Just realized I have to buy 6 chicks, uh oh. What to do with spares?

[FVRM]

Keep them four weeks or so. There is a small chance one might be a rooster, or you might lose one. In the meantime you can look for a neighbor or friend who wants them. Once they're past a certain age and you know which ones you like and which ones you don't you can sell the rest on craigslist or maybe a local community classifieds site.

This year I bought a set of 25 chicks from a hatchery and I'm going to try to sell the extras locally so we'll see how that goes. If it doesn't work out we'll have 20 expensive little dinners.

x2

 

[jmayday]

Oh hey I just noticed your location.  My uncle sells tractor stuff in Stow.  Small world.  I'm from Amherst, but we moved out here kind of near Wyoming (NY) last year.

you should be good just keep the light to one side so if the chickies get hot they can get away.

 

[Peggy O]

We are looking into a place called Nature Berry Farms now, one hour away. Another poster on BYC mentioned it. Looks wonderful and fun. They vaccinate for Merks I read on the site.

 

[Nambroth]

We are looking into a place called Nature Berry Farms now, one hour away. Another poster on BYC mentioned it. Looks wonderful and fun. They vaccinate for Merks I read on the site.

I have heard about them, nothing bad! I suspect your experience with them will be more positive than TSC, no offense to TSC. I nearly went with Nature Berry Farms myself when I got into chickens, but I realized that they get most of their chicks (other than their production breeds) from a hatchery so I just ordered directly the breeds I wanted.

 

[Peggy O]

I have heard about them, nothing bad! I suspect your experience with them will be more positive than TSC, no offense to TSC. I nearly went with Nature Berry Farms myself when I got into chickens, but I realized that they get most of their chicks (other than their production breeds) from a hatchery so I just ordered directly the breeds I wanted.

What hatchery do they use? Just curious....we only want a few so we couldn't go that route. I am really leaning towards Nature Berry now that I read they are vaccinated for Marecks and their parents are tested for salmonella. The salmonella warning signs at TSC scare me a little. I never even heard of Marecks till I came on here, but it scares me too.

I see there is an option to buy 8 week old chickens rather than babies. No have to buy 6 rule on them there. We would only be keeping 4 of the 6 anyway. Do you guys think I should just get four 8 week olds? The babies are adorable, but I would be pretty sad if they died because I did something wrong. Can 8 week old chickens live outside right away in April/May?

 

[Nambroth]

What hatchery do they use? Just curious....we only want a few so we couldn't go that route. I am really leaning towards Nature Berry now that I read they are vaccinated for Marecks and their parents are tested for salmonella. The salmonella warning signs at TSC scare me a little. I never even heard of Marecks till I came on here, but it scares me too.

I see there is an option to buy 8 week old chickens rather than babies. No have to buy 6 rule on them there. We would only be keeping 4 of the 6 anyway. Do you guys think I should just get four 8 week olds? The babies are adorable, but I would be pretty sad if they died because I did something wrong. Can 8 week old chickens live outside right away in April/May?

I'm not sure what hatchery they buy from-- I'm sure you can ask? It says on their main page:
http://www.natureberryfarm.com/
Quote:
For them to offer 45+ breeds from breeding farms, it has to be a hatchery. Nothing wrong with that, and they are much more likely to know EXACTLY what they have for chicks (vs. someplace like Tractor Supply, where half the time they have no idea).
Since you have a large choice, it's a good idea to learn about the breeds you might want, especially since you will have so few. Do you just want reliable eggs? Good pets? Etc.
I can say that if you want reliable eggs, the production breeds are great (production breeds are hybrids, bred just for their egg laying capacity, such as Golden Comets, Black Queens... both are sex-linked chickens). They also have a lot of personality. But, if you want a pet that lives a long time, be aware that because they are bred for such high production they can sometimes 'burn out' and have reproductive issues. On the forum, we see problems such as internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis the most frequently with these birds, and both these conditions are often terminal. A good compromise if you want a long-lived pet is to find a heritage breed you like that is also known to lay well.

Chickens can carry salmonella pretty easily; good hygene is going to go a long way with chicken keeping. The signs at Tractor supply are because the public used to be able to reach in and touch the chicks, and frankly, I'm sure some children put thier hands in their mouths afterward, or 'kissed' chicks, etc.. and got sick.

Marek's vaccine comes really highly recommended by myself, but I am biased. Marek's disease is in my flock, despite my best efforts, and it came in on the environment (wind, or wild birds, or something).

April might be a little too chilly, especially at night, for 8 week old chicks-- it depends on the breed and how fast they feather out. In general, the rule of thumb is to start newborns out at 90-95° (with a cooler area to move into of course) and then decrease the temperature gradually by 5° every week thereafter. If they seem well feathered when you pick them up they should be all right unless we get a real cold snap in April (I've seen it snow in May here in WNY!). Use common sense and observe them, you can also ask the folks at Nature Berry what they think, as they should be experienced. Since moving them into a new home can be stressful, I like to give them a little leeway and make sure they are not cold for the first week or so.

If buying started pullets, make sure they've been vaccinated, and not beak-clipped (this is permanent). Also ask how they handle bio-security... what happens to a bird that is returned by a customer? Does it go back in with their stock? If so, this is a big red flag. A returned bird can be exposed to any number of chicken diseases if it is kept with other birds out of control of the farm.... many viral chicken diseases are incurable and they carry them for life, so use caution.

I hope this helps you!

 

[Nambroth]

I just had a peek at their facebook. It looks like they take Marek's disease seriously. That's a very good thing in my book.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nature-Berry-Farm/111578388905480

 

[Peggy O]

It does seem like a fun place. It's just so far to go to get 6 chickens. We're still pondering it. There is a place here called CountryMax, kind of like a feed store/pet store, and they also sell chicks. They really are kind of jerks though and could not give me any info when I asked about them. Just gave me an order form. I know they have some IN the store though...we saw them last year and my neighbor's chickens (Americauna, did I spell that right? ) came from there last year as well. If I could get vaccinated chicks here by us I would just go that route I think. Seems like no one knows at the stores, that's annoying.

Our chicken coop kit and also Raising Chickens For Dummies book came yesterday. YAY!

 

[Nambroth]

It does seem like a fun place. It's just so far to go to get 6 chickens. We're still pondering it. There is a place here called CountryMax, kind of like a feed store/pet store, and they also sell chicks. They really are kind of jerks though and could not give me any info when I asked about them. Just gave me an order form. I know they have some IN the store though...we saw them last year and my neighbor's chickens (Americauna, did I spell that right? ) came from there last year as well. If I could get vaccinated chicks here by us I would just go that route I think. Seems like no one knows at the stores, that's annoying.

Our chicken coop kit and also Raising Chickens For Dummies book came yesterday. YAY!

Yay!!

That was actually one reason I didn't go to Nature Berry for us... it's about 2.5 hour drive as we're south of you guys. At the time, I thought, "heck, that is too far, and a waste of gas." After I got into chickens, though, and realized how much I love them and how completely frustrating it is to deal with health problems and dealing with unexpected roosters and so on, at this point I wouldn't hesitate a moment to drive that far if I was looking for new birds. It is completely depressing to go through things like Marek's disease or having too many roosters because of someone else's screw up! I think it just depends on what your goals are with your birds. There is no wrong answer. Doing it the best you can from the start sure does save a lot of headache (and heartache sometimes) though!

 

[Peggy O]

One thing that concerns me (about disease) is that I don't know who touches the birds at Nature Berry, and I know at TSC they say no one is allowed to. I read in the chicken book new hatched birds usually do not have diseases, but then as they get older and get handled more things can spread? I didn't think about that. Stuff to think about. We had been thinking of getting older chicks, now I am not so sure. I am a huge softy and it's gonna' hurt if any of these chickens die. This is way more complicated than I had imagined!!!