Susan-B
Songster
The feed store orders them from a hatchery....then I pick up at the store. One of the chicks I was planning to get didn't make it, so I may go back and get a BO instead (they are the same age as the chicks I got). I know they can't guarantee the sex, but they will help re-home if a rooster, so that's good. And my local "chicken FB group" does as well. I would totally take a chick from a local breeder if they had one around the same age as my current girls.Hatcheries have about 80~90% accuracy for the gender (100% for sexlink or autosexing breeds), but feedstores are much worse due to human mistakes. i believe you cannot order just one chick from a hatchery, so you can only get yours from a feedstore or a breeder. One time I saw half of "red-sexlink pullets" chicks were light yellow in tractor supply. I felt aweful for who bought those chicks, because they were obviously either male or another breed. So I decided not to buy any bird from tractor supply. Several friends bought their chickens from tractor supply had terrible results. One bought 7 "Ameraucana pullets" last year, and actually had 4 male and 3 female easter eggers.