Packing Peanuts - Gone In Minutes

[MariposaMama]

You guys are making me feel guilty.

I advertised my packing peanuts for $4 each at 8 weeks old. The next day a lady called and told me to hold all 5 for her. I guess it helps that they were Buff and Blue Cochins and she'd been looking for some for a while. When she came to get them, she tried to talk me out of half of the rest of my flock, but my DDs made it clear that only the 5 were for sale.

 

[sloallie10]

so packing peanuts have to be males??

 

[cmom]

Most people want the females for eggs. If only the males could lay eggs. There is always an excess of males and one way the hatcheries have to get rid of them. You can specify all pullets but they always charge an fee for that and then you don't get any peanuts. Some hatcheries will put a warming pad in with the chicks. The standard guarantee for getting all pullets is 90 to 95 percent. I have ordered all pullets but did end up with one male.

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

Packing Peanuts = baby roos and here I thought you were talking about styrofoam fillers! I think it's a wonderful idea - otherwise the males that aren't used for filling orders are tossed in the dumpster. I could not imagine doing that for a living - sexing and discarding if they are not female.

I had no idea this happened until I started researching "sexing baby chicks" and found out that the majority of male chicks are considered worthless - I guess it's true - Foghorn Leghorn is an impressive looking dood but he doesn't lay eggs and commercial layer operations that have hundreds of thousands of layers don't need roosters under any circumstance.

 

[birdlover]

And let us not forget the ones that are shipped for snake food...or raptor food, etc.

Went to a bird sanctuary 2 years ago and saw a hawk breakfasting on a baby chick. Found out they order them from a hatchery for all their raptors. It kind of made me sick to my stomach but I guess it's just part of life.