the chicks in one of the pullet bins had majorly pecked & bloody bumblys (bootys, you get the point). Anyway, so I pointed it out the the manager and he said he'd definitely take care of it. I stuck around to make sure he wasn't BSing, and a few minutes later the woman who had been cashering came over to the chick area with some bag balm. She better slather that crap on, I thought to myself.. So I stood there and watched as she barely put any product on the wound, and put them back into the bin! $#&@%$!!!!!!!! I watched for a second and waited for the inevitable: more pecking. I told her that they needed to be quarentined or she at least needed to put some blu-koat on those wounds so the other chicks wouldn't smell the blood. (I don't care how much stinkin' bag balm you put on a bloody wound, when there are 238764357234 chicks in one bin, they're going to be close enough to smell blood!)
Anyway, I told her that I had 8 chicks at home that I had just hatched about a week and a half prior, and the injured chicks seemed to be about the same age and offered to take them home with me so they could be properly cared for. Ever since then, I've been stopping in every few days to check on the chicks, and when I stopped in today I thought my skin was going to turn green and I was going to rip out of my clothes, Hulk style.
The first thing I noticed upon entering the store is the blood curdling screams of a baby chick. You know the sound, that high-pitched panic-stricken "HELP ME" that a baby makes when it's distressed to the max. I walked over to the chick bins and immediately saw 2 very bloody bumblys. (At this point I go into Mama Bear mode, and am willing to rip the throat out of any moving thing that stands in my way on my journey for help.) I scan the store for employees: One busy at the register, and one at the service desk. The man at the service desk is picking up the phone to dial out as I'm walking up.. "Excuse me sir, but.." "I'll be right with you." UM, HELLO! Put the dang phone down and help me please!!!!!! So then he dialed the number and I walked away, towards the cashier. I told her what was going on and she said she'd let someone know.
I stood by the chicks and tried swatting away the bullies from the victims (through the freakin' gates, mind you) for probably 4-5 minutes (which feels like forever when you're in Mama Bear mode). The tall service desk jerk comes over and grabs the 2 chicks out and puts them in a box.. Oh good, I think to myself, he must have someone coming to pick these poor things up.. HA! I gave this guy way too much credit. He puts the chicks into ANOTHER BIN!! WITH OTHER CHICKS! THEN WALKS AWAY!!!!!! I felt my muscles start to bulge and I could see my skin turning green and all of a sudden my clothes felt tight against my body.. Whoa, whoa, deep breaths.. In.....Out.... Of course the other chicks are going to town on these poor guys. 2 of the other chicks literally grabbed one chick by it's wing (which was bloody of course) and were trying to tear it off the poor chick's body! "Hey, you gotta get someone over here NOW to get these chicks out of here, they're getting torn up" I yell to the cashier. She gives me some half-dumb "oh, they're still getting pecked"response and goes to find the tall guy. She could've said the sky was falling for all I know, I have selective hearing when I'm in Mama Bear mode and can only comprehend sentences like "I will remove them immediately" or "Help is on the way" or "I know what to do" or "I'll take care of this right now, and I'll do it correctly"!!!!!
Anyway, while she's getting the tall guy with the great ideas I notice another baby getting pecked in the original bin. When they come back the cashier grabs a box and pulls the 2 original cuties in it, and he grabs the new victim that I'm pointing out. He puts the third one into the box with the other 2. Luckily, they weren't pecking each other as I think they were too exhausted. "You have someone coming to pick these guys up, right?", I say. The cashier said that yes, someone was coming for them, blah blah, but all Mama Bear heard was "Help is on the way."
I don't have anything against these employees, or TSC, but it really upsets me that they have no sense of urgency when it comes to an injured chick, OR, any knowledge of how to propely handle a situation when a chick is being pecked. When I'm in that store, I become Mama Bear, and each one of those little chicks are my bear cubs. GAH! I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks
