Advice on Buying First Chicks

[North_FL_Coops]

Buying from local breeders is nearly always superior to buying from a hatchery. Hatcheries have peculiar conditions that create odd behaviors in chickens that a local breeder typically would have solved, such as aggression. In a hatchery environment the most violent roosters breed most often. Whereas most backyard chicken keepers wouldn't keep aggressive roosters at all

As someone else pointed out, it would probably be best to buy point-of-lay pullets from someone local

The Omelet chicken thing is extremely small IIRC. I would definitely keep a minimal number of chickens in there, with an attached run of some kind

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[North_FL_Coops]

Shipping is the riskiest part of a baby chick's life, or so it appears. If they make it to you in fine health after being subjected to the uncaring treatment of USPS, then you are probably getting pretty good chicks from established and reputable hatcheries. First time I ever ordered peeps online dilivered by mail, I received my order 8 days ago and got 17 out of 17 cheepers in perfect condition. BUT, my post office is in a very small town, a few hundred residents, one girl working the post office by herself and she always remembers me. Have them shipped to a major metropolitan area post office and you won't get the same customized/personal service. Long transit times can subject the babies to rough handling and dangerously high or low temperatures for a full day or two, easily. The first week or two of a chick's life is very temperature critical. After that, you have a bit more wiggle room and after 3 or 4 weeks for most breeds it is not the big deal that many people make it out to be. The thing is, the shipping is the most dangerous part of their little lives, and with day-old peeps that is also exactly when they are most vulnerable.

So, depending on your location, locally bought poultry, even at a premium price, might be the way to go, especially if you only want a handful of peepers. If you intend to never eat them, then you probably will want to sort of bond with them like pets, so picking them out in person can be a real event. THAT ONE, the one with the funny little waggly walk, and THAT one, the one that likes to jump! THIS one, she came right up to my hand to check me out! Sort of like adopting a new dog from the shelter or buying a pup at the pet shop.

Sexing them is an art and you can be wrong even after watching every single youtube posted in the last 10 years. But the feed & seed can be wrong, and the hatchery can be wrong, Old McDonald and Mr. GreenJeans can be wrong, too. And if you just want two or three, raised pullets honestly are not THAT expensive, and you don't have to worry about caponizing or harvesting or re-homing a noisy rooster if your neighbors make a stink.

I will say that capons can be very friendly and live a long time, even if you don't want them for roasting. Hard to find a vet that will do it, though, and DIY is risky, for that first attempt, so not a great idea if you won't be operating on chicks on-going. No DIY surgeon wants to be 0 for 1. 9 for 10 or 99 for 100 is a bit easier to live with. First attempts can of course be successful and usually they are, but the risk is there, because there is no teacher like experience, and you don't have any of that yet.

There are anti-crow neck bands, too, but if not applied properly they are uncomfortable or even hazardous to your rooster, or else the rooster can still crow loud enough to set off car alarms.

Re-homing the boys can be difficult in a city or a densely populated suburb. For the same reasons you don't want them, your neighbors won't want them, either. Some breeds can be released into the wild and do fairly well, some breeds definitely not. In New Orleans, where we used to live, backyard chickens are a thing, and especially since Katrina, there are several flocks of feral chickens right there in town, roosting in the oaks, scratching and foraging on vacant lots. But roosters released into the wild probably not live long and happy lives without human care. If they are young, it may simply be more humane to harvest them as fryers, however you might feel about it.

Buying raised pullets ready or nearly ready to lay, is a nearly foolproof way to get laying hens without any roosters. If you are buying a dozen, then the economics of grown or nearly grown pullets don't make much sense, and you probably want babies, even if that maybe gives you unwanted roosters.

With a tiny mini-coop, you might consider getting a second one, and then go ahead and get 4 or maybe 6 sexed pullet chicks. That will pretty nearly keep a couple or a small family in eggs or nearly in eggs, when the hens hit their stride. With that small a number, you can give each one plenty of bonding and personal attention if you are into that, or if you have kids.

Whoa! Thanks so much for all the input and examples.

We already plan to expand the coop/run experience for the little ones once they start to fill out. We went with the Omlet because it was an easier option than building ourselves (I’m a “good-enough” woodworker, but just don’t have the time).

I really appreciate the time you took to write all this. Cheers!

 

[Cindy in PA]

Buying from local breeders is nearly always superior to buying from a hatchery. Hatcheries have peculiar conditions that create odd behaviors in chickens that a local breeder typically would have solved, such as aggression. In a hatchery environment the most violent roosters breed most often. Whereas most backyard chicken keepers wouldn't keep aggressive roosters at all

As someone else pointed out, it would probably be best to buy point-of-lay pullets from someone local

The Omelet chicken thing is extremely small IIRC. I would definitely keep a minimal number of chickens in there, with an attached run of some kind

Most local breeders are resellers here or only have barnyard mixes. Just like dog breeders, buyer beware, YMMV

 

[Altairsky]

There is nothing wrong in barnyard mixes. They are generally healthier, genetically stronger, well adapted to local climate, less prone to behavioral issues, good dual purpose, and smarter about predators.
Hatchery quality breeds are also generally bad quality breeds that deviate from the standard.

 

[Cindy in PA]

There is nothing wrong in barnyard mixes. They are generally healthier, genetically stronger, well adapted to local climate, less prone to behavioral issues, good dual purpose, and smarter about predators.
Hatchery quality breeds are also generally bad quality breeds that deviate from the standard.

Don't agree. Just like dogs, if you get a good breeder & an appropriate breed, you know pretty much how the dog will grow & behave. The stuff about being genetically stronger etc. is the same stuff said about dogs. It's mostly BS. If you get two dogs of any breed with many negatives in their genes, they don't make better genetics. Barnyard mixes are not really bred, they are oopsies, I don't bother to pay attention or separate so not a breeder. JMHO

 

[Altairsky]

if you get a good breeder & an appropriate breed

Hatcheries are not good breeders.
Private breeders are better breeders.
Between inbred and behaviorally unstable chickens sold in Hatcheries and backyard mixes, I'd chose Backyard mixes hands down.
I breed Easter eggers which is a fancy name for backyard mixes with blue egg genes here and there. I am offended to have my birds disrespected. My birds are stronger, smarter, more tame, with a better immune system than inbred birds from random Hatcheries who often don't even know, or care, of what they sell.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Barnyard mixes are not really bred, they are oopsies

Hatcheries are not good breeders.
Private breeders are better breeders.

Depends on what you call a good breeder. Most hatcheries we use in the US are private companies, many family owned for generations. Each have their own employees, totally separate companies. They may have different goals and go about things a little differently but some things are typical with most of them. I don't know how your hatcheries are managed in Italy.

Many US hatcheries have people with degrees in Poultry Sciences and Genetics. Often family members. Since they are different people they may select for different traits when selecting which chickens get to breed so you can get minor differences but most have a goal to mass produce a chicken that generally conforms to the breed requirements and sell those at mass market prices.

Their methods are not going to produce many show quality chickens. They typically use the pen breeding method, maybe have 20 roosters in a pen with 200 hens (actual numbers vary) so the random breeding can maintain genetic diversity. They occasionally add new blood but they can go many years without adding any new genetics and still maintain genetic diversity.

Private breeders are a diverse group. Some know what they are doing and are carefully breeding for show, eggs, meat, or something specific. The good ones typically carefully decide which roosters get to breed with which specific hens to enhance the chance they will get a superior offspring. Breeders of show quality chickens using this method still only get 1 show quality chicken for every 5 to 10 eggs they hatch. That's why they can usually charge a factor of 10 to 20 times more for their hatching eggs or chicks than the hatcheries we use. Their expenses are a lot higher than hatcheries per chick or egg.

The other end of that private breeder spectrum are those that take hatchery quality chickens and breed them to sell "purebred" hatching eggs or chicks. They sometimes have no clue about genetics or genetic diversity. You can get private breeders anywhere between these extremes.

I do not lump all US hatcheries together, they each are different though they often have a similar business model. I certainly do not lump all backyard or private breeders together. There is nothing consistent about them. Some are excellent craftsmen with a superior product. Some have no clue as to what they even want to do.

In my opinion (which is not very humble) it is wrong to disrespect all hatcheries because they are not producing exactly what you want. Many produce a superior product for their goals even if it not a show quality chicken. It is also wrong to disrespect all backyard breeders. Some produce an excellent product, some don't.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Just like dogs, if you get a good breeder & an appropriate breed, you know pretty much how the dog will grow & behave.

I can understand how that consistency would be reassuring to those who desire it. Personally I find it extremely boring when an animal and it's great-great-grandchildren look and act exactly the same

The stuff about being genetically stronger etc. is the same stuff said about dogs. It's mostly BS.

In regards to breeding, SOPs are often purely concerned with superficial characteristics such as appearance

I heard one story here about a contest judge culling a mans leghorns so that only those that matched SOP remained. He killed 97 out of 100 leghorns, based entirety on their appearance

How is their immune system? How is their behavior? How about egg production, longevity, etc? All such details were completely tossed out the window in favor of comb shape, tail shape, etc.

SOP creates sickly animals when it focuses foremost on appearance. This is one of the reasons now that there are so many cursed breeds that have terrible immune systems and are constantly dying from illnesses. Barbu de Watermaal, Silkies and Sebrights coming to mind as the most obvious examples of sickly, inbred chickens

Each and every generation that passes in accordance to SOP means a reduced gene-pool. Whereas outbreeding has the strong opposite effect, greatly increasing genetic diversity and typically health as well

Barnyard mixes are not really bred, they are oopsies

I intentionally breed mixed chickens because they're far tougher than anything I could buy

 

[Cindy in PA]

I get everyone's points. I have done fine with hatchery chickens for 32 years. I have nothing against local breeders, I'm just saying they are not readily found everywhere & many are just chicken owners selling chicks. I don't have anything against barnyard mixes, it's just not what I am looking for. I do stand by my thoughts on the hybrids are healthier malarkey. To each his own.

 

[chickenmap]

We’re planning on getting three chicks to start our feathered family and was wondering which avenue would be best for starting out. I’ve read I can get sexed chicks at Tractor Supply for a reasonable price, but I was curious if buying from online/local hatcheries would be better.

The one thing I’ve noticed is that buying sexed chicks from local/online hatcheries seems to be fairly expensive. Also, some of the online places require a minimum purchase of five or ten chicks.

We’re wanting to start small and really only have limited coop space (picked up an Omlet for “cheap” and don’t want to overcrowd).

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Edit: I'm in North Florida, if that matters.

We happen to be in Central Florida, and my dad and I started raising a new batch of chicks this past February. We waited in line for about two hrs at a local animal feed store, since Tractor Supply kept selling out before we got there. Saw about 100 chicks arrive via USPS in a box, and there was a label on the box saying it came from a hatchery in Missouri, that sells them wholesale. They were about $6 each. So I think hatchery or retail store are both good options, since they all come from hatcheries anyway.

One notable difference is that, if purchasing from local farms instead, sometimes farms don't vaccinate their chicks. The places that vaccinate are often NPIP certified.

After this recent experience with the difficulty with getting chicks (I probably called Tractor Supply and the store I went to about 20 times before finally being able to buy some), I went and made a web app for fun called chickenmap.com that maps all the places to buy chicks from, nationwide. Have been slowly adding new states each week, and thinking about improvements (like maybe filtering by more detailed breeds). Would like to grow this into something that helps people since backyard chickens seems to be getting more popular every year, and people ask about where to buy chickens all the time.

So glad we started with 10 (because originally we were thinking about 20), and maaan do they eat a lot when they're no longer little fluff balls. 3 Sounds like a good start, wishing you good luck!