I saw bantams at TSC. Man are they CUTE! But I need some advice...

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I went to TSC this morning and saw a bin full of little bantams. They are 2 days old. I have never actually seen a bantam before and they are just so small! I want some really bad.

But the only problem is the bin was labeled straight run.

And I cant get any roosters. My neihbors would complain if I had a rooster crowing at 5AM every morning. So does any body have any advice? I think I am becoming a chicken addict. Is there any way that I can tell a baby roo from a pullet? I noticed their were like 4 that were larger then all the others. Could those have been roo's? Thanks guys!

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

sunny & the 5 egg layers :

I went to TSC this morning and saw a bin full of little bantams. They are 2 days old. I have never actually seen a bantam before and they are just so small! I want some really bad.

But the only problem is the bin was labeled straight run.

And I cant get any roosters. My neihbors would complain if I had a rooster crowing at 5AM every morning. So does any body have any advice? I think I am becoming a chicken addict. Is there any way that I can tell a baby roo from a pullet? I noticed their were like 4 that were larger then all the others. Could those have been roo's? Thanks guys!

Im not sure, i would like to know this too! Im watching this thread!

 

[mrsengeseth]

size isn't always a give away as to roo or not. What i would do is get a few, and as they grow, watch them for roo-ish-ness (is that a word? Maybe i not only need a chicken math class but chicken english class too) As they grow you can post pics of them here for BYCers to help you with identification. Get the absolute most you can, so that if you do have roos, it's ot so hard to have to weed them out. You can give the roos away or sell them on craigslist or maybe TSC has a bulletin board you can post to give em away before they are too old and making alot of racket. Before the neighbors get cranky about it.

 

[hennyannie]

I got 6 last year at TSC, then the employee there threw in a small hurt one. Out of the 7 I got 2 hens. I think my problem was I chose all the differant looking ones. I got two self blue roos, a birchen roo, a splash roo, and the one I kept is OEGB the plainest of the bunch. I thought he was a hen so I didnt sell him, the hens are OEGB too. ON a brighter note those three are the best little birds and my kids spoil them everyday.

 

[Mozelly]

Sometimes there are bigger/standard sized chicks shipped in with bantams for warmth and because the hatchery wants to get rid of them. TSC/feed stores sometimes do not pick out the standard sized chicks. Also people/kids can pick them up and place them back in the wrong bin. I've seen chicks twice the size of the bantams running in the same bin with bantams. I know someone who bought bantams that ended up having a RIR rooster. If you want bantams stay clear of the bigger chicks. However it's usually a large difference in size ,so it's easy to tell.




PS: The store clerk will tell you they're all bantams,because that's what the box said that they were delivered in.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I dont think any people/kids could have mixed different breeds in with eachother because my local TSC put this big black fence around all the bins.
The chicks that were bigger appeared to all be a shade of white. And were double the size of the other bantams.

 

[alcap]

I have looked into some of the hatcheries and havent seen any that have bantams sexed.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I was reading online and someone said that most hatcheris can't vent sex bantams because they are too small and fragile. I guess it makes sense. I wish their were some other way you could tell.

 

[Laurajean]

I ordered all female bantams from MyPetChicken.com and while there was no guarantee, they are able to sex them "for the most part". I knew there was a possibility of roos. I got 8 chickens, and out of those, 1 turned out to be a roo. Looking back, I consider myself lucky. And that's with them having been sexed. Buying straight run from a bin is VERY risky. I would seriously consider what you would do with any that turned out to be roos before you buy. I was never able to get rid of my roo, and ended up keeping him. But if you can't keep a roo, I would not buy straight run, I'm sorry to say. Unless you have a good plan in place of where to re-home them. Just my opinion, good luck.

 

[PrettyCoy]

Quote:
You can order sexed bantams from mypetchicken.com. They have a 90% guarantee.