Chicks from the local feed store

[coffeelady3]

Hey, it would have worked! I took my 2 home in an instant oatmeal box!

 

[vermontgal]

I got my 4 chicks from the feed store, and brought them home on my bicycle (the feed store staff thought that was a hoot!)

My feedstore orders chicks for customers, and then you pick them up at the store. The downside to this is that all the chicks come in together (unmarked), and you may or may not get what you ordered. They DO keep males/females separate.

The gal who picked out my chicks for me gave me an EE instead of a RIR. She didn't know about the slate/green legs vs. yellow legs.

The feedstore here charged me a little over $2 for each chick. Seems like the best way to buy a small quantity of sexed chicks.

But this year I am hoping to get together with some other folks locally via Craigslist to put in a joint order -- OR, I am going to buy a 25 chick order and sell the extras on Craigslist. Like JennsPeeps, I want breeds I can't get via the feedstore. Now that I am HOOKED.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Quote:
I'm trying to see how many I can talk Dena into getting this round!!

 

[coffeelady3]

Quote:
I think I've got myself talked into 2.

 

[cmom]

I have bought chicks in the past from my local feed store. The chicks came from Ideal. One chick was sick when I got it and died and they replaced it and one turned out to be a Roo when they were susposed to be all pullets they refunded me for that one. Now I just order directly from Ideal. You can pay a little extra if you want a guarentee of all pullets. So far when I have ordered pullets I have gotten pullets. The store charges $12.00 a 50# bag of medicated Starter/Grower.

 

[farmerlor]

All the people who buy started chicks from me had previous bad experiences with their chicks they bought from feed stores. I don't know why as the feed store nearest me gets their chicks from McMurray which is where my babies come from. Maybe they don't take as good of care of them as I do, I don't know.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
wow! I just paid $20 for a 50 lb. bag of starter/grower feed from a local feed store. I have no idea where to get it cheaper.

 

[EliteTempleton]

I've heard if you order from a hatchery then you will get a mandatory form to fill out in the mail every year asking you about your farm status from the gubment...

I got my sex-link(these are the ones you can sex at birth by the way) and ISA brown at, well one was from the Family Farm & Home and the other was from TSC...

From Family Farm & Home I also bought a Bantam. It turned out to be a Rooster. They did not refund my $ or offer to re-home it, the best I got was that I could post it on the board as for sale. He was introduced to the freezer that night because I cannot have Roosters.

I then bought my Point of lay RIR pullet from a BYC Member. She has been my best layer.

Another advantage to buying from feed store or otherwise locally is that you keep your money more local. More so if you bought from another person in your area.

 

[felidaet]

I will be purchasing my first chicks this spring and intend to purchase them from local feed store(s).

There are several feed stores within about 5 miles of my house. I spent much of today visiting a couple of them and calling others on the phone. All of them will be getting their chicks in April. Most of them will have a limited number of breeds. One of them said they would have lots of breeds and they quickly listed a bunch on the phone. They said to stop in for a complete list. I did stop in and the list only contained about 1/2 of what they said on the phone. I was disappointed. One of the breeds they listed was Araucana. I asked if they were true Araucana or it they were EE. (I want EE). The guy gave me a very dirty look and rudly said that there is not such thing as an EE. He also said the Araucana has not changed in 50 years. I restated my question and asked if the birds vary in color and lay either green or blue eggs. His response was "of course". I politely left the store and will not return. This was strange because I have always found the employees in the feed stores to be very friendly.

I called another feed store, which happens to be the one I go to most often. They connected me to their Chicken specialist. She said that she just placed their orders this morning. They are going to start taking orders from customers on Feb 1. I asked which breeds they will have and she said that it is too many to list on the phone. She is putting together all of her notes into a printed list that will be available in a couple of weeks. However, she asked me what breeds I am looking for. She happily answered yes to all of the breeds I was interested in. Of course, this did not help me eliminate any for my list. I have 14 birds on my wish list and need to decide on two to remove. Tough decission. I will be waiting at the front door on Feb 1 to put in my order and select the delivery dates. (They have multiple shipments coming in over several weeks.).

I will starting another thread this evening or tomorrow to get peoples thoughts on what breeds I am going to buy.