Experiencing Chicken Disappointment

[literarychick]

Wah. I'm brand new to chickens this Easter. We got 12 chicks from a breeder in town. Our first major setback was having to exchange a Silkie chick who clearly had spraddle leg and the breeder thought she'd be "fine, but just wall with a limp all her life." Um, no. Poor thing couldn't even attempt to roost and she kept falling over! Then I've been learning more on here and what we thought were Ameraucanas are actually EEs. Lots of you seem to think EEs are perfectly okay but there are hardcore Ameraucana supporters and it makes me feel we got subpar chicks (even though the ones we have are SO sweet and beautiful)! The breeder wing-sexed the birds but we just found out at least three of our babes are Roos. One, a BO, is human-aggressive already, at 5 weeks. I've gotten attached to him so I'm sad to have him go, but he can't attack my kids. We are fortunate that the breeder will exchange our Roos for pullets, but I'm leery of her after all the issues. I almost wish we'd ordered from a hatchery, but can't bear the thought of culling the Roos, which our breeder doesn't do (hence we went with her). It's been a steep learning curve and I wish we could start completely fresh. All I wanted was some funny chickens to enjoy and to give my children the chicken life. Now I feel deceived and frustrated that our chicks aren't what we were promised. Don't get me wrong-- we ADORE or chicks. But this whole process is making me sad.

I can't wait to get the chicks out of the brooder and into the backyard. Coop's almost finished and feathers are almost in. Chicks are 4/5 weeks old. 3 more weeks to go.

Any encouragement would be appreciated. I'm totally bummed out today.

 

[cavemanrich]

Sorry to hear of your disappointment. Some things I side with you and some I think you are over expecting. . Please don't be mad at me if I express my opinion.
1. You got EE s instead of Ameraucanas. You said you wanted the chickens for your children to enjoy. You did not say you wanted your chickens to compete in poultry shows. Did you pay a lot of money for these chicks ??? Then maybe you were defrauded.
2. You got a chick with bad feet. Do you think that the breeder purposely slipped a sick chick in with the batch, just to complete the sale. Then gave you a replacement for whatever reason just so you go away??? Then maybe you were defrauded.
3. Breeder sexed the chicks and 3 of the 12 were roos. That is 75% correct. The experts at best are 93% correct. OK so she needs to go back to chicken school and get a better degree. Reason to pay her less for her chicks.
4. You want some funny chickens for your children to enjoy. Other than the roosters, give me an idea why these chickens wont do such.
5. What did the breeder promise you.??? I am glad that she is exchanging the roos for pullets.


MY ENCOURAGEMENT TO YOU , AND I SPEAK FROM A SINCERE HEART, ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE. YOU CAN LUV ANY CHICKEN.

ALSO SINCE YOU ARE NEW HERE,

 

[Lisa202]

I know how you must feel disappointed that you didn't get the chickens that you wanted, but I can say that EE's are my favorite. Out of all the different chickens I have had, they are the friendliest by far, so for your children's sake, you got good chickens (regardless if your breeder lied or not).

When it comes to the roos, I've had great ones (friendly and protective) and a mean one (kept attacking us and allowed another chicken to be killed by a hawk and he was unscathed). Having roos is a crap shoot, so for your kids sake it's better not to have one.

Look at it this way, with "chicken math", you'll probable want more anyway, so next time, go to a reputable breeder/hatchery and get the chickens that you want then. For now, enjoy what you have.

Right now, I have a bunch of assorted bantams. With my last order, I ordered an assortment of bantams and I got some that I already had and a couple duplicates, which was disappointing. But I figure, next time I'll order only the kind I want (Welsummers). There's always a next time...right?

 

[drumstick diva]

I agree with Cavemanrich, your breeder takes them back - that is the mark of a caring person whether you are buying show dogs for a small fortune, or chicks for a few dollars.

If they absolutely have to be a certain breed, certain sex, certain quality ( like show stock) you can't buy those as chicks and expect them to come out 100%. So many people out there do defraud folks - they sell and then steal away in the night. They deliberately sell sick birds, old birds, pullets they know are not, and so on.

Your breeder has done what she could to please you. I think if you start buying elsewhere, you will come to realize she was a fine person to deal with. I wouldn't burn my bridges with her.

 

[Blooie]

Yep, x2 on all posts. My Easter Eggers are the joy of my grandkids' chicken world. They have the most adorable faces! (The EE's and the grandkids) You never know what colors you'll end up with - it's like somebody painted a cheerful rainbow in your flock. The eggs I get vary from turquoise to a beautiful, soft blue. I know which of my four laid which egg by the color of the egg alone! And they are very sweet as adults...at least mine are.

It's a common misconception that hatchery Ameraucanas are "purebred" so there is certainly no guarantee that if you buy from a hatchery next go-around and order Ameraucanas you still won't end up with Easter Eggers instead. Most hatcheries advertise their EEs as Ameraucanas. It stinks, and they know better, but they do it. And since feed stores get their chicks from commercial hatcheries, guess what those Amerucanas in that clearly marked bin are most likely to be? Yep, Easter Eggers. Here on BYC we see it all the time. I believe MyPetChicken makes a careful distinction to differentiate the two, but most of the others don't. So it's hard to say that you were defrauded when thousands of others had the same thing happen to them buying from either feed stores or mail order hatcheries. As long as you didn't pay purebred Amerucana prices for Easter Eggers, and they are just for your family to enjoy rather than for showing or breeding a line of Amerucanas, then I'd just enjoy them! I haven't yet run into two other kinds of chickens that have caused so much confusion, even among folks who have had chickens for while.

I agree with not burning bridges with this person. Don't know of too many who would be so willing to make sure they tried to remedy your issues. And just a sidenote..if you are buying any animal you need to look for any kind of defects before you pay your hard earned dollars. A spraddle legged chick today will likely be a spraddle legged chick tomorrow, regardless of assurances to the contrary. That Silkie should have been left there from the get-go.

Sexing? I bought 6 "sexed as pullets" from a reputable feed store last year. (No, not TSC....teehee) Three of the six turned out to be roos. Sexing chicks isn't an exact science to begin with.

Now, before you start feeling bad, allow me swallow my humiliation and tell you what happened to me this spring, and I should doggone well know better by now! I've wanted Buff Brahmas for a long time. A feed store up in Billings had their marquee up saying that the chicks had been ordered! So I went in and asked to look at the order sheet to see what they were getting in. Oh, WOW - Buff Brahmas! We hung around up there for two days the weekend the chicks were due in, constantly checking in to see if they had arrived yet. When they finally came, I waited 2 hours for the unloading and identifying to be completed, then waited my turn in line for my selection. I asked for 3 Buff Brahmas. She pulled them out and I noticed they didn't have feathered legs. I asked her about that, but before she could even answer me a gentleman who had been going through the long wait with me tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Buff Brahmas take longer to get their feathering in on the legs." Now, in my defense he and I had been talking chickens for two days and he was very knowledgeable on the subjects we discussed. So like an idiot instead of listening to that little voice in my head warning me not to be a dummy, I walked out of there with those chicks tucked in with the others. After a few weeks I finally worked up the courage to ask here on BYC. My 3 long awaited Buff Brahma pullets were actually 3 Rhode Island Reds - and two of the three are roos. <sigh> It happens to lots of us.