I'm new to chicks and this site!! HELP!!!

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achickschirp

achickschirp

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 24, 2013
71
2
33
Ok, so it's chick days at Tractor Supply Co.!!! We decided that we should get some! This is my first time raising chicks or chicken! I'm doing this with my half sister and my step dad. My real father and I used to raise chicks, but I was just little about 3-7! So, kind of new! I have a few questions for people that buy chicks from Tractor Supply (TSC) or people that raise chicks to hens and roosters. Here they are: What kind of chicks should I get there? There's a minimum of 6, so me sister and I will each get three. There they have: Red pullets, Mixed pullets, RSL,Mixed Bantams, and leghorns. 2-What brand of food should I get? 3-What should I use for a temporary bad weather inside coop(or tub)? 4-Has anybody got roosters labelled pullets? 5- Does straight mean that they are all one gender? 6-(sorry I have a bunch of questions) What do you suggest to do when looking for clean, well fed, healthy chicks? 7-Should I get them from TSC or Orscheln?
Thankyou very much! I might even get them this Thursday!!! So happy!
 
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It's better to buy sexed chicks(pullets) if you can because straight run ends up being alot of roosters.
 
Greetings from Kansas and
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! Great to have you here! I'll give you a little homework to help answer your questions:

If you are wondering what chicks to get and you want egg layers, as drumstick advised, be careful at feed stores - you may end up with roosters. Get the sex-link varieties if possible so there are no mistakes. At the very least don't select from the "grab bag" tub. You can probably safely get a certain breed of hens there if they in their own enclosure and labeled as pullets.
-a dig box can work as a temporary brooder in the basement or garage. I have two 150 gallon plastic stock tanks that I use until they are big enough to go to their outside coop.
-Straight run means they are not sexed - could be either sex but as drumstick said, from feedstores they are often boys.
-I have gotten Orscheln chicks before and done okay. Never tried TSC. But I also don't think all Orschelns are created equal - I have seen some that I wouldn't have been comfortable purchasing birds.

Here are some links for you to help you out. Good luck and have fun.

The Baby Chicks thread is Q & A but reading the old threads gives you great info:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/11/raising-baby-chicks

The Learning Center is the place to learn the ins and outs of chicken care and maintenance:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/
 
Thanks a lot Redsox! That helped a lot! I guess I'm not getting them from TSC anymore! Orscheln has more of a variety as my dad told me.
 
Hey there, welcome to chicken farming!! I also am new to raising chicks but I have had adult hens for a couple of years. We just got 8 chicks from tractor supply. 4 white leghorns and 4 red sex links ( rsl) also known as red star. I am keeping my chicks inside as it is still cold here. I am using a dog crate to keep them in. When I gets warmer I can move them outside and introduce them to my existing flock. Not sure how old or big they need to be before I do that. If you want good egg production, I have great success with the Rhode Island reds. 300+ eggs a year per chicken. The rsl and leghorns are supposed to be about the same. I was told to keep them on 100% click starter for 10-12 weeks. I have heard of people using all kinds of different tubs,boxes even laundry baskets to keep them in just be careful with the heat lamp as it can melt a plastic tub or laundry basket. Mine are eating and drinking alot of feed and water. We have only had them for a couple of days I think they are 5 days old today. We have noticed a change in their size and fuzz/feathers already. I put a roost in the cage just a few inches from the bottom and they get it on it but do not sleep on it yet. I think any brand of feed would be ok just stick with which ever one you pick. I was told they should start with the chick starter then the grower then the laying pellets. I have always fed my adult birds a mix of scratch grains and layer pellets. They have a large run and get plenty bugs and worms. I sometimes give them as a treat, the happy hen dried meal worms they go crazy for those things. You can get them at tsc they are kind of pricey. Lowes home improvement has them in a different brand for alot cheaper. Hope some of this helps. Blessings, Chicken Bill
 
Thankyou! Most of the TSC didn't have those breeds but mine did! You from Arkansas? Around Springdale?
 
We live near Nashville. This is our first time raising chicks. If everything goes right I will have 10 hens. Do you know how many nesting boxes I will need?
 

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