Sold 3 wk old sexed chicks based on wings?

[PrettyChickens15]

Not sure about the sex. Are those layer pellets as chick bedding??

 

[debid]

Not sure about the sex. Are those layer pellets as chick bedding??

That's pelleted horse bedding. Made from sawdust.

 

[ecogirl2206]

yes equine pellets. Put one bag in there from TSC, I think it was like $5. Love it! Granted its my first time, but everyone kept telling me how insane i was to keep the brooder in my house b/c of how bad chicks smell and there's been zero smell. I haven't changed it yet and some people on here suggested it could last the whole brooding time. LOVE IT! I'm going to use it in the coop for DLM and see how that works maybe with a pinch of leaves/grass/and paper shreddings. Of course dust is another thing, good thing i've got a robot vacuum!

 

[ecogirl2206]

They're still too young to sex and yes, the biggest ones look 3-4 weeks.

I suspect that this kid got a bunch of chicks on clearance sale at the feed store. They often clearance the leftovers to make room for the next shipment. If you're very lucky, he got hatchery sexed pullets and 90% will be female. However, I wouldn't count on it as many feed stores order straight run except for sexlinks.

I wish that was the case! He told me his granddad hatched them on the farm. He then "sexes" them at 1-3 weeks based on wing feather length. So I am expecting about 50% cockerels which I have no idea what to do with as a vegetarian....I'll cross that bridge when i get there. Anyone have good luck finding forever homes for roosters? I'd expect thats a pretty hard task!

 

[debid]

I wish that was the case! He told me his granddad hatched them on the farm. He then "sexes" them at 1-3 weeks based on wing feather length. So I am expecting about 50% cockerels which I have no idea what to do with as a vegetarian....I'll cross that bridge when i get there. Anyone have good luck finding forever homes for roosters? I'd expect thats a pretty hard task!

Do you believe his story? If they were farm chicks, I'd expect them to all have mixed looking traits. Farmers don't separate different breeds, they usually have hybrid layers for production and perhaps a few roosters around to help watch over them. I can't be certain but I don't believe these are farm hatched.

 

[ecogirl2206]

Haha Good point! Well his story holds little weight with me since 1) sexing info was wrong 2) gave me the wrong breeds 3) ages were not even close to 3 weeks! Total noob here and I was simply too inexperienced to know I was being sold a line. But you're absolutely right. That doesn't make any sense. I doubt granddad has 15 breeding groups separated! That'd be quite a setup! Makes me laugh a full grown adult being hoodwinked by a kid LOL. So maybe I will get all pullets!! Fingers crossed!

 

[debid]

Haha Good point! Well his story holds little weight with me since 1) sexing info was wrong 2) gave me the wrong breeds 3) ages were not even close to 3 weeks! Total noob here and I was simply too inexperienced to know I was being sold a line. But you're absolutely right. That doesn't make any sense. I doubt granddad has 15 breeding groups separated! That'd be quite a setup! Makes me laugh a full grown adult being hoodwinked by a kid LOL. So maybe I will get all pullets!! Fingers crossed!

Hey, I'm hoping for you. Stores like TSC get a new order every week, they don't want older ones taking up space. The kid might have thought reselling farm store chicks at a markup would be less appealing than "farm raised".

 

[debid]

And you are far from the first to be hoodwinked by a Craigslist seller. I see it here ALL THE TIME. And, at least you didn't get a box of sexlink cockerels from someone who got free "males for warmth" and then sold them as pullets to a noob. Yes, I have seen that.

 

[ecogirl2206]

That's TERRIBLE!!! Wow, that's really shocking.

 

[debid]

That's TERRIBLE!!! Wow, that's really shocking.

Black sexlink males look a lot like barred Rock pullets as babies. They didn't realize they'd been had until the crowing started and, of course, no finding the seller then.