Ordering chicks from Tractor Supply?

[mamablair]

I don’t know if you're looking for quality birds or not, but I’ve found Hoover to have some of the worst quality even for hatcheries.

That is very helpful thank you. I figured it might be a you get what you pay for situation.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

TSC is not a hatchery. The stores all order from a hatchery.
They order from the hatchery which ships the chicks to the store, not to the customer.
You pick them up at the store. Some stores may allow you to special order some, others may have a set number of breeds they order and you have to pick from them.
The chicks may be cheaper at the store but that is only to get people to come in and buy feed, feeders, water founts and other products.
If I was looking for a specific breed, I'd buy from a hatchery or better yet, a breeder.
The following link has a list of all NPIP breeders in MO. There are four that raise JGs. One raises both white and black. Sandhill Preservation in Iowa has Black, White and Blue. I think the healthiest and best birds come from breeders.
https://agriculture.mo.gov/animals/pdf/poultry_yearbook.pdf

 

[gtaus]

I was just wondering if anyone has ordered chicks from TSC vs other hatcheries. I know tractor supply has them alot cheaper, but is it worth the extra cost to order elsewhere? And if so which hatchery would you suggest? I'm looking for Jersey Giants specifically if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!

I don't have a TSC store where I live. All the local farm stores get their chicks from a hatchery and sell them in the store. Even if you special order them at the store, the chicks arrive at the store and you go and pick them up. If your TSC store has the hatchery ship them directly to your house, that is an option I don't have. If it saves you money, it's worth looking into more. I know our local farm stores sell their chicks less than the price at the hatchery because they put in orders for 100's of birds at a time. Also, they want us in the store to buy feed, supplies, etc...

I believe our local farm stores get their chicks from Hoover's Hatchery. I bought 10 chicks this year. All survived and are doing very well at 17 weeks. I don't know much about the quality of the birds in terms of standards to breed, but my girls are all healthy. I ordered 1 Black Jersey Giant and 1 Black Astralorp in my order of 10 chicks. I think I got 2 Black Jersey Giants. In any case, they are very sweet birds.

I prefer to pick up my chicks in the store, mainly, because I can see that they are alive and healthy when I get them. Also, our local stores have a 3 day live stock policy where if a bird(s) die in those first 3 days you can either get a refund or exchange for another bird.

Finally, I just want to mention that the cheapest part of keeping chickens is the price you actually pay for the chick. It's the coop, run, fencing, bedding, feed, supplies, etc... that really cost you money. So I would buy my birds from the best supplier with the best warranty even if it costs a little more money.

 

[choking]

I was just wondering if anyone has ordered chicks from TSC vs other hatcheries.

I ordered Black Australorps from TSC. They were delivered to my home as this breed is not sold in their store. All were alive and lived to adulthood. I ordered straight run and ended up with six each. Final results 5 hens and one beautiful cock. The rooster is wonderfully protective. When they are free ranging, I often see him watching, not eating.
My only complaint is they do not lay as well as I think they should. I do wonder if others have found this failing to be true?

 

[gtaus]

@mamablair said: I ordered Black Australorps from TSC. They were delivered to my home as this breed is not sold in their store. All were alive and lived to adulthood. I ordered straight run and ended up with six each. Final results 5 hens and one beautiful cock. The rooster is wonderfully protective. When they are free ranging, I often see him watching, not eating. My only complaint is they do not lay as well as I think they should. I do wonder if others have found this failing to be true?

I ordered 1 Black Astralorpe and 1 Black Jersey Giant in my 10 chick order this spring. I think I got 2 of the same birds. Initially, based on foot color, I thought I got 2 Black Jersey Giants, but they are no bigger than my other birds at 6 months, so maybe I actually got 2 Black Astralorpes. At any rate, these birds were about the last ones to start laying eggs around 6 months. They are laying nice eggs now and just about every day.

If eggs are your main goal, I have to say that my ISA Brown started laying eggs about 3 weeks earlier than any of my other breeds and her eggs are consistently large and brown every day. She is also the most people friendly chicken in my flock and lets me pick her up and hold her. My other chickens more or less run away from me - unless I have food in hand.

 

[MandaH]

I have been raising chicks for the last 20 years. I have bought from a lot of hatcheries as well as buying from Tractor Supply. I currently work for Meyer Hatchery as a remote customer service rep. I will be unbiased, I like it when TSC sells chicks that are feathered out fully for . 50 cents each LOL! But I will buy from Meyer obviously if i want something in specific. We do have 48 hour live policy which gives refunds for chicks that die in the mail as well as well cared for chicks for the first 48 hours after arrival. TSC doesnt have any guarentee and there is no policy if that chicken crows either. Meyer will refund for a sexing error. Not all hatcheries do. So i do feel a little better about my purchase when going through a hatchery, especially one that will at least give my money back in certain circumstances. TSC does not. Once you go out the door that is it

 

[Mosey2003]

For the record, it's a rather new thing that TSC is doing, but they are selling chicks on their website. The chicks are shipped (free) directly to your post office, from Hoover. I was just looking at them today. They're sold in mandatory lots of 10, some for $20.99. That's really cheap, honestly.

 

[2000096904]

I'd go to the source sorry but if you ask me one starig ship is better than two

 

[Sheepheart]

I would look for a different hatchery to order from if they are getting them from Hoover’s. I work at a farm store that also gets their birds from Hoover’s and they are a pain. Last year we had orders that came months late, orders that never came, orders with wrongs birds. Plus as said already in this thread, bad quality. I got some khaki Campbell ducks from rural king, and they came from Hoover’s, and as they got their adult feathers it was clear that they were khaki mixes(i even got one with a potentially lethal gene, though that may not be something we can blame the hatchery for). In fact that rural king kept receiving chicks through winter because Hoover’s didn’t get them order chicks in time but refused to refund the money.

 

[joydix]

I have been raising chicks for the last 20 years. I have bought from a lot of hatcheries as well as buying from Tractor Supply. I currently work for Meyer Hatchery as a remote customer service rep. I will be unbiased, I like it when TSC sells chicks that are feathered out fully for . 50 cents each LOL! But I will buy from Meyer obviously if i want something in specific. We do have 48 hour live policy which gives refunds for chicks that die in the mail as well as well cared for chicks for the first 48 hours after arrival. TSC doesnt have any guarentee and there is no policy if that chicken crows either. Meyer will refund for a sexing error. Not all hatcheries do. So i do feel a little better about my purchase when going through a hatchery, especially one that will at least give my money back in certain circumstances. TSC does not. Once you go out the door that is it

And...TSC sucks IMO. I did buy some bantams in sexed last year because only place I could get B. Cochins. They make you buy 5. I only wanted 2 or 3. BUT no complaints as there was not one male in the lot! Aside from that everytime I go they don’t have water, they will not let you get close and choose your chicks without a major CALL THE MANAGER argument. I try to not buy from them. Have had deaths also the time before. Meyers is good and strombergs and ideal in my experience