Devil chicks?

[azygous]

Nooooo

the hatchery has a 98% rate of being correct. Please tell me I can't be that unlucky.

Oh, honey! You should have seen me summer before last when I was dealing with a tiny order from My Pet Chicken. I painstakingly researched breeds that can be auto sexed upon hatch. That means the boys look entirely different from the girls. I ordered six pullets. Two turned out to be cockerels. MPC offered me pullet replacements for the two "mistakes", and I ordered one extra pullet since I needed three chicks to meet the minimum for shipping. Guess what! They screwed up again! One was a cockerel!

MPC refused right up to the point when I reported the youngster was crowing and mating his brooder mates to believe they had made a mistake again. But when I provided close ups of his saddle and hackle feathers, they conceded and refunded my money. But that summer, I had to deal with three cockerels and all the related stress. I was very unhappy with MPC. Still am.

So, yes they make mistakes, and their ability to sex chicks and be accurate is only as good as the aptitude and training of the staff they hire. If you think that chicks where the males and females look entirely different would insure no mistakes, think again.

 

[seashoreduck]

Oh, honey! You should have seen me summer before last when I was dealing with a tiny order from My Pet Chicken. I painstakingly researched breeds that can be auto sexed upon hatch. That means the boys look entirely different from the girls. I ordered six pullets. Two turned out to be cockerels. MPC offered me pullet replacements for the two "mistakes", and I ordered one extra pullet since I needed three chicks to meet the minimum for shipping. Guess what! They screwed up again! One was a cockerel!

MPC refused right up to the point when I reported the youngster was crowing and mating his brooder mates to believe they had made a mistake again. But when I provided close ups of his saddle and hackle feathers, they conceded and refunded my money. But that summer, I had to deal with three cockerels and all the related stress. I was very unhappy with MPC. Still am.

So, yes they make mistakes, and their ability to sex chicks and be accurate is only as good as the aptitude and training of the staff they hire. If you think that chicks where the males and females look entirely different would insure no mistakes, think again.

Hmmm.

I am not sure now. The guy at the feed store....I've worked with him for years. I got my first ducks with him back in 2013 before I knew anything about anything. I got my dog food there, he runs a tight shop. He doesn't take crud, and he knows if something happens it's on him, and since it's a small business he works hard not to 'eff it up. Since we literally have a gossip page in our town newspaper (they call it something cute like 'smiles and frowns') Business owners do all they can to stay on the good side of that. If he was handing out cockeralls like that, given our town gossip, it would be well known. If anything, he seems to be calling the right shots because he's growing his poultry business.

Maybe I'm too trusting

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry for upsetting you. Try to enjoy your baby chicks, even the little twerp who wants to roam. In a few weeks you should know what you have. By age six weeks, cockerels have a noticeably redder, larger comb than pullets.

If you are feeling really unsure about this chick, you should have no problem exchanging it for another one. That way you might have a better chance of it turning out to be a pullet, and it will solve the problems you've been having with its roaming inclinations.

When upset and anxious about something, action is the best medicine.

 

[seashoreduck]

So I too

I'm so sorry for upsetting you. Try to enjoy your baby chicks, even the little twerp who wants to roam. In a few weeks you should know what you have. By age six weeks, cockerels have a noticeably redder, larger comb than pullets.

If you are feeling really unsure about this chick, you should have no problem exchanging it for another one. That way you might have a better chance of it turning out to be a pullet, and it will solve the problems you've been having with its roaming inclinations.

When upset and anxious about something, action is the best medicine.

I was unsure about it.

Then I was playing with them before bed. RIR chased killed two lady bugs....which was funny enough. Then, I let the dog in and there's a freaking tick on it's paw (white fur). I told the dog to lay down and held her paw still. I called the chicks over and RIR goes right to work and gobbles the tick down. Which is why I had (and loved) the ducks....I'm allergic to ticks.


Little Chick....what am I going to do with you.

The little devil is winning my heart. Nothing wins my heart like things that kills ticks.


This play time there was no roaming what-so-ever. RIR and PR both stayed close. One thing is for sure, RIR hates the cage but is getting used to it. Although, I'm slightly suspicious of what's going on with the RIR because she's got some teeeeeny feathers on the tips of her wings and isn't just fluff like the PR, despite the PR being slightly bigger.

*lesigh*

She's (or he) is less devilish, listening to me call them over and eats ticks....

....no freaking idea what to do.

 

[azygous]

I'm in complete sympathy. You've already bonded with this chick. May as well accept it. Try to detach from the uncertainty of the situation and let things sort themselves out. Don't try to force yourself to decide anything. It will all work itself out.

 

[seashoreduck]

finally sleepy after a morning play session.

 

[seashoreduck]

They are now totally chill. Hubby asked if they were ok. The RIR can't get through the bars now and so I was able to remove the fortress around their cage. They like to come out to play but are being a bit resistant to being handled, I'm going to work on that a bit with them tomorrow.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They are now totally chill. Hubby asked if they were ok. The RIR can't get through the bars now and so I was able to remove the fortress around their cage. They like to come out to play but are being a bit resistant to being handled, I'm going to work on that a bit with them tomorrow.

Glad they have settled down a bit. Even feed store chicks are shipped and when they first come out they can be quite stressed from the ordeal.

I find chicks actually are uncomfortable from being handled when they have pin feathers coming in... which is quite a bit during their early life. Pin feathers are painful. So just be aware of it, so it doesn't actually make them associate pain or discomfort with you handling them.

And also have found that each chicken is an individual and it may not matter how much they were handled when young as to whether they like it or not or how friendly they become at a later age. Most of my pullets become much friendlier once they start to lay. And at the opposite end, one of my friendliest chicks hardly ever gets on my lap now... while the most skittish one from the same bunch does...

They all are much more comfortable when being approached at the same level (like roost or table height), then bending over them like Godzilla... or looking like an eagle. So when reaching for them, reach from the front to let them jump on your hand, instead of from the top to scoop them like a predator... if that makes any sense to you, it has made a difference for us.