Should feed stores etc... even sell chicks????

[mama24]

Quote:
I was a young, uneducated, unprepared single mother when I had my oldest. I probably fit into one of your "shouldn't be allowed to have kids" categories. Guess what? My son is almost 12, has an autism spectrum disorder, and is doing GREAT! I didn't know what I was doing when I brought him home from the hospital, had no idea how hard it was actually going to be, but I turned into a GREAT mother. I breastfed him for over a year, which is WAY more than most mothers can say. He has always had food, clothing, shelter, and--most important-- LOVE. Maybe we've been poor most of his life, but I graduated from college, married a man w/ a PhD, and he is currently taking pre-algebra at a great school in the 6th grade (2 grades ahead, he is also in the advanced science and language arts classes.) You can't judge before you know someone and make a blanket statement that certain groups of people shouldn't have kids, or have pets! Maybe they're going into it blindly, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't going to learn and do a great job!

I also wasn't prepared at all when we got our first chickens. I had been bugging dh about it for over a year when he finally said ok, let's get some chickens. I looked on craigslist and drove out and got some the next day, had to buy food and supplies later that day, b/c we had nothing. Guess what? They still don't have a coop or a run, but they are thriving in my fenced in yard and like the shed they sleep in just fine.

 

[Pele]

"I understand that some people have all the stuff at home. I am not profiling by any means but the majority of the people I saw were obviously not those people. I don' t think the girl with the Prada and Gucci is buying them cuz she knows what she is doing. She's buying them because they are cute. Little does she realize it grows into a big bird that poops a lot!!!! You would just have to see the people yourselves to fully understand!


I absolutely agree that they should hire people that are more educated in chickens!! They should also have information readily available to people that informs them of all the stuff they will need and how to care for them!"


What a terrible way of viewing people. There is a huge growing backyard chicken movement in the cities nowadays (hence the name of this website.), and city people do not slouch around in overalls and baseball caps (neither do all rural folks- but we're talking about clothing stereotypes). I am one such person who likes to dress nicely, and you know what, I didn't carry supplies outside of the store with my chicks either because I had meticulously set up the environment for the chicks ahead of time.

I had all my feeders, all my bedding, my brooder, food, etc all set up a week before I got my chicks. I was SO excited, and I didn't want to spare any expense in seeing to their comfort. So yes, when I showed up at the hatchery with my hair up in a nice bun and my short black coat on, and my oversized purse (fake Gucci, I'm not rich

), I didn't need a single thing other than my new babies.

Shame on anyone who looks down at their noses at other people who are wanting to share in the joy of chickens. The ones you are poo pooing are probably type A people such as myself who have researched for months upon months, and tried to orchestrate everything down to the last dot to see that thier babies experience the best rearing possible (yes I nearly drove myself crazy).

And you know what? I've never lost a single chick.

I love love love my chicks, and I'm so happy that I did all that research and gave them a try! Chickens aren't just for farms anymore!

 

[madgabmomma]

Quote:
I wish you worked at my TSC!! Nobody at mine has a clue about raising any animals. I've asked several of the employees questions at different time and they either acted like they knew what they were talking about though it was obvious they didn't or they just flat out said I have no idea. I asked the lady that was cleaning out the rabbit hutch how old they were and she couldn't even tell me that. She said all I know is they are cute and fluffy. That was is, she didn't offer to find out or go ask someone who might know either. Our feed store however is great! The guy that I always talks to knows a ton about chickens and just about anything I ask him about, and he's always happy to answer my questions and chat with me. He doesn't even keep his chicks in the main store. He has a sign up that he has chicks and to ask him for assistance. He also does not order his chicks he hatches them himself. So not all feed stores are aweful.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

I am not trying to be mean but it's mighty obvious who reads through a whole thread and who reads just the first and last posts!!! Please take the time to read through everyone's responses before you fire off your response!!!

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Quote:
I wish you worked at my TSC!! Nobody at mine has a clue about raising any animals. I've asked several of the employees questions at different time and they either acted like they knew what they were talking about though it was obvious they didn't or they just flat out said I have no idea. I asked the lady that was cleaning out the rabbit hutch how old they were and she couldn't even tell me that. She said all I know is they are cute and fluffy. That was is, she didn't offer to find out or go ask someone who might know either. Our feed store however is great! The guy that I always talks to knows a ton about chickens and just about anything I ask him about, and he's always happy to answer my questions and chat with me. He doesn't even keep his chicks in the main store. He has a sign up that he has chicks and to ask him for assistance. He also does not order his chicks he hatches them himself. So not all feed stores are aweful.

One thing that irks me about our store is the employees don't even know what breeds they have out there. I asked the manager once for curiousity's sake and she handed me a book with every breed that the hatchery carried which was probably 25-30 different breeds. Do they not know what they ordered? Thus said I feel sorry for the uneducated chicken lover that is hoping to pick up some leghorns and gets something else instead!!!!!

 

[Teach97]

I love going to the feed store wearing my tie...even better when I am driving my gets lots better mileage than my truck car and I don't care if it is slightly less than manly...I found I can carry about 300 lbs of feed in the trunk or about four cages of birds...af ew more with proper stacking and arrangement...

I love giving the less than knowlegeable staff a hard time while I am at such places...until I get caught...one of our local feed stores has a very knowledgeable gal that works there...she gets irritated with her co-workers but only lets me have so much fun at their expense...

 

[dretd]

Quote:
I was in a local feed store the other day helping my friend pick out a new duckling. She was sitting on a chair bonding with a male I had found and was at the bin sexing the others looking for boys (with the permission of the manager, of course). There were a string of folks that came in and we were visiting with them. Some were asking us tons of questions and we sharing advice as one back yard poultry owner to another. Then one lady said 'so are you selling the bins, too?'. Shelly and I just looked at each other then to the fella by the register and said 'Oh, we don't work here...'

Logical assumption on her part though.

I gotta say we certainly know a lot more about the poultry than the guys behind the register, who I am sure were hired for their ability to chuck 50lb feed sacks and stack 80# bales of hay.

 

[Eatin'Dirt]

I would be one of those walking out with nothing, because I have it all. But I must say my feed store is GREAT with that!!! They tell EVERYONE & ask if have what they need & go threw the list. So yes, I do think they should. Just because some people don't do it right doesn't mean everyone should be cut off.

 

[pixiedouglas]

We don't have a TSC, but my local Farm Supply has been nothing but helpful. I might not have my chicks if I couldn't buy from them. They were very knowledgeable and helpful.

I'm sure when I went back yesterday and got three more chicks it might have looked like I didn't know what I was doing. My two year old was turbo running around the store with DH following him cause thats what two years old DO when they get excited and my four year old was jumping for joy to get chickies. Someone who doesn't know us might have only seen a tired harrassed looking mom and dad with two noisy grabby kids buying three chicks and nothing else and assumed something terrible.

Well I am a tired harrassed looking mom! I worked all day long after taking my kids to a dentist appointment that morning (let me tell you with a two year old that is FUN) then my van (I carpool home) was running late and I had to rush to the store to get my chicks that I'd been waiting on for weeks to arrive because I was afraid they'd sell out again!

My kids are at the age where they want to touch everything especially the two year old and yes they talk a lot, they have a lot to say... the world is an interesting and exciting place. We correct their behavior when necessary, but I'm not about to crush their little spirits just so they aren't grabby talky kids. My daughter wanted to pick out her own chicks and was kind of crowding the Farm Supply employee, but the employee was very understanding. They always smile at my kids there, unlike some other stores I've been too, and guess where I take my business??? My daughter was excited, she loves her chickens, and we were getting three more of the "stripey ones" well the stripey one is her favorite, but she would be excited anyways and rightly so. I was excited! I'm sure someone could have seen that and thought "oh those poor chicks" but my daughter has always been gentle with animals BECAUSE I TAUGHT HER TO BE and she reminds all our visitors not to scare our chicks or grab them "cause they don't like that". My son isn't barely two years old, we don't let him touch the chicks. But they make him smile and laugh and when he's mature enough I will teach him how to care for them. I've seen more than one post criticizing kids and chicks and they make me sad. I know there are some parents who don't watch their kids or try to teach them proper manners, but just because a kid is being a kid isn't a reason to say nasty things about them. That's a little off topic from the OP I know she didn't mention kids, but it seems to come up a lot in these kinds of threads. How do you expect a kid to learn to behave if they never go in public? That requires the kid being a kid and learning how to act, meaning occasionally they won't be acting exactly just so cause maybe they haven't learned yet!

I guess I'm just saying the same thing a lot of people are. You can't judge everyone just by how they look. I wish LOTS of people would make better choices with caring for animals and children for that matter as someone else wisely pointed out above, but you can't and SHOULDN'T police the world. I wish we had more old fashioned cultural pressure for people to behave, that's really the only thing that works in my experience. More rules and laws that can't be fairly or effectively enforced isn't the answer and certainly penalizing local businesses is a terrible idea, it's hard enough for businesses to stay open as it is. I'm sure chick days brings people into the store and then they buy feed and who knows what else that they might not have bought otherwise! People could buy chickens off craigslist or at a flea market and not care for them properly either, I don't think feed stores not selling chicks is the answer.

And yes I carry a small pink designer bag too and had my work clothes on (office attire).

 

[TexasAggieOfc]

Eatin'Dirt :

I would be one of those walking out with nothing, because I have it all. But I must say my feed store is GREAT with that!!! They tell EVERYONE & ask if have what they need & go threw the list. So yes, I do think they should. Just because some people don't do it right doesn't mean everyone should be cut off.

Let me give a store some props based off of that statement. Atwoods Ranch & Home in Sulphur Springs, Texas. I had already purchased a dozen chicks and 4 ducks from a TSC 2 weeks before. Now when I bought those chicks, I bought the chick waterers and feeders and went ahead and bought the big waterers and feeders too. (I like to be prepared, plus, the big waterer came in handy within 2 weeks, as I needed one just to keep the ducks watered.)

So after going to the TSC (but not the one in SS), 2 weeks later I was in Atwoods looking for more chicks (chicken math, right?). Found 6 I really liked. They told me specifically what breed I had picked out (Golden Lakenvelders), showed me the breed information they had from an Ideal Poultry book (they buy their birds through Ideal), and asked me multiple questions about feed, waterers, feeders, brooder, etc. To some people, that would have seemed invasive, but I was glad to see that young lady take the initiative to care about the birds as much as I did. Once I was satisifed with my chicks, and she was satisfied that they would have a good home I made my way up to the counter and made my purchase. I then relayed that story to the cashier, who also happened to be manager, and told her how much I appreciated that other clerk. She assured me that the employee would be commended for her good work.

Now, as to the original point about feed stores selling chicks. Here's the thing, before I discovered BYC, I would have never guessed that an individual could purchase chicks from a commercial breeder, and I even went to an agricultural school (although I wasn't an Ag major at A&M). Heck, one of the largest poultry producers in the US (JBS-Pilgrim's) is in my backyard, and for years, the only way I knew to get chickens was either through a feed store or open a chicken house! And even now, with my pending order from Ideal, if I only wanted a small quantity of birds (such as the 2 turkeys and 2 geese I bought last week), a feed store is the only financially feasible way to purchase a small amount of birds.

Yes some people abuse the chickens. Some people also abuse the dogs they buy at Petsmart or the fish they buy at Wal-mart. But should that stand in the way of responsible, grown adults making an informed purchase? I don't believe so. Your mileage may vary.

Rambling off.​