Tractor supply or hatchery?

[fuzzi]

Agreed. Definitely prevents that single Easter chick crap.But state law should also be that any neighborhood allowing chickens cannot set the minimum as less than the minimum required by law. In NYS it’s 6, but some towns only allow 4. Makes it hard on people who are nervous about rehoming or can’t find someone to share a purchase with.

Maybe the towns do that on purpose, to prevent people from acquiring/having chickens?

 

[HennyPenny44]

I’ve bought from Meyer Hatchery, then hatched some out and now I got 4 at TSC the other day. That’s their minimum. I haven’t had any major issues with any of them. But I prefer hatching because the chicks are less stressed from shipping and such plus it’s so precious when you wait 21 days and then they come out. I don’t want to be adding lots of birds because I have a good amount so I’ll be hatching or buying at feed stores going forward instead of ordering. The shipping and small order fees have gotten ridiculous and I can’t justify it. I simply don’t need 10-15 chicks at a time.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I’ve bought from Meyer Hatchery, then hatched some out and now I got 4 at TSC the other day. That’s their minimum. I haven’t had any major issues with any of them. But I prefer hatching because the chicks are less stressed from shipping and such plus it’s so precious when you wait 21 days and then they come out. I don’t want to be adding lots of birds because I have a good amount so I’ll be hatching or buying at feed stores going forward instead of ordering. The shipping and small order fees have gotten ridiculous and I can’t justify it. I simply don’t need 10-15 chicks at a time.

Our Rural King near me makes you buy 6 Chicks but only 2 Ducklings or Turkeys. I got two Ducks a year ago and ended up with a drake and hen. I rehome the Drake but kept the hen. The only good thing I find from hatcheries is that you can pick the sex of them, that is if they get it right. I bought my two Mallard Hens from Metzer Farms and they have done really well. I hope yours are Hens if that is what you were after.

 

[HennyPenny44]

Our Rural King near me makes you buy 6 Chicks but only 2 Ducklings or Turkeys. I got two Ducks a year ago and ended up with a drake and hen. I rehome the Drake but kept the hen. The only good thing I find from hatcheries is that you can pick the sex of them, that is if they get it right. I bought my two Mallard Hens from Metzer Farms and they have done really well. I hope yours are Hens if that is what you were after.

I remember when the minimum at TSC was 3 in my area. It seems to be going up. I’m actually looking to get ducklings but want only a few females and perhaps one male so I figure I’ll hatch them out and try to give away the males. Is it easy to give away drakes or did you have a hard time? I saw a couple of ducklings today at TSC but there was no breed description and of course they were straight run. I looked into Metzer farms but it’s kind of pricey considering I want to start small with 2-3 hens. May I ask why you raise Mallards? I heard they will fly away at some point. Is that true?

 

[Luv Ducks]

I remember when the minimum at TSC was 3 in my area. It seems to be going up. I’m actually looking to get ducklings but want only a few females and perhaps one male so I figure I’ll hatch them out and try to give away the males. Is it easy to give away drakes or did you have a hard time? I saw a couple of ducklings today at TSC but there was no breed description and of course they were straight run. I looked into Metzer farms but it’s kind of pricey considering I want to start small with 2-3 hens. May I ask why you raise Mallards? I heard they will fly away at some point. Is that true?

I had ordered my Mallards pinioned from Metzer but they forgot to do that. It would have made them unable to fly away. I now clip one wing as yes they can fly and people that I have sold them to have had them fly away never to be seen again. Some people think that the ones from the hatcheries cannot fly but mine surely can. I have let the people pick the ones that they want and neither of us knew at such a young age which were boys or girls. Otherwise the only people I know that want my Drakes are getting them to taste on their tables which I never want to hear about. The people that have bought them I kept in touch with and asked what sex they became and that is how I knew out of a batch of eleven I had 9 Drakes and only 2 Hens. The people were never upset and seemed to like them just as much. The one guy had mine bond with his flock and as far as I know he still has them. He had bought 4 of them. I am not sure what they other person ended up doing with his. I got eggs almost all winter from my one Mallard Hen. They are noisy but I started my adventure with Ducks with two baby wild rescued ones and liked the breed. I now have different breeds besides them. They are great little Mothers and with her first batch took great care of all 11 of them even when it was really cold out and earlier in the year when she hatched them out. She managed to hide the nest really well and I did not have the heart to take them from her once she started sitting. Sorry this is so long, I love talking ducks, can you tell? lol

 

[HennyPenny44]

I had ordered my Mallards pinioned from Metzer but they forgot to do that. It would have made them unable to fly away. I now clip one wing as yes they can fly and people that I have sold them to have had them fly away never to be seen again. Some people think that the ones from the hatcheries cannot fly but mine surely can. I have let the people pick the ones that they want and neither of us knew at such a young age which were boys or girls. Otherwise the only people I know that want my Drakes are getting them to taste on their tables which I never want to hear about. The people that have bought them I kept in touch with and asked what sex they became and that is how I knew out of a batch of eleven I had 9 Drakes and only 2 Hens. The people were never upset and seemed to like them just as much. The one guy had mine bond with his flock and as far as I know he still has them. He had bought 4 of them. I am not sure what they other person ended up doing with his. I got eggs almost all winter from my one Mallard Hen. They are noisy but I started my adventure with Ducks with two baby wild rescued ones and liked the breed. I now have different breeds besides them. They are great little Mothers and with her first batch took great care of all 11 of them even when it was really cold out and earlier in the year when she hatched them out. She managed to hide the nest really well and I did not have the heart to take them from her once she started sitting. Sorry this is so long, I love talking ducks, can you tell? lol

Thanks for all the info on ducks! Those are some weird odds with the drake to hen ration. I got lucky on my last hatch and got 2 males and 6 females. Yes, I don’t care to know either what people do with the males I hatch. If they’re willing to butcher, more power to them. I’m excited about starting my duck adventure. I was driving along the road a couple of weeks ago and saw a white duck near the side of the road. I could tell it was domesticated and had been separated. I tried catching it but it waddled to the top of a hill where someone lived. I saw it as a sign that I must get ducks next!

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thanks for all the info on ducks! Those are some weird odds with the drake to hen ration. I got lucky on my last hatch and got 2 males and 6 females. Yes, I don’t care to know either what people do with the males I hatch. If they’re willing to butcher, more power to them. I’m excited about starting my duck adventure. I was driving along the road a couple of weeks ago and saw a white duck near the side of the road. I could tell it was domesticated and had been separated. I tried catching it but it waddled to the top of a hill where someone lived. I saw it as a sign that I must get ducks next!

You are most welcome. Ducks are Messy but I still love them. Mine have a large sand based pen with 6 different houses on it and 13 water sources. No pond but a real mess when I dump all of their water our daily and give them fresh with the hose. I love eating their eggs daily and so far they are giving me quite a supply since we have had such a mild winter here in Ohio and they think it is Spring. I hope that you can find ones that you love too. I have two Muscovy Hens that are very quiet but lay eggs I believe as I am not sure where my 4 white eggs are coming from since I have 9 Hens. One is a Mule Duck however and they say she will not lay, two others are 6 years old now so I don't think they are laying this year, 2 are young Khaki Campbell old enough to lay and my 2 Muscovy I think are laying. My one Mallard usually lays daily and hers are green so I know when I get some from either of them. Good luck on your choices. Sometimes the big white Pekin can have leg issues as they are so large but my Rouen Hens are half Pekin and half Mallard and have never had any leg problems. Sometimes leg and foot problems come from what base they walk on daily. If it is too hard for your bare feet they say it is too hard for theirs.

 

[aynesidea]

The fact that they've survived shipping makes them less of a gamble for sure! I like being able to pick out my own chicks from the bins!

We weren't allowed to pick our own, but I was VERY SPECIFIC about the Americauna and Olive Egger. The 2 barred rocks all looked the same.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I bought 4 one time.

At our Rural King you only have to buy 2 ducklings so I did that last February. I was surprised that you only had to buy two and was glad as I did not want more than that.

 

[debakadeb]

I bought six chickens from TSC in the store on March 8. All are doing well. It may well depend on your area. Several years ago, I bought some chickens from the local farm store and some from TSC. The TSC had a better survival rate.

Quite a few years ago, I purchased 25 from a hatchery and received them via the post office. Then, they notified you of the expected arrival date and you had to be there that day to pick them up. I think I lost about 6 of them and decided that I really was not a fan of mail order.