Mail Order Chicks

[Why and Dotte]

I've gotten many birds from cackle and never had a sexing problem,
but like what was stated their min. order is 15 so you could resell your leftovers or split order with someone.
eta: sex links have many different names it's a crossbreed, usually it's stated in their description if they're sexlinks.

 

[noodleroo]

I ordered mine from Ideal in Texas, because I live in Texas, and they were very professional, very nice and answered all my stupid questions like it was the first time they heard them! I ordered 11 BOs and they included 10 male SLWs for warmth. All survived and are doing great in their 2nd week.

With that said, I didn't realize how nervous I would be when I got the email that they were shipped. I hoped that everybody handling them with the post office would be gentle with them but I was really concerned for the little things. I even took some cake and cookies to my local post office the day before they were to arrive as an advance 'thank you' for taking care of them and calling me right away. They called me at about 7:15 am (actually I got 2 calls; one from the post master and one from a postal worker), I picked them up at the back door and the rest is history.

If I could have gotten what I wanted locally, I would have. But my ordering experience went OK. I guess you just have to do what works best for you.

 

[Toolittlefarm]

I use Ideal Poultry out of Texas. I always receive healthy live chicks and have not lost any or had any sexed wrtong. They have a web site just google Ideal Poultry. Also I have raised the broad breasted white Cornish Rock straight run and averaged fryers for freezer and canning at six weeks of age at 5 to 6 pounds.

 

[lizareny]

I've used Ideal Poultry and Cackle Hatchery......and have come to order from Cackle the most these days. Good prices, good shipping.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your situation presents some interesting challenges. Vent sexing newly hatched chicks is challenging. The hatcheries guarantee 90% accuracy so even the pros get it wrong a lot. That is only for full sized breeds. They won't even attempt bantams.

Sex links are not a breed. They are crosses. There are certain genes that a hen will pass on to only her sons. Her daughters will not get those genes. If those "sex-linked" genes she gives to her sons are dominant over the genes that the chicks get from their father, then, in certain cases, you can tell which sex the chick is at hatch. You have to have specific genes on both sides with no recessives hiding, but it is a pretty positive method. One example is the red sex link. The males are yellow and the females red or reddish at hatch, so you can tell them apart.

Wanting only 2 or 3 presents another challenge. Very few hatcheries will ship that few chicks. They usually ship a lot more so the chicks body heat will keep them warmer so they can survive shipping. Some will ship just a few, but they are very expensive due to the extra packaging and heat sources they ship with the chicks. If you are willing to spend the money, it can work. Your choice.

I don't know if you are dead set that you absolutely have to have baby chicks or would you settle for older chickens. It depends on the breeds but at 5 or 6 weeks old, you can sometimes tell sexes apart. For some breeds, you have to wait until later. The chickens will cost more individually, but you don't have to have a brooder and all the equipment for chicks. A lot of people sell Point of Lay (POL) pullets, somewhere around 16 to 18 weeks old. It might be something to consider.

You may be set on raising them from chicks. It can be a great experience for kids. You may be able to find someone local that will sell you some sex linked babies. Some people are willing to swap any that turn out to be roosters for pullets once that becomes clear, but you mentioned your son might form attachments, so I would stick with the sex links.

How do you find some local chicks or chickens? A few possibilities:

1. Advertise on here. Go to the Want to Buy/Sell section and put in an add. Read the rules beforehand but it is not that hard. You might get lucky.

2. Many states have threads in the Where am I./Where are You section on this forum. Do a search to find yours. If you post in that thread, you will often find somebody close by that will help you out.

3. Look through this link to maybe find somebody near you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=285981

4. Call your county extension agent and tell them what you want. They should be in the phone book under county government. They should know somebody in your area that can help you out.

5. Talk to people at the feed store. They probably know somebody that can help you if you get the right person. Or they might have a bulletin board you can post a notice explaining what you want.

6. It is the wrong time of year, but you can go to your county fair and talk to people showing chickens.

7. Look for chicken shows near you and talk to people there.

8. Many areas have chicken swaps. Suggestions 2 and 4 are ways to find these.

I’m sure I am missing several possible ways to find chickens locally, whether sex link chicks or POL pullets. And there are other options, like splitting an order with somebody. Good luck however you decide to proceed.

 

[Tecalli]

My Pet Chicken and Nature's Hatchery are the only ones I know of that will let you order just a few (and you pay quite a premimum in shipping to order just a few). I too live within city limits where there are no roos allowed. Therefore ordering through a hatchery or buying chicks locally meant I was limited to sex links. I really didnt want to spend weeks getting attached to a chick and then finding out he was a male and having to rehome him.

Instead, I ended up going to a local Chickenstock and purchasing 3 pullets at 8 weeks of age (a barred rock, ameracuna, and orphington). I highly recommend this route for several reasons:
1) you have more confidence you are getting females at 8 weeks than 8 days (although I went into a panic when the man who delivered my new John Deere lawn tractor insisted insisted my barred rock was a roo; she laid a few weeks after that);
2) you get to meet some neat people who are really chicken knowledgeable;
3) you save a ton of money on shipping

My three hens are now 1yr old and are very tame and friendly. I can pick them all up to pet, they have never pecked me, and the barred rock and orphington will jump into my lap for petting when I am sitting outside.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Many birds from hatcheries are bred for feather sexing to keep costs down and there are breeds that are sex-linked for color they call them red and black sex links and breeds that are easy to sex if you know what to look for. Barred or Cuckoo patterned breeds, Welsummers and there are more that I can't just think of right now. I was very happy with my Cackle order I just received and they have a small minimum order. I ordered 25 but mine were sent with gro gel and packed well. You can order a single breed of 5 pullets from Cackle for 41.00 and that includes shipping. Have fun shopping.

 

[MiniBeesKnees]

I really don't understand the sex link thing. Is there such a thing as Old English that are?
I ask because I've had two batches born...last year, and this year of a chick born last year...that both hatches contained four pullets and one roo. The girls start out looking like chipmunks, and the boys are black. Is this just a coincidence? And luck of course getting four and one both times. Both those hatches I know were purebred. But later in the year I had more I'm pretty sure are purebred (OE) that the four girls were two black ones, and two chipmunk ones. They are all girls, they lay eggs.

Then I have this batch of eight that lord only knows who the fathers are. Could be one of four different breeds...four black ones, three chipmunk ones, and a white one (?)
Are chickens like some other animals where the pair I bought as adults although they look purebred may have another breed further back in their history? I mean...if that is the case then you have no way of ever knowing if some chick is purebred so to speak.

My D'Uccles look like D'Uccles, and my Silver Seabrights look like Silver Seabrights...but I have Old English hens that I'm sure were only bred by that breed of rooster (who all look alike) and some of them are black with a tiny bit of brown on the necks, and some are brown all over. Not solid brown...brown and black feathers. Do the OE hens come in two colors? That must be it. And my two 'litters' of four brown and one black ending up four hens and one roo each is just a coincidence.

I have a pair that I'm sure are mutts as the eggs came from a friend who only had Polish hens and a different breed rooster...I forget the breed. Anyway, they look just like the father and do not have any Polish look at all.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I am sure it isn't a coincidence. As you raise birds some of them you can tell maybe not every time but if you look closely or in the case of coloring...I raised Polish and you could tell my the top hat not 100% but pretty close and I haven't raised any for many years got a free one in an order and I said it was a girl and sure enough at 12 weeks it's a she. On my Partridge Rocks the coloring was very similar but the feathering wasn't boys took longer to feather. So as you observe you'll learn keep notes and if you know the cross that works and want to raise birds you can sex keep it up....

 

[MiniBeesKnees]

Cool, thanks for the info. Generally I don't believe in coincidences either. But I tend to go too far in the other direction and get way too 'scientific'...