I think I MAAAAAAY have gone too far this time??!! I just went in for a couple bags of Layer Pellets

[nvstickbow]

So, I was in my local Tractor Supply store yesterday to pick up some pellets for my laying flock. As I walked past the section where they keep the chicks the gal working there asks me if I am interested in getting some more chicks; I just purchased 20 Cornish Rock Crosses a few days ago. I tell her "Not particularly after buying eleven new chicks and having dogs get into my coop and kill seven of them and then getting all of the Cornish Crosses, I think I'm about limited out for this year." She says are you sure, we really need to get rid of these chicks; they're free if you want them. Yes you read that correctly, FREE

!! This is a word that always seems to get me into trouble though

. So I tell my son who's in the store with me to go get his Momma; maybe she'll talk some sense into me and prevent me from getting another 2 or 3 dozen chicks. So Momma comes in and I tell her that the gal offered me as many as I want for free. How many do you think that we should get, if any?? My wife now COMPLETELY turns against me and says, "Well if they're free just get all of them!!

"

Now the gal that works there is all kinds of excited and says, "Oh thank you, I was soooo hoping to get rid of these today and not have to continue corralling them back into their areas" and goes to get a box for them. She comes out with not one box, but four boxes. I'm thinking, Those are awfully big for the couple dozen chicks in this trough. Then I see that there are chicks in three of the four troughs; and a lot of them. So we start moving chicks into boxes and I lose count somewhere around the twentieth or so handful that I move over, plus the employee and my son are moving chicks.

About this time I'm starting to think to myself, what in the heck did I just get myself into?? I don't really know what all of these chicks even are, they're just marked "red pullets" and "white pullets". Some aren't even marked at all. I think some of them may be more Cornish Crosses but not sure. I think that there may be some Easter Eggers (Of course they had them labeled as Americaunas), and some Leghorns. Pretty sure some of them are Production Reds too. Some of the signs did say "Pullets" and some said "Straight Run" so there are probably a few cockerels in there too.

So we get home and I section off a portion of my big girls coop to make a nursery because my normal nursery area is not anywhere near big enough for this many new babies. I decide that I want to get a good count as we are unloading them out of the boxes. I'm still thinking that I've got probably 60 or 70 babies. Well the first box ends up being in the fifties and I'm in trouble. Now I am really thinking, how many chicks did I just get

. By the time we had the last box emptied we ended up with a final count of ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX chicks

; FOR FREE!!!! Plus they gave me the feeders and waterers that were in with them.

Definitely not going to keep all of them because I don't have that much space. I have a few friends here that raise chickens and may be wanting some replacement chicks. Some will undoubtedly end up going to freezer camp and getting canned for later use. I can't wait to see what all they are once they start getting their big girl feathers. I am really hoping for some more Easter Eggers as people really love getting the green and blue eggs. I will definitely sell any that are leghorns as I don't much care for their personality even though they do lay well. I have had a flock that varied from 30 to 50 girls for a few years now and am down to about two dozen hens before this so it'll be nice to get some nice young hens back in the flock.

Kinda crazy what can happen when you just go in for 2 bags of Layer Pellets I guess!!

 

[drewa090]

Where are you located that's insane

 

[Realtree4]

. Bwahahahahaha! My husband would KILL me if I did that, but I have to admit that I am sooooo envious right now!

 

[nvstickbow]

I'm in Northern Nevada, south of Reno.

 

[donrae]

How lucky can you get?

If it were me, I'd brood them to the 5-6 week mark and start selling them off. At that point you'll have a good idea on breed and gender and can hold back the ones you want to keep. Sell the rest for $5-6 each and make some feed money back.

 

[red horse ranch]

How lucky can you get?

If it were me, I'd brood them to the 5-6 week mark and start selling them off. At that point you'll have a good idea on breed and gender and can hold back the ones you want to keep. Sell the rest for $5-6 each and make some feed money back.

I get $10 each for 7 - 8 week old pullets. Pays for a lot of feed. (and a new incubator so I can hatch even more chicks!)

 

[mhopson19]

hah, and I thought we went overboard when we went in to TSC yesterday to get chicken wire and the manager offered us 10 bantams for $10, and we ended up getting 16 not 10. 160 something chicks is going to be insane! Good luck!

 

[ladycat]

If it were me, I'd brood them to the 5-6 week mark and start selling them off.

That's what I would have done.

I'd sure be scrambling trying to set up enough boxes to brood them all in!

 

[CindaLouWho]

Wow!!!! That is so awesome! Major score.

 

[nvstickbow]

My wife and I figured on growing them out until they are around that six week mark and see which are pullets and which are cockerels, then selling the vast majority of them. We'll probably keep around three dozen or so. Awfully hard to turn down free chicks. Never would have guessed that it'd be that many when we said we'd take all of them though. Hoping we get at least a few Easter Eggers. Really like the colored eggs. The folks that buy eggs from us seem to like the green/blue the best followed by the brown eggs. White eggs don't seem as popular; probably because that is what everyone is used to from the store even though fresh eggs are better than store bought regardless of color. Definitely going to have my hands full for a few weeks though.