Tractor Supply Co. Horror Story

[morganalefae]

I got Clarks AG as a recommendation from a former chicken farmer so I hope this works out
Meanwhile I'm learning to sex peeps so when I pick them up I get pullets.

what kind of sexing are you learning? just curious as I just wait to sex mine at between 4+ weeks then sell the males.

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Vent sexing and the wings. An arc shape with the feather is a pullet, straight line of feather is a cockerels.

I think to vent sex first you squeeze the bum so they poo and check the vent. If there is a white lump it is a cockrel, if there is nothing it is a pullet.

 

[morganalefae]

Vent sexing and the wings. An arc shape with the feather is a pullet, straight line of feather is a cockerels.

I think to vent sex first you squeeze the bum so they poo and check the vent. If there is a white lump it is a cockrel, if there is nothing it is a pullet.

Would not mind learning vent sexing but worry I would hurt a chick.

 

[chickendreams24]

Okay wow this thread is a mess.

First every tractor supply and any other store that sells chicks is completely different.

Secondly what bedding did you have them on when your chick got splay legged? Many people raise chicks on newspaper but newspaper is far too slippery and can cause splay leg. Paper towels it wood shavings are better(be careful to get the larger wood shavings not the very tiny ones as they are more dusty and more likely to be eaten). We start all of our chicks on paper towels with shavings underneath them. Dog potty training pads can also work for very young chicks but once they chicks start scratching they must be removed or the chicks can get tangled or eat the pads as they scratch them up. Be extremely cautious if you use the potty training pads with the absorbent gel in them because if eaten it can kill chicks.

Now I think the employee you spoke to on the phone may have been referring to if the chicks that came in were sexed or not. Maybe not. I could be wrong of course.

Now about the sexing thing.

Feather sexing only works if the bird was specifically bred for it, so while you may have some minor luck most of it will be chance. Buff Orpingtons can not be sexed this way with any accuracy. While males generally feather slower each bird may have hatched several hours or even a day or more apart.

Vent sexing is very hard to learn, I have a friend who went to college for AG and he has been working on it for years but still doesn't feel comfortable coming and vent sexing my chicks for me. We hatch out multiple times a year of multiple breeds.

Furthermore when done incorrectly vent sexing can injure or kill a chick. I wouldn't suggest doing it.

Also any feed store that allows you to handle the chicks before purchase is at an increased risk for biosecurity (aka if someone with sick animals handles a chick-even if they don't know their animals carry something and you bring those chicks home you could expose your flock to any number of illnesses or diseases)

Next I would suggest removing both roosters from your pullets until they calm down. I would also not keep a rooster that has been showing people aggression.

Also where are you located?

Silkies can be very cold hardy however they are not labeled as a cold hardy breed and if your coop is quite large he may not have been warm enough. Some of our silkies do great in winter and others seem more sensitive to the cold and don't want to go out.

While their combs are good for cold weather their feathers aren't always the best for insulation especially if it's extremely cold windy or damp.

Think of it this way normal feathers are a windbreaker and the wind doesn't penetrate to their bodies silkies don't have that windbreaker although they do have nice insulation. Also silkies are much smaller birds so they will often cuddle up to the larger birds for added heat.

I have had one silkie cockeral that was people aggressive as a juvenile. We rehomed him and he was never aggressive in this new home.

While breed can give you a great idea of what a bird's temperament will be it can not be 100% every bird has it's own temperament. We have had wonderful silkie roos too.

Hatchery birds do tend to be more unpredictable in their temperament as they breed more for production than for standard of perfection which includes temperament.

Buff orping roosters are said to be great birds.

I'm sorry you have had a bad first experience but brush it off learn from it move on and enjoy your birds.

As for your splay legged bird. What color is she? Can she get around at all? Pictures please.

Also on a side note if you ever come up against another employee that tells you they don't care what you want. Report them to their manager and request different help getting you your chicks. That's ridiculous.

I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s a story I’ve heard all too often.

Tractor Supply does not care wether their employees know anything about chickens.
They’re more interested in wether they can drive a forklift.
It’s very unfortunate that some people are willing to BS customers though
I’m amazed how many people will get animals of any species and not do any of their own research.
I was reading books about chickens and lurking on BYC 2 years before I even got my own birds.
I highly encourage others to do the same! It’s very empowering to learn and teach yourself what you need to know.
It gives you the confidence that you can handle the basics.
Best of luck with your birdies!

Okay while I don't necessarily agree with everything you posted I do heartily agree with doing research research research before getting into anything. Whether it applies here or not.

So many people don't and then end up in big messes.

I do however agree that any store that sells chicks should make sure their employees know and do the basics. I also agree that stores that sell chicks should have each stock tank marked. Most hatcheries will mark the chicks' heads with a certain color for each breed. Of course that depends on the hatchery and breeds the store receives as well as what was shipped together.

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Okay wow this thread is a mess.

First every tractor supply and any other store that sells chicks is completely different.

Secondly what bedding did you have them on when your chick got splay legged? Many people raise chicks on newspaper but newspaper is far too slippery and can cause splay leg. Paper towels it wood shavings are better(be careful to get the larger wood shavings not the very tiny ones as they are more dusty and more likely to be eaten). We start all of our chicks on paper towels with shavings underneath them. Dog potty training pads can also work for very young chicks but once they chicks start scratching they must be removed or the chicks can get tangled or eat the pads as they scratch them up. Be extremely cautious if you use the potty training pads with the absorbent gel in them because if eaten it can kill chicks.

Now I think the employee you spoke to on the phone may have been referring to if the chicks that came in were sexed or not. Maybe not. I could be wrong of course.

Now about the sexing thing.

Feather sexing only works if the bird was specifically bred for it, so while you may have some minor luck most of it will be chance. Buff Orpingtons can not be sexed this way with any accuracy. While males generally feather slower each bird may have hatched several hours or even a day or more apart.

Vent sexing is very hard to learn, I have a friend who went to college for AG and he has been working on it for years but still doesn't feel comfortable coming and vent sexing my chicks for me. We hatch out multiple times a year of multiple breeds.

Furthermore when done incorrectly vent sexing can injure or kill a chick. I wouldn't suggest doing it.

Also any feed store that allows you to handle the chicks before purchase is at an increased risk for biosecurity (aka if someone with sick animals handles a chick-even if they don't know their animals carry something and you bring those chicks home you could expose your flock to any number of illnesses or diseases)

Next I would suggest removing both roosters from your pullets until they calm down. I would also not keep a rooster that has been showing people aggression.

Also where are you located?

Silkies can be very cold hardy however they are not labeled as a cold hardy breed and if your coop is quite large he may not have been warm enough. Some of our silkies do great in winter and others seem more sensitive to the cold and don't want to go out.

While their combs are good for cold weather their feathers aren't always the best for insulation especially if it's extremely cold windy or damp.

Think of it this way normal feathers are a windbreaker and the wind doesn't penetrate to their bodies silkies don't have that windbreaker although they do have nice insulation. Also silkies are much smaller birds so they will often cuddle up to the larger birds for added heat.

I have had one silkie cockeral that was people aggressive as a juvenile. We rehomed him and he was never aggressive in this new home.

While breed can give you a great idea of what a bird's temperament will be it can not be 100% every bird has it's own temperament. We have had wonderful silkie roos too.

Hatchery birds do tend to be more unpredictable in their temperament as they breed more for production than for standard of perfection which includes temperament.

Buff orping roosters are said to be great birds.

I'm sorry you have had a bad first experience but brush it off learn from it move on and enjoy your birds.

As for your splay legged bird. What color is she? Can she get around at all? Pictures please.

Also on a side note if you ever come up against another employee that tells you they don't care what you want. Report them to their manager and request different help getting you your chicks. That's ridiculous.





Okay while I don't necessarily agree with everything you posted I do heartily agree with doing research research research before getting into anything. Whether it applies here or not.

So many people don't and then end up in big messes.

I do however agree that any store that sells chicks should make sure their employees know and do the basics. I also agree that stores that sell chicks should have each stock tank marked. Most hatcheries will mark the chicks' heads with a certain color for each breed. Of course that depends on the hatchery and breeds the store receives as well as what was shipped together.

Okay, my splayed leg chick was on shavings. They were replaced periodically. She can sort of 'run' when she needs to and her legs are kinda greenish. I will post pics shortly.

I'll relay the info about vent sexing to my mom. (Was her idea to check the chicks before we picked them up)

I didn't think to report the man for it was my first time buying chicks and thought that was normal behavior.

Am I a bad chicken owner for not doing deeper research into this?

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Also it seems that you can sex a buff orpington?

Buff Orpingtons are easy to sex at a day to three days old. I have used feather sexing on mine and had a 95% accuracy rate for the last 2 years. Watch this video

They show very clear pics of the feathers to look at.

 

[chickendreams24]

Okay, my splayed leg chick was on shavings. They were replaced periodically. She can sort of 'run' when she needs to and her legs are kinda greenish. I will post pics shortly.

I'll relay the info about vent sexing to my mom. (Was her idea to check the chicks before we picked them up)

I didn't think to report the man for it was my first time buying chicks and thought that was normal behavior.

Am I a bad chicken owner for not doing deeper research into this?

I don't think you're a bad owner but I think some more research would have benefitted you and your birds in the long run.

Now by us saying all this to you don't for one second think that we all did things perfectly the first time. I know I didn't. Despite over a year and a half of research before getting our first chicks I hadn't found anywhere that it said chicks could drown in a waterer. That was our first loss and it was devestating.

We also did our first hatch(shipped eggs) in our first year. At the time I didn't think anything of it and we were blessed to have had an amazing hatch rate for shipped eggs. We have since had good and bad hatches.

It's a learning experience every year I've owned or researched birds I've learned something new, encountered something new.

When you stop learning it's because you're not trying.

I'm not going to lie owning chickens, it's harder than I thought it would be and it think that would go for most of us. Especially for those of us who fall prey to chicken math. We started out ordering 5 buff Orpingtons. Before they came in we already owned 5 silver laced Wyandottes. By the end of the first year we were up to 34. Thankfully we had the space. We sold a few and had some losses during the first year. One cockeral missed a jump and caught his neck on an old wine barrel breaking it. Freak accidents if you will. Another cockeral had to be put down due to severe aggression.
The second year we had our first predator loss.

Also I forgot to mention it has been found that aggression in chickens is somewhat hereditary even heoghtened from generation to generation, so if you plan to hatch any chicks I wouldn't keep an aggressive rooster or any agressive hen. It doesn't matter if the aggression is at the other birds or at humans we won't breed them. We do give maturing cockerals a chance to mature and figure things out but if they don't by the time they're 12-18 months old, sooner if the aggression is bad then we cull them. It's not easy it's not cold and unfeeling it's about what's best for all of your birds and you guys.

Aggressive birds can do a lot of damage especially to small children.

If you want to keep your silkie cockeral then I recommend that any time he shows aggression to anyone they pick him up. Walk around with him talking. There are many many different theories about cockerals and roosters and many didfdiffe opinions. We've had good luck with this but it doesn't always work mostly it's about being consistent. Everyone must follow the plan. You also need to walk through the flock and through him. You don't move for him. He moves for you. Most people say after you can sex a chick as male stop handling it like you may for a pullet. You want them to have some natural respect for you. But not fear. If they fear you and don't trust you they may attack you if you handle a pullet. We also make sure we can handle all of our cockerals and roosters if we need to for injury, illness, regular parasite checks etc.

Of course it also has a lot to do with how and when he is being aggressive.

There again learning curve.

Get more birds and try again most hatcheries have an 80-90% success rate at sexing.

As to feather sexing buff Orpingtons. Ugh that's sadly misleading. It may work for their line but it almost certainly won't work for a hatchery line.

So take Dominiques for example many people say you can sex them at hatch by the size and shape of their head spot. However last year we received chicks from a very good breeder and I asked him if about it. He told me that if they are bred for that it may be possible but that he has never found it to be very useful. Now it may give you a good hint but it's not a guarantee.

I would just double check when you pick up your chicks ask them if they're sexed pullets or if they came straight run and see what they say. Then take their word for it.

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

I have an easier time posting pics on mobile, so I am posting caramel pics and then read the post. She is the splayed legs.

Top view:


Front:


And rear:

I have to wipe her bum since she can't sqaut down.

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Ok, thank you for the suport! It is much appreaciated! My silkie roo, when he attacked me, I would pick him up! That is why he stopped going for me.. I'll relay it to my family. Also, we never had a fertile egg from our girls because when he mates them, he falls off. It is hilarious to watch! Again, thank you very much!

 

[chickendreams24]

Are Caramel's legs malformed? Do her feet ever uncurl?

Also your silkie roo will probably gain his balance eventually. He's still young. We've had old English game bantams fertilize large fowl hens.