Chicks At TSC - Commercial Black - Not Like The Others

[Reyvaughn]

There are a couple of topics going about TSC's Commercial Black Pullets this year. I saw the pics everyone is posting and they all have yellow spots on their heads and look like the Barred Rock chicks. Today I go into TSC to see if they may have gotten some NHs or some of the Commercial Blacks. No NHs, but there are CBs. But... They were solid black. No yellow, no stripes, no nothing. Solid black. What breeds of chicken have solid black chicks? There was only 8 of them, so I was actually curious if they were a mix up or some kind of surplus breed pullets the hatchery just threw in.

Any ideas?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Female BSL usually.

TSC's corporate labels, used by all stores, regardless of the hatchery used, seems VERY confusing to me. I was there today and it seems much more confusion, although the intent, I'm sure, was simplification.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I checked the label - The Bloomsburg TSC makes notes on the back of the breed cards of what's in the bin and it said Black Commercial (Common was crossed out and edited). That's why I was asking. Maybe I should have grabbed some after all. I am trying to get myself a lovely rainbow of chickens. I didn't think about Black Sexlinks as they weren't on the sign as a possibility.

 

[Sunshyne276]

Yep! Seen the same thing! As matter of fact, I bought a couple. lol I couldn't resist! They are tiny compared to the others in the bin, too.
I also got another one similar to the first one I bought from the bin. Anxious to see what they all look like in a week, two or three!

 

[booker81]

I stopped at mine to get feed, and saw they had the Commercial Blacks - but my store is nice and *tries* to label them (though of couse they have the bin of "These chicks are Araucanas."). The black chicks had "These chicks are Black Australorps".

I've heard on here that the TSCs I visit are supplied by Townline Hatchery, and the only "black" chickens they have are BSL or BA. I think the folks are using the label of what they get, and adding that to the standard TSC sign.

So, my vote for MI TSCs and those supplied by Townline is....Black Australorps.

 

[Reyvaughn]

Well, whoever supplies Bloomsburg TSC with their chicks told them on the shipping label that they were Commercial Blacks. I preceded to tell the guy that I think they are wrong and they just put a new name on BSLs. Just like I told the guy that Muncy TSC isn't getting "Breed of the Week" and the Hazleton TSC is getting TTs and WLHs for their "Breed of the Week". Which I am upset about because the point of BotW was to help introduce/make available rarer breeds. Anyways... I am glad Bloomsburg TSC has a new, pretty breed each week (EEs, BLHs, BAs and LBs so far).

Thanks for answering a question I should have known the answer to, btw. I have read so much about all the breeds, as a newb, I know more than almost all of the local TSC workers. Darn BSLs stumped me though!

 

[schellie69]

To me when I have gone into tractor supply that their bins are marked really strange it is hard for someone who had done a lot of reading and knows about breeds to figure it out how are new people to chickens to figure it all out. I will stick with going to my other farm store they have clearly marked bins what is in each one and they know their breeds. I don't think I will get chicks at tractor supply ever. I also vote black sex link but one of my Austrolorps was completely black last year and one had white on the end of her wings.

 

[MamaHynne]

I have two of these babies. They are solid black except for a tiny white spot underneath their butts. I named them Moonshine and Moscato. I was trying to figure out what breed they were. Glad y'all started this topic. They are much smaller and delicate than the other chicks.

 

[PapaChaz]

glad I found this topic! We bought 8 chicks at TSC, 4 yellow and 4 black. The sign posted had several breed possibilities, one was commercial black. I watched them run around and picked out the ones that were running around the most, LOL. the black ones had some yellow under their throats and belly. Now that they are going on 4 weeks old, they are starting to get some spots on their feathers. I've been looking at different breed pics and have concluded that they are going to be australorps. I could be wrong of course, LOL maybe they'll be sex links. either way they should be good layers, right? I'm of the mind the yellow ones are going to turn out to be white leghorns. i have a pic of them in the new coop we built over in the coop contest thread....

 

[DickGJ]

The salesperson told my wife and kids these are Australorps, but after seeing pics of Australorp chicks here on BYC...I have doubt. They're also suppose to be pullets...

Here's some pics...what's your opinion of these black mystery chicks? I don't believe they're Black sex links or I'd have almost all roos and why would they have all these roos in a pullet bin? Then again, it was another TSC experience.