Picking out chicks at the feed store

[N&MSchroeder]

Hello! I went to my local feed store yesterday to pick up supplies for my brooder and they had just received their first shipment of chicks (golden sexlinks). I did not bring any home with me, but this experience did raise a few questions. Now before you think I have some kind of immunity against chicken fever, let me set you straight. I have an order placed for 3 different varieties on March 1st. This feed store is an hour away from home and I had another commitment that prevented me from going straight home with my chickens. It about killed me to walk away and I would never have gone in if I had known they had chicks. I thought they were arriving next week. While I was there, I did observe a few things. There were 4 or 5 chicks standing at the front of the brooder who seemed to want to interact with me. They pecked at my finger, made eye contact and cheeped. Does this mean anything? Are these the chickens that will eat out of my hand, sit in my lap, follow me around the yard, etc.? There were others in the area who were moving around but didn't appear to be interested in me at all. Also, with the sex-links, there was some variation in their markings. Some were more red in color and some had faint stripes down their backs/sides. Will these variations continue into their adulthood? Thanks for your help!

 

[chickenaddictntn]

Well 4 starters sexlinks are nice and docile and any chicken will feed from the hand if raised that way. Are you asking will the chicks keep the stripes in adulthood, then no they don't that's wat I call chick camo

 

[faykokoWV]

In my experience, the boldest chicks are usually roosters. Nothing can ensure you have a friendly chicken that follows you around the yard, but interacting with them often as chicks and young adults helps more than anything. Also hand feeding treats from a young age helps.

chick markings don't carry into adulthood.

 

[MareeZoCool]

I'm no expert, but my experience has been that the chickens at the front get the food first, those birds might be more dominant chickens. It's possible, not fact. One thing that you keep an eye on as they grow.

 

[newchik715]

when i pick feed store chiks i go for the rowdy ones. the ones that are lively and if they run from me then those are the ones i want to catch. leads me to believe they are healthy and that is what i care about. my hens will still eat from my hand and they come when called though they do not like to be held. so it does depend on how you raise them!

 

[foxinachickenhouse]

An old chicken farmer told me that if you point your finger into a box of chicks kinda fast like, the ones that stand up and look, cheep or come toward you are likely roosters. The ones that tend to huddle away are likely pullets.

 

[ginormous chicken]

An old chicken farmer told me that if you point your finger into a box of chicks kinda fast like, the ones that stand up and look, cheep or come toward you are likely roosters. The ones that tend to huddle away are likely pullets.

WOW! That is really cool! Does that work? What if I did that in a pullet brooder? Aren't some pullets bound to come over and check me out? I'll have to try that!​

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

When I had GSLs, we named some of them as chicks. We could some of them apart based on a few markings. As their feathers grew in, we could no longer tell which ones we had named. We had bought 10 of them.

But when their feathers all came in, there were OTHER differences. So my advice is to wait until adulthood to name them unless you get just a few!!

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Thanks for all of the feedback! I don't necessarily want a chick who will sit in my lap, but I don't want a chick that runs away from me or is easily startled or fearful. Do chickens just tolerate people as their caregivers or do they enjoy human companionship, and if so, is there a way to predict this?

 

[paceysgl5]

Quote:
I sure hope that isn't true because our brooder contains 16 chicks (8 days old) and 4 of them ALWAYS run over when we come - 2 BO's, 1 SLW, and 1 EE. These will also just sit in our hands if we pick them up and then go to put them back. They are all supposedly pullets...