Hi there, hope you are enjoying BYC!
Opps yes sorry I meant auto -sexing. You answered my question perfectly. Thank you very much. These will be our first chickens and from everything I read and hear I like the breed more and more. I am fighting the urge to order a mixed flock as to be able to focus on this beautiful breed. I really appreciate your reply.Hi there, hope you are enjoying BYC!
I faced this exact dilemma when ordering Bielefelder chicks from Cackle hatchery this year... They are actually auto sexing and NOT sex linked... two different things... auto sexing will breed true in future generations but sex linking will not.
Long story short... I ordered 15, they sent 17... I had 12 survive and my ratio of those is 5 pullets to 7 cockerels.. which is fairly even really. I didn't focus on what the 5 that failed genders were but usually the boys are a tad stronger so presumably more females were in the passing group. They refunded the 3 I had paid for... my shipping route is horrendous.
I would totally order straight run (auto sexing) again and give the hatchery the benefit of the doubt expecting they will get MORE repeat business by being as honest as possible... so shorting us pullet chicks won't benefit them. If you were only getting two or three chicks though... I have ended up with all 3 same gender straight run Silkie chicks... that time was fortunately all girls. My point is you need a large enough sample size for it to even out better. I was both surprised and happy to see the straight run offer at about the same cost as cockerels were going for and less than half the price of the pullets! And they are fantastic birds with overall very impressive qualities... which is NOT something said lightly after raising hundreds of birds in dozen(s) of breeds.
Hope this help... and please report back your result for others who might find this thread in the future with the same question.
Mixed flock are beautiful eye candy and egg baskets in addition to being loads of fun. Makes it easy to tell everyone apart and who's laying or who might need help after roost tonight. Also gives a chance to see what breed YOU really like. If I hadn't raised so many breeds, I'm sure I wouldn't have the same appreciation for Bielefelder that I do.
@EggSighted4Life, do you think ordering 7 straight run of the Beilefelder chicks would be too low a number and risky in terms of female-male ratio? I want to order 15 chicks, but was hoping to get at least 3 different types to see what works best for the family. The Beilefelder females are $$$, whereas the straight run are only $. Of course, it would be a waste of 7$ if I get all males. As someone who ordered the straight run from Cackle, I'd love your thoughts on an order of only 7.Hi there, hope you are enjoying BYC!
I faced this exact dilemma when ordering Bielefelder chicks from Cackle hatchery this year... They are actually auto sexing and NOT sex linked... two different things... auto sexing will breed true in future generations but sex linking will not.
Long story short... I ordered 15, they sent 17... I had 12 survive and my ratio of those is 5 pullets to 7 cockerels.. which is fairly even really. I didn't focus on what the 5 that failed genders were but usually the boys are a tad stronger so presumably more females were in the passing group. They refunded the 3 I had paid for... my shipping route is horrendous.
I would totally order straight run (auto sexing) again and give the hatchery the benefit of the doubt expecting they will get MORE repeat business by being as honest as possible... so shorting us pullet chicks won't benefit them. If you were only getting two or three chicks though... I have ended up with all 3 same gender straight run Silkie chicks... that time was fortunately all girls. My point is you need a large enough sample size for it to even out better. I was both surprised and happy to see the straight run offer at about the same cost as cockerels were going for and less than half the price of the pullets! And they are fantastic birds with overall very impressive qualities... which is NOT something said lightly after raising hundreds of birds in dozen(s) of breeds.
Hope this help... and please report back your result for others who might find this thread in the future with the same question.
That should be a good number to give you a variety of personality types of both genders of that breed and a decent starting point for anyone really.
You are correct; I jumped in on another post. I intended to start my own post regarding straight run purchase of auto-sexed chicks until I saw @OneLuckyDuck had already asked it. So, instead, I thought I'd piggyback on their post. I should have noted that before I asked the question.That should be a good number to give you a variety of personality types of both genders of that breed and a decent starting point for anyone really.
Wyandotte are great table birds, have their share of broody behavior, and are fairly hardy even in addition to being lovely!
Getting a variety to see what works for your family is a fantastic idea!
I just noticed I'm replying to two different posters.. I think my answer is still solid... mostly... you mean you wan't to order 15 birds with 8 being sexed pullets of other breeds and 7 being straight run Bielefelder??
That would give you 3 - 4 roosters/cockerels and 11 - 12 pullet/hens if I'm understanding your question correctly. That would very likely be an out of whack ratio long term and you would want to have a plan B for your extra boys.
Cackle is a fine hatchery with a reputation to protect and they will NOT purposely send you 7 cockerels if you order straight run Bielefelder from them as that would be unprofessional and in this day and age of social media and internet access could seriously harm their livelihood. Most folks who do good business make SOME money while providing products or services... over the long term... earning repeat and new business in order to protect their families. I promise you as someone who sells my birds for top dollar... it is NOT a get rich quick scheme... Gathering, breeding, maintaining flocks and facilities... it's a labor of love. Some birds are not easy to find and that is why they cost more than the very common ones... It literally took me several years to find and acquire my bantam Ameraucana breeding stock and several multi hundred dollar investments... plus my actual time... You really do get what you pay for, very often... They're offering a steal... and I'm not a plant nor do I work for them or get any compensation besides being a passionate BYC poultry keeper helping my fellow chicken keeper get what they want and enjoy it too!
Sorry, emo day.
