hatchery vs breeder?

[OkChickens]

I am wanting to get about 20-30 Rhode Island Red chicks but I'm really wanting like 95% females I have priced hatcheries and they are like $2.50 with a 90% guarantee for females. The only breeders I have found are selling straight run chicks from 2-3 days old to 2 weeks and are about $1.50-$2.25 for straight run and no guarantee for gender either way..... What should i a guy do in this situation. I am wanting egg laying machines also.

 

[texasgal]

I would buy the pullets from the hatchery .. 90% isn't bad .. and I have to believe that hatchery chicks come from pretty decent layers .. otherwise the hatchery wouldn't keep them ..

 

[OkChickens]

Well my plan is to sell most of my buffs and I will probably keep 4 hens and a rooster and use that money towards the RIR pullets. Good or bad idea?

 

[michickenwrangler]

As long as you don't want "typey" or show quality RIRs, hatchery stock is fine. They lay eggs and sorta look like the breed they're supposed to be.

With breeders, they may or may not be better quality. A true breeder versus "let's hatch eggs and see what we get" breeder. Breeders usually won't sex their chickens but you can usually buy smaller quantities.

If you want 20-30 and aren't concerned about showing, hatchery may be the way to go for you.

 

[al6517]

How about the best of both worlds, in NE Oklahoma they have many auction barns that run at least every week. Breeder quality RIR go for about .30 cents come spring and even cheaper now during the winter, get 150 of them, grow them till you can sex them or vent sex them as day old's then sell what you don't need back at the auction and still make a profit there as well. Makes good sense to me both way's, kind of a no brainer. I am not a big fan of hatchery stock at all, plus some are going to die in transit, not to mention not be very close to being true RIR with all the god knows what crossings the hatcheries do and they do count on it.


AL

 

[Illia]

Yeah, I think something people really don't often get the grasp of is that a random local "breeder" is not actually what I would call a true breeder. Especially with Rhode Island Reds! Most people don't understand that TRUE Rhode Island Reds (and I'm not just talking show quality, I'm talking about birds actually big enough and meaty enough to be dual purpose as they should be) are quite rare. They should be brick-like in shape, very dark red, almost a blackening tone, and should be very meaty and a have a gorgeous shimmering plumage. Your average "Breeder" next door is quite unlikely to have such, but instead, like a lot of other breeds out there, they'll get hatchery stock then reproduce it to make their own $$.

A true Rhode Island Red breeder isn't common, and won't offer a bunch of chicks for a cheap price.

The number one sign of a person just breeding the same thing a hatchery does is by offering a large amount of chicks for a cheap price.

 

[al6517]

You hit the nail on the head all right, well said. Funny how hatchery stock buyers actually think their getting the real deal LOL, and then come on and post what is this bird ?? LOL I love those post. bless their little hearts for trying though, it's a ploy the hatcheries have been doing for decades.

AL

 

[salunra]

I think hatcheries get a bad rap.

Do they sell true breed standard heritage birds? No....

But you can place an order for 30 RIR pullets and probably end up with about 25 pullets that will give you good eggs. I don't think there are any heritage RIR breeders that are willing/able to sell that many pullets at once.

So in short, I think breeders and hatcheries fill different niches. And there is nothing wrong with that. As long as everyone knows what the difference is.

 

[sheilawagner]

The choice of breeder or hatchery has their own pros and cons. It can meet the needs for different people, at different points in their lives.

I think for someone who is brand new to the hobby of chicken raising, and wants to just see what its like to raise the different breeds, find out what works, or not, and without spending too much money learning and experimenting, the hatchery choice is a good option. The birds are cheaper, and they give a wide choice of breed variety being easily accessible.

Once this person has found which breed he/she likes, she can then choose to buy higher quality birds of his/her choice from private breeders. The difference in quality between hatchery and breeder will then become apparent, and the person will also learn from such experiences.

We shouldn't condemn all hatcheries from the get go, even though they work for profit mostly, not for the benefit of the breeds or the living conditions of their birds. Indeed, they do meet the needs of specific customers, and soon, buyers also learn that some are better than others. They make birds cheaper so that more people can learn to love the poultry hobby, I am one such person. I started not knowing anything, but wanted to experience chickens, and so I bought from the hatcheries because the price was reasonable for a new hobby and I just wanted to see if I liked it. They gave me many choices to choose from, and also taught me to see the distinct difference in show quality birds, breeder quality birds, and hatchery birds.

Not all hatchery birds are bad.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
Excellent point. A lot of people start out with the pullet or rainbow package deals simply because they're new to it and don't know what to get or want to try three or four different breeds. I had my heart set on dominiques. I planned to get some from a hatchery and breed them because they are an endangered breed. It wasn't until later that I understood about hatchery vs. breeder dominiques and in all truth, I didn't like the breed that much.

So when the chicken bug hit again, I got some red-sex links, mainly just to get some egg layers and my own broody instinct was kicking in

Then DH saw a blue cochin and he was hooked. So we got DH his own cochin rooster. DH wanted hens to go with them. By this time I knew the difference between hatchery and breeder stock, found a good cochin breeder in my state and next year we'll have our first batch of cochin babies. I have my breeder goals, but I won't get into them on here and hijack the thread!

Good luck whatever you decide, OKchickens