Don't Want To Be Too Gross, But.... I Have A Question...

[JudyH]

Went to the feed store.... there are still chicks left that have not been purchased (I purchased mine from there 2 weeks ago today). The chicks at the store don't look very.... well.... not taken care of very well (in comparison to the way mine at home appear).

A couple of them have naked little RED butts... no fuzz or feathers around their butts.... what is this? I feel so sorry for all of them! I wish I could buy them all and take them home!

My 12 at home are doing so great... they are growing by leaps and bounds. They are getting their big girl feathers too! They are such happy little chicks! But I am so sad for the ones that are still at the store and have not been purchased.... but I keep telling myself that there is no way... I can not buy them all (probably 75 or so) and bring them home. We don't have room....

 

[Lobzi]

I had a similar experience at a pet store. There were a bunch of different kinds of baby chicks in a box for sale. I notice that one was getting stepped on by the others. He was very small and his legs did not seem to work for him. They were sprayed out to both sides so he was sort of just sitting there. I pointed it out to the boys who worked in the store. They pulled the little guy out and examined him then put him right back into the box with the others. I was not in a position to purchase the little fella... I wonder if he made it....

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
they probably got Pasty Butt and the fuzz was torn away to remove the pasty poop. their feathers will grow in and all should be fine.

if you are concerned, maybe speak with the management. if you purchase them, you are just conditioning the store to do what they are doing now.

different feeds and temps can alter how fast/slow chicks feather out.

 

[thechickenchick]

This is why I am not allowed into the feed store this time of year! One trip last year I saw 1 little baby with a pasty butt and loss of feathers. He looked so sick. I did not buy him.

I cried all the way home and later that night told DH about him. He said, Well you could have brought it home. That made me feel worse, because I could have saved him. The next time I went alone the same thing happened . I ended up bringing home 3 sick babies and they are all still alive and well today, but I am not allowed in there alone this time of year again!!!

 

[JudyH]

I just went and checked on my little chickies again.... I find that I do this all day long, all night long.... LOL But to me they are just so fasinating to watch.

I still can't get over the difference in the size and maturity of the ones that I purchased compared to the ones they still have left. Mine have their wings all covered with feathers, their tail feathers are about an inch long now.... just so much of a difference. The ones at the store still look like baby chicks!

I did talk to the manager there last week about the chicks.... they just said that it's hard to get the help to take care of them! I mentioned to them that I saw several with pasty butt... They told me that they loose several chicks each night (they find them dead in the morning).

You are right.... I do wish I could just buy them all but that's not the right thing to do (plus DH would kill me LOL!) I've kinda thought about just saying "Hey, you want me to help you with the chicks? I'd love to lend a hand."

I wouldn't mind going by there and taking care of them at least once a day....

 

[JudyH]

Quote:
I know just what you mean!!!!! I only have room for the 12 hens I bought (DH is in the process of building the coop and run right now). He already wondered what we're going to do with that many eggs every week (at 3 eggs per hen per week = 3 dozen; 4 eggs per hen per week = 4 dozen; 5 eggs per hen per week = 5 dozen!!!)

 

[Fudgie]

I bet the feed store manager would allow you to help out. I know what you mean and it makes me want to take them all home. BUTTTT that is not helping out. tell him you want to get them some medicine and you will come by every day to make sure they are taken care of. I bet he will let you.

 

[77horses]

I've kinda thought about just saying "Hey, you want me to help you with the chicks? I'd love to lend a hand."

I wouldn't mind going by there and taking care of them at least once a day....

Yes that's what I would have been tempted to do! I would wash all those chicks up, clean their pasty butts, etc. and give them lots of tender loving car.

Poor babies. I agree that they should be taken better care of. The people selling them(most of them) probably don't care about them at all; they just want to make a profit off of them.

The way some managers think is, "Oh well. If we lose one or two chicks, it doesn't matter. We can get more." It's so sad.

 

[birdsofparadise]

I hate to be cruel, but feedstores only carry chicks to sell feed. Their profit margin on the chicks, after their huge losses are factored in, is negligible. But if each new chick owner buys a bag of feed and maybe some equipment, they will have a good first quarter.

Thatʻs why responsible chicken owners only buy directly from NPIP certified hatcheries. You know the chicks are coming from clean stock and are "fresh" when you get then 24 hours later. Yes, there can be losses, but overall, you will end up with a healthier and happier flock.

PS: I canʻt go to the Humane Society for the same reasons you cited. If I did, Iʻd come home with a dozen puppies and kitties.

 

[chookchick]

Not a perfect system at all. I would love to buy only from local breeders, but unfortunately they are not all experts at sexing chicks. For those of us who do not want to raise roos, and fall in love with them, then have to rehome them, sexed pullets is the only option that makes sense. If we only want a few chicks, we can either pick them up at the feedstore, or risk sending a few through the mail system. There is no easy answer--someone needs to figure out how to sex eggs!