Another newbie question

[Magoo1957]

I ordered from cackle but haven't received yet so Idk if they are good but my friend likes them

I dont know where in TX but I know ideal hatchery is somewhere in TX. I Ordered bantams 1 1\2 years ago and they got here safe and sound no one was sick, hurt ,injured ect!

So I recommend Ideal hatchery .
I think they are in Cameron Texas, but I dont know where that is

I'll check them out.....thank you!!

 

[Magoo1957]

https://www.idealpoultry.com/

Thank you!!

 

[Magoo1957]

I'd like to raise my hand for started pullets for the his first reason given, prone to death.
You and your lady want a good first time chicken keeping experience. 6wk old are still cute , fun and you can still bond with them and they are a bit hardier then tiny ones. With that being said, you will want to provide them a cuddle box in the coop as they won't roost for a few more weeks.

Once you get the hang of it, you can get her some baby chicks.

That's a good option.....I'll run that past her and see what she thinks......Thank you!!

 

[Chicks in VA]

Thank you!!

No problem!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'll mostly address getting chicks, but I have gotten a couple started pullets before (still have one in my flock) and you can't tell from her behavior that she wasn't here at the start. With chickens it's more about individual personality whether they will want to be close to you or not, so getting started pullets doesn't mean that you won't get some "pets" out of it.

That said, chicks are very cute (and really not as hard to take care of as people think as long as you set up to make things easier on yourself) and if your wife likes doting on cute things, I think you'll get outvoted and she'll want the experience of raising chicks.

We'll be in East Texas by then so not terribly cold....even tho it'll be 15 degrees here by Monday! Normally we have a pretty mild winter time. If we opt for chicks, the brooder will be in the house....pullets would be in the new coop/run. I also wonder how many boys we would get by surprise if we went with chicks.....

Unless you are planning to get them immediately, the temperature won't be an issue.

If you opt for chicks save yourself some work and brood IN the coop if possible - it's easier and less clean up, skips having to set up a brooder at all, and to be frank I've noticed no difference in friendliness of birds raised inside or out.

If you only want females (and again this is chicks) then you want to make sure to buy either sexed pullet (with roughly 10% misidentification rate) or aim for sex linked / auto sexing breeds where females and males can be differentiated by colors or markings.

I'm thinking a hatchery would be a better option than going to TSC or some place like that.....but if she opens the box when it arrives and finds one that didn't survive....OMG!!!

That's why I won't order chicks. I let the feed store deal with losses. If you have a locally owned feed store or two, it's worth checking if they may post up lists ahead of time letting customers know when chicks will be coming in, as well as breeds ordered, so you can plan ahead and get what you want.

 

[GardenDmpls]

I grew up in Texas but didn't have chicks then. Now I am in NY and order from Ideal hatchery in Texas. Good prices and excellent at shipping. I have never had a chick die in shipping from Ideal, Meyer or any the other places I've ordered from. The hatcheries give a 90% guarantee on the sex of their chicks (it takes a year to train to do this as it is very difficult- they have to practice a lot). If I get a rooster, I just give it to one of my immigrant friends. They know how to prepare live chickens for eating and also take older chickens that stop producing.