People in Texas, don't buy from M&T Rabbits and Poultry Farm!

[Rustys Girls]

Ideal Poultry in Belton, TX. They will ship them to you, can't beat their prices, very nice people. My order was being shipped at 5:45 pm on USPS from Belton--in Santa Fe / Galveston at 8 am--healthy as all get out. rg's

 

[IzzyEllie3]

I guess you're right, cmfarm, that might have been an excessive jump to the conclusion without any real information, but I did ask the young man that was helping me that if they were selling only sexed chicks, then where did the males go? My husband than made a dumb joke like, "Probably out back to the shed with the ax!" or something along those lines, to which the young man replied, "Something like that." I feel like I followed the normal train of thought there, but maybe he was just young and said something just to say something though..

And actually breeding ground for disease is anything that doesn't managed waste well that is poorly ventilated and humid, like one of the rooms was. Thats exactly what a breeding ground for disease is. That is where disease/bacteria thrive.

And not removing dead birds from the cage when you see them and leaving them there to infect the healthy birds probably wouldn't help that either. And then there's the fact that when selecting birds, he kept having to pick them up and then put them back, in his words, "checking to make sure that he was giving us chicks that weren't sick." I don't believe you should have to search for healthy birds if you're managing them correctly..

 

[IzzyEllie3]

That's a bit rude, jillscoop. I never said I was against raising chickens for meat. In fact, I believe that's the responsible way to do it, instead of buying meat from the supermarket and supporting the way they treat their poor birds. I just don't believe any place should just waste any chicks out back. I think it's a waste and disrespectful of life. I wasn't trying to just buy girl chicks. I would much rather always buy straight run, and then little guys can live out a normal, happy, free ranging life, until they reach maturity, before they get aggressive, and I can turn them into chicken dinner in the quickest, most stress-free way for them as possible.

Yeah.. the website is all bunnies and roosters and peacocks running wild in green grass. Those were obviously posed. They keep their animals in wire cages on top of dirt floors.

And no, I was not more upset about losing a dollar than anything else. I am more upset that there were tons of sick birds at the place and ones dead in cages. And then the fact that four of the ones, I bought got sick, had diarrhea, lost use of their legs, and wings, and starved to death because even though I would hold them in front of the water and food, they wouldn't eat. I even fixed one's splayed legs and subsequent curled toes with small braces I made with cardboard and bandaids.

Found it on this post: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/spraddle-leg-in-baby-chicks-what-is-it.html

He was no longer splayed leg and could stand, but he just didn't have the energy and died anyways. After two weeks of me moving him to his water and food everyday and worrying about him. THAT makes me mad.

And no, I'm not just killing birds left and right. I am a relatively new bird owner, but a responsible one. I've lost only one, up till now, that just pooped out and died one day. I have multiple posts asking questions because I'm learning and was not sure what was normal and what was abnormal. I.e. Birds feathers coming in looked to me like they were losing all their feathers.

Do not get from that that I am a bad owner or an idiot, as you seem to be implying. I feed my chicks Organic, Soy free chick starter from Coyote Creek (that I'm going to start fermenting soon), put apple cider vinegar in their water twice a week and give them yogurt daily for the probiotics. They also get leafy greens from around the yard.

Those chicks were sick and I did not make them that way and watching them suffer and knowing there were more at the place probably going through the same thing makes me angry.

 

[Rustys Girls]

I know your new and want to stay organic I see, but not feeding your chicks at least a 20% medicated starter until they are 2 months old puts them at a disadvantage. You could go organic after that if you free range them, don't know about fermenting feed or giving them yogurt, and my girls drink well water---with Gatorade about 3 times a week.

 

[MeepBeep]

I guess you're right, cmfarm, that might have been an excessive jump to the conclusion without any real information, but I did ask the young man that was helping me that if they were selling only sexed chicks, then where did the males go?

They are stuck between a rock and a hard place, you jumped to negative conclusions in your head not knowing the truth. or having any facts..

I can only imagine your conclusions and response, if they told you that they depopulated all the male chicks on day one and sent them to be processed for dog/cat food or fertilizer as is the norm in the big hatchery business, or simply culled and tossed in the trash as is the norm for many smaller hatcheries...

Hatcheries are under constant attack by certain groups, declining to answer 'gotcha' questions puts less fuel on that fire than answering those questions many times...

If one is that upset at how male chicks are dealt with, then stop buying sexed chicks, buy straight runs or purchase equal amounts of males and females when you do buy, then you have full control over what happens to your share of males...

 

[jillscoop]

That's a bit rude, jillscoop. I never said I was against raising chickens for meat. In fact, I believe that's the responsible way to do it, instead of buying meat from the supermarket and supporting the way they treat their poor birds. I just don't believe any place should just waste any chicks out back. I think it's a waste and disrespectful of life. I wasn't trying to just buy girl chicks. I would much rather always buy straight run, and then little guys can live out a normal, happy, free ranging life, until they reach maturity, before they get aggressive, and I can turn them into chicken dinner in the quickest, most stress-free way for them as possible.

It was you who were rude, I was defending them. You were the one that attacked a small family farm. You should have let them know you had posted this so that they could reply to your accusations on this thread. I will always defend those who can not defend themselves, it's just who I am.

On their ad, that you said you read before going, it clearly states that "the laying hen breeds are all girls, and that the silky's and top hats are straight run." So you knew ahead of time.

Sexing a chicken is no easy feat. I believe you probably received chicks bought from a large hatchery already sexed and then resold. This is what many little farmers do. So those big hatcheries have 15 or 20 million of unwanted males each year. What should we do with those? Did you ever wonder where fluffy's & spots dinner came from (the bag of kitty food doesn't just poof into store shelves). Do you use organic fertilizer?

The laying breed that you say you're going to eat. Feed to weight ratio of layers means you will pay about $20 dollars for that male layer in feed by the time he's ready to eat. Probably $30 if you go organic. He will be 26 weeks old, tough strong tasting and look like a pigeon. 3-4 pounds (stew is best). There are a few dual purpose breeds that can be eaten & lay but it won't be cheap like buying it from the store.

The supermarket baby chickens are slaughtered at 8 or 9 weeks old. They are meat chickens that put on weight fast "feed to weight ratio".

If you are truly dedicated to eating laying roosters I will be happy to supply you each week free. Just come and get them. Sadly, last time I ran an ad for free roosters the only person that showed up wanted them for bait for their cock fights and dog fights and I won't let my roosters be tortured and killed like that.

'Save a chick' that I suggested earlier for your babies are probiotics electrolites and vitamins. Nothing chemical, just a life saver.

All the best

 

[kenprice0]

Ive been going to M&T Rabbitry for years and they are wonderful! It's unfortunate you had such a bad experience there. Have gotten some of my best chickens an rabbits from them. They're wonderful people who will bend over backward for you. Since they also had day jobs they sometimes have hired help. Perhaps you just went on the wrong day. Ask for the owners and your sure to be treated well.

 

[kenprice0]

Another note. We got our first and best roster from M&T. "Sharpie" is the most gentle, caring and responsible rooster ever. Puts most human father/husbands to shame!

And I can vouch for the gang rape mentality that groups of roosters can get. Best way to ruin your flock is not to thin out the males. Be selective.

 

[supertoxic]

I know this is an old post but i have to defend these guys to anybody reading this post.
For the record, i have been here several times between 2014 to just recently. This means since before this thread to after. M&T sources their chickens from many different hatcheries from far and near, as far as iowa, they often arrive as sexed females, this is because there is no market for males as about 1 in 10 end up males anyway, nearly a perfect ratio if you did want any males.
Aside from that he maintains a rather clean environment as far as the volume he brings in. He gets over a hundred birds a week and usually clears them out. Most birds arent even there very long, and I've gotten over 3 dozen chickens from him about 5 each visit across 2 years, great birds, purchased from some of the nicest people ive ever met in my life.
As a side note, one of their children would rather play video games than show strangers birds, cut the boy a little slack, when you were 14 who were you selling chickens to?
Dan and his wife slyvia do a wonderful job and strive to make every customer happy and always answer EVERY question ive got with a smile, ive dropped in just to see what he's got because i love his setup so much.
Final comment. You went into the brooding room, where the youngest chicks are kept warm. Most poultry hold a body temp around 100°f, my goose temped @ 104 and the vet said..."that's a little low, put him under a lamp", they don't need a/c, which is probably your reason for being so angry already when you arrived, but i urge everybody, support your local farmers like dan, large ops like tractor supply are getting birds from the same or similar facilities charging more for them and letting people who know nothing about the breeds sell them, while an awesome guy like dan has literally answered all my questions even if it took an hour.

 

[CeeJayJ]

Love this place! He orders mostly pullets so roosters aren't an issue. Extra roos are sold cheap. Chicks can go from perfect to dead in seconds in large quantities and snatching up dead babies in front of customers is pretty depressing. Once someone has actually dealt with large quantities of animals they understand that things do happen and really can't be sparkling and shiny to any one individuals ideals 24/7. As for a breeze in a room with the baby animals, that's death... A breeze is no friend of factory hatched poultry babies. And teenaged boys are, well teenaged boys! Lol Sure, maybe some places are more "perfect"...some are far far less. But when people come to me asking bout poultry I never hesitate to send them here!!