How many chicks if I get straight run?

[mommto3kiddos]

They say straight run is 50/50, but last spring I got one batch of 6 from the "pullet" bin at TSC and all turned out hens.. Then I got 6 from the straight run bin and I got 5 Roos and 1 hens..lol

If your gonna buy straight I say get atleast 8 to 10.. Even if all are hens you can sell them later!!! If you can buy sexed chicks I would, esp if you want only hens!!
Goodluck!

 

[kimmypie]

One breeder that I talked to said she sometimes sells them a little older so you can better guess males/females.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Or, if the breeder can supply your with Barred Rocks, and you only want Barred Rocks to start, they are quite easy to sex, via the head spot, at hatch. Other popular breeds such as the Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, Rhode Island Red, etc are virtually impossible to sex. If the breeder won't sell just pullets from their Barred Rocks, it simply means they refuse to sex them and want to sell the roosters bundled in, because believe me, they know to sex them.

 

[The Breaker]

when I say 50 50 I mean you mite have all roosters ore you mit have all hens you never no.

 

[GhostRider65]

I would ask for pullets plain and simple.. here's why
This spring I ordered 30 chicks straight run from Purely Poultry, Not a breeder but a hatchery, I figured I'd get about half roo's and wanted about 15 hens, and use the extra roo's as meat, well what I got and what I wanted were two very different things, my 1st order was screwed up my Ancona's, Delwares and BR, were not in there instead they shipped me a bunch of White rocks which took me months to even figure out what I had, so they fixed it with a second order 2 months later, that did finally give me the chicks I ordered, but total I now had 43 chicks instead of 30, and 34 of them were roosters!!. So unless you can raise them till 16 to 18 weeks and butcher all the roosters, your ASKING FOR A HEADACHE.
Not saying it may not be different with a breeder, but chances are at least half of what you order will be roo's, and unless you are set up to deal with roo's it will not be a good thing. I see you can not have roosters in your area, so hiding growing, crowing roosters for 16 weeks seems a bit far fetched as well.
I would keep looking for a breeder who will sell you sexed pullets, you may still get 1 rooster as a mix up but most should be pullets. Or dare I say order from a hatchery, if you do not plan to show your birds, or raise 1 certain breed that you wish to improve upon, I would by hatchery stock, they lay eggs just fine and are beautiful birds though some are not show standard, they do have faults, like wrong comb, wrong feathering, color isn't what its suppose to be, not speckled enough excreta, they do indeed lay very well.
I have 16 pullets, cuz I bought some BSL's and EE's at TSC to make my original idea of at least 15 hens complete. They lay well all have been laying for a while and most lay everyday, even now in the cold no light conditions of almost winter.
I have 4 speckled sussex, 1 Barred rock, 1 EE, 3 Black sex links, 2 White Rocks, 1 white wyandotte, 1 silver wyandotte,1 Buff Orpington, and 2 Delawares.
I ordered 5 of each of these breeds and mostly got 1 hen 4 roo's ratio. except the SS because 4 were doa and had to be replaced and they could no longer get my Ancona's I took 5 extra SS instead, so out of 11 SS only 4 were hens. and my Wyandottes were 2 of 5 hens, so I have no GLW at all except a gimpy rooster I don't have the heart to kill.
Best of luck with your endeavor's, chickens are wonderful and I love mine, but a headache was all I got with ordering straight run. Kim

 

[suzeqf]

I've done straight run with breeders and farm stores this is how it played out for me last spring


local coop 6 straight run chicks 6 roo's(mcmurray)
orsheln's 2 cochins hen/roo
tsc pick 6 (4 sexlink hens. 2 banty roo's)
tsc got last 3 2 silkies and a banty all 3 hens
buchiets 6 chicks 5 hens 1 roo
breeder 8 6 roo's 2 hens(one died in early summer from the heat)

i have 10 roo's and 11 hens and a 4 week old chick, one roo lives by his self he has sight issues and gets picked on horribly so he went into exile himself.

 

[kimmypie]

Okay, I get it, order sexed pullets from a hatchery

I was just hoping to support a local breeder.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
Not a problem supporting a local breeder. But you need a local breeder who can work with your needs. You cannot have roosters. Plain and simple, you need sexed chicks. At 8 weeks, most breeds can be sexed. The problem is on the breeder'e end. If they cannot provide you with pullets, seek a different breeder, plain and simple.

 

[kimmypie]

Fred's Hens :

Quote:
Not a problem supporting a local breeder. But you need a local breeder who can work with your needs. You cannot have roosters. Plain and simple, you need sexed chicks. At 8 weeks, most breeds can be sexed. The problem is on the breeder'e end. If they cannot provide you with pullets, seek a different breeder, plain and simple.

I haven't been able to find many breeders in Utah, but I don't really know where to look.​

 

[Oregon Blues]

What I would do would be to ask the local breeder if she will sell you point of lay hens in the spring. They cost more, but you get exactly what you want.

If she won't, then I'd buy 10 chicks and I would hope to get my 4 hens out of that batch. I might get lucky and get more than the 4. The roosters and the extra hens can be sold as soon as they are old enough to tell who is who.

You can order sexed pullets from the hatcheries, but they are really going to charge you heavily for the small order and the shipping. It would probably cost the same to just buy the point of lay hens locally.

If your local breeder is one that breeds to the SOP, you will get much better chickens by purchasing from her. If her breeding stock came from a hatchery, you'll get the same quality by ordering from the hatchery. You have to ask where her breeding stock came from.