Frustrated with all the options

[Wolfie307]

roosters are part of life..at some point U will have some and have to deal with it. I don’t cull. I just can’t. I get attached. Our feed store will take a few if they have room. They even pay a few $. I have tried keeping one once in awhile but never works out very well. I have rehomed a few…seems like the cuter name I give them and a story someone willl take him. I tame them first. Then I cry …hard to give up.
If I were you I’d go with feed store chicks …maybe get 3….then get 3 more next winter/spring and introduce slowly. That way they won’t age out at the same time. You will lose one, one might be a Roo and so it goes. I wanted 6…I have 23I hatch and sell, go in with others and order fromhatcheries and local breeders and fertile eggs from eBay. Sometimes I’m lucky, sometimes not so much. It’s so much fun and so rewarding…I love banties and originally got fancy chickens…now I’m just loving the gold standards like a barred rock, an Australorp…..cuckoo marans. An EE…welsommer…I have some fun breeds too…brabanters…huge white eggs and curious and fun birds! Silkies…seramas…Banty Wyandotte (silver penciled), frizzle banty Cochin…d’anver…
Have fun and let us know what you choose!

I wouldn’t have a problem culling, but my son, even though he’s 13, probably would not like it. It would be tough, especially if it’s a chick that you raised. It sounds like you have an amazing menagerie! Luckily my city limits us to 6..otherwise I might end up with 23 too.

 

[Wolfie307]

Have you thought about adopting from someone that is having to rehome their hens? Thats not ideal to give you what you want right away, but you can always have time to raise your own from scratch too later.

That’s definitely an option too.

 

[Banana01]

That’s definitely an option too.

If you really are capping your flock size at 6, then its not too big a concern if you cant start with 6 of your top choice breeds. The problem is if you grow your flock up to 50 and you realize you wish you started with different breeds, that is a mistake i made.

 

[springvalley123]

Wyandotte and Orpington chicks are very hard to sex. That's why they're usually sold as straight runs.

The silver lace wyandottes I had with my first batch of chickens ever were easy to tell apart at around a week or so. Bielefelders are an auto sexing breed.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I didn't even think of adopting! Great idea! Rescue hens are a fantastic option, too. Many still lay. I have one who is 6 and still lays big brown eggs daily. She's quiet and super friendly. I plan on rescuing more in the future.

 

[BDutch]

Thanks for the reply. I do think this would be much easier with a little bit of land and fewer restrictions!

If you don’t want to cull and eat the roosters (like me). Maybe you can bring them to the former owner (like I could ) or find an address where you can bring you’re cockerels before /when they start crowing.

Chicks probably don’t count. And if they grow up to their adolescence, it’s not the gender that counts. It’s the noise they make.
If you keep and raise chicks from one breed, you will learn to distinguish the sexes at 5 weeks for most breeds.

Do you know someone who has more experience with chicks and you can accompany you to the seller? It might help to make the right decision.
And if you post pics from 5 week old chicks (new thread with a good name) there are people here who can tell what vender it is. Silkies, Wyandottes and probably some other breeds are harder to distinguish. I wouldn’t recommend them to buy.

 

[Wolfie307]

If you don’t want to cull and eat the roosters (like me). Maybe you can bring them to the former owner (like I could ) or find an address where you can bring you’re cockerels before /when they start crowing.

Chicks probably don’t count. And if they grow up to their adolescence, it’s not the gender that counts. It’s the noise they make.
If you keep and raise chicks from one breed, you will learn to distinguish the sexes at 5 weeks for most breeds.

Do you know someone who has more experience with chicks and you can accompany you to the seller? It might help to make the right decision.
And if you post pics from 5 week old chicks (new thread with a good name) there are people here who can tell what vender it is. Silkies, Wyandottes and probably some other breeds are harder to distinguish. I wouldn’t recommend them to buy.

Thanks. Since I’m in city limits, of course roosters aren’t allowed. Otherwise I really do like the idea of growing them out. I will ask around at the horse barn where I ride and see if anyone might be able to take a cockerel if I end up with some.

 

[kurby22]

I have had great luck with hatchery birds. I got my first flock of 6 pullets from Murray McMurray. They arrived on time and healthy & matured into beautiful birds. All were correctly vent sexed and 3 of them were SL Wyandottes. Warning: the free mystery chick they offer is probably going to be a rooster!

My next order was from Meyer Hatchery because I could get just 3 and that's *all* I wanted. The pullets were only $5.30 ea, but shipping was $50! They arrived a day late & were stressed, but all survived and again were properly vent sexed and developed into beautiful, friendly birds.

Then I decided to give My Pet Chicken a try, since they are the only seller offering sexed Silkie bantams with a 3 chick shipping minimum. I did have to add 1 chick of standard breed for shipping safety (depends on your location if you need to do that or not). I got an EE and it turned out to be one of my favorite birds-- super cute and friendly! This time I paid an extra $22 per Silkie pullet, but they do offer refunds for sexing errors. Shipping was fast, under 2 days, and the birds were not stressed at all. The silkies were of way better quality than I was expecting from a hatchery-- quite fluffy, with nice round crests. One is missing a toe nail and another has split wing, but they are still very beautiful birds. The verdict is still out on the sexing, but so far they all seem to be pullets. 23 weeks old and no red walnuts, but one of them does keep me wondering...

If your not looking for show quality birds, then I would just get what you want from a hatchery. Pay the extra price for pullets so you won't get stuck re-homing at least half your flock and then needing to reorder and integrate new birds to your flock down the line. Another benefit of hatchery birds is that you can get them vaccinated for Merak's.

I was just looking at MPC and wondering if they were accurate on sexing the day olds. I really want a mille fleur d’Uccles and I really don’t need to get attached to any more boys! They have a 9 bantam chick minimum to my zip code though

 

[Aunt Angus]

I was just looking at MPC and wondering if they were accurate on sexing the day olds. I really want a mille fleur d’Uccles and I really don’t need to get attached to any more boys! They have a 9 bantam chick minimum to my zip code though

Do you have a friend who would be willing to "split" an order?

I'll say that I didn't have a good experience with MPC, but I know others have. Mine disntlive long enough for me to verify their sexing accuracy, but I imagine they are as reliable as others.

 

[kurby22]

Do you have a friend who would be willing to "split" an order?

I'll say that I didn't have a good experience with MPC, but I know others have. Mine disntlive long enough for me to verify their sexing accuracy, but I imagine they are as reliable as others.

No, my friends think I’m a crazy chicken lady now. None of them have chickens That’s sad to hear that your babies didn’t make it! I have yet to buy from a hatchery and that’s another one of my fears. I spend a crazy amount for them, get attached and they don’t make it. Shipping alone is $55 plus the cost of 9 pullet chicks! There are just very few options locally that sell sexed bantams, and even fewer Mille Fleur breeders from what I can tell. I definitely think paying more for a for sure girl is worth it…but yikes! Would be like $200 and I don’t have room for 9 chicks haha. I might see if anyone local is looking to get some chicks…since I have no chicken friends I really enjoy raising them from day olds…