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back2simplelife said:
Sigh.. after 2 months of 'chicken sitting' and eating fresh eggs, our time has came to an end :( My babies turned 5 weeks this week so we have a long time to go before they lay.. IF they lay (I think I have at least 4 out of the 5 roos!) we won't have our coops up and complete until mid- august (we have room to grow now but just not finished how we want them) so I am debating now.. Should we get about 6 older pullets or layers even in Aug? Or should we just get more babies from a hatchery so we know they are pullets, and go 'vegan' until they grow and lay? lol. and IF we decide on older ones.. where is the best place to find them? CL? I was looking today and see some hatcheries on there.. (I dunno if I want to do the hatchery but def can't do any more roos so I am lost really!) but very few ppl just selling older ones around here...don't want to travel 4 hours for 1 hen... 6 MAYBE but def not 1! I most def can't get anymore roos and don't want to pay $35+ for just a backyard chicken! I know it's all a personal choice.. just wondering what your opinions are.. being so new to the chicken world, where is the best place to find a healthy pullet or hen of any/all ages?
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You can try CL. It's usually pretty easy to find chickens on there. They will most likely be hatchery, which is fine if you just want layers. There are usually ppl on here selling birds too.
 
PSJ said:
You can try CL. It's usually pretty easy to find chickens on there. They will most likely be hatchery, which is fine if you just want layers. There are usually ppl on here selling birds too.
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ok.. I will just keep looking both places then. It seems everyone on CL is closer to Austin or Houston, ect.. or perhaps actual hatcheries. I will just send some positive vibes someone will be doing some selling at the time we want them.

Has anyone done any business with http://www.bluestar-ranch.com They are all over our CL! They are only an hour from here and sell olders.. but not sure if those are normal prices?.. I just want eggs from healthy chickens! (at least for now.. maybe my mind will change in a few years)
  • Pullets 12-16 weeks $25 each
  • Laying Hens Pullets 17- 24 weeks $30 each​
 
Where are you? Last year I bought pullets from D&L farm and garden for $25 each, at 18-20 weeks. I got mine in Denton. They also took our roosters we couldn't keep in town ;)
 
jesirose said:
Where are you? Last year I bought pullets from D&L farm and garden for $25 each, at 18-20 weeks. I got mine in Denton. They also took our roosters we couldn't keep in town
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We are out of college station about 30 mins.. and about 10 outta caldwell so that is like 4+ hours. Is D&L like a feedstore?

Edit: How old were they? laying or almost? also what was the price per bird you paid? trying to figure this all out.. feeling I got totally jipped with my 5 roos.. we were told "90% pullets" lol and if I would have know this.. I would have just gone to Ideal! Like I said.. hate the idea of a hatchery.. BUT.. just don't know many other options
 
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I've bought several laying hens or older pullets off of Craigslist here in the DFW area. The going rate for people's backyard chickens seems to be about $20. Rare breeds will run much more of course. I would advise to be careful though. I have received a few that were in much too cramped quarters and missing lots of feathers. Then when I got them home I found that it was not just cramped quarters - one of the three was a major bully and plucking all the tail feathers out of the other two. They also were not hand raised and have never been pleasant to be around. I sent the bully packing and the other 2 got their feathers back. I just recently bought several that ended up being infested with lice, mites and 2 have bumblefoot that I will have to take care of. I have also had birds that were in great health and laid wonderfully. But now I know to bring several pet taxis and try to take time to really examine each bird. I still haven't found any that are raised the way I raise mine so that they are sweet and affectionate. But I figure they'll do for eggs till my sweet teenagers grow up and start laying.
 
familypendragon said:
I've bought several laying hens or older pullets off of Craigslist here in the DFW area. The going rate for people's backyard chickens seems to be about $20. Rare breeds will run much more of course. I would advise to be careful though. I have received a few that were in much too cramped quarters and missing lots of feathers. Then when I got them home I found that it was not just cramped quarters - one of the three was a major bully and plucking all the tail feathers out of the other two. They also were not hand raised and have never been pleasant to be around. I sent the bully packing and the other 2 got their feathers back. I just recently bought several that ended up being infested with lice, mites and 2 have bumblefoot that I will have to take care of. I have also had birds that were in great health and laid wonderfully. But now I know to bring several pet taxis and try to take time to really examine each bird. I still haven't found any that are raised the way I raise mine so that they are sweet and affectionate. But I figure they'll do for eggs till my sweet teenagers grow up and start laying.
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OH DEAR!!! never thought of any of that.. ugh! I am so sorry for your experience... I promise to be careful!
 
You are near college station? I cant believe there arent any birds around you. Texasmja is near iola and i jnow she raises SLW's and she may have some to help you out. And yiu arent too far from me. I get my chicks from a feed store in houston that grts their stock from IDEAL. I dont have any issues with my hatchery birds other than some colir errors.
 
Cockle-Dood said:
You are near college station? I cant believe there arent any birds around you. Texasmja is near iola and i jnow she raises SLW's and she may have some to help you out. And yiu arent too far from me. I get my chicks from a feed store in houston that grts their stock from IDEAL. I dont have any issues with my hatchery birds other than some colir errors.
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There prob are.. I am just not sure where! We are new here (moved in April) so this is all double new to me! Our CL has very few locally.. a few other 'hatchery' type.. I looked at one add that was almost 5 hours away! Of course it's HOT so maybe not the time to look? not sure! I have no problems with buying from a feed store (and a GOOD hatchery.. good as in I won't help support someone who has 50 birds in a tiny cage ya know).. just didn't have much luck this go from the one in B/CL.. Aww I totally forgot about Texasmja! Thanks for the reminder! About to update my babies with pics.. but pretty sure I have at least 4 roos! 'baby' is really my only hope now but I am not sure on her either!
 

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