Tractor supply source?

[KIDDSBANTAMS]

I will never buy from TSC again, we got six that were suppose to be RIR's. They were not, and 4 were roo's.

 

[justsomeguync]

Quote:
Last year I got "Assorted Red Pullets", which I took to mean Red Star, Rhode Island Red, or New Hampshire Red hens. I got 4 Red Star hens, and 8 RIR roosters. Pretty roosters, but they didn't lay many eggs.

 

[colby318]

Quote:
I bought EEs from Meyer's hatchery last year. Pretty birds and the ones I kept have laid light green eggs. No brown eggs in the bunch. Also, you can order pullets. EEs I bought from Mt Healthy had a lot of brown egg layers. Ask your TSC manager where they order from. Oh, and the TSC EEs are usually straight run. Probably heavy on the rooster side.

 

[SteveWin]

It depends where you live. In NJ they get them from Mt. Healthy in Ohio.

Quote:

Yup. Here in Michigan they come from Townline.

Quote:

...Ask your TSC manager where they order from. Oh, and the TSC EEs are usually straight run. Probably heavy on the rooster side.

First, sorry for reviving an ancient thread...

I just called my TSC (Chardon, Ohio), and they said that their chicks this year have all come from Townline, not from Mt. Healthy. But, they've seen a few other suppliers represented.

(Since I just bought a dozen pullets from my TSC, mine came from Townline. So, when I buy males, I'll probably get them from Cackle or Meyer, for genetic distance.. I'm probably overthinking that - Townline's website says that they have over 40,000 breeding hens. Assuming (roughly) 40 breeds, that averages to 1000 hens (and what, 100 cocks?) per breed. And, guessing that they maintain larger flocks of the more popular breeds, they could easily have up to 4000 each of the Barred Rocks and Buff Orpingtons I bought. My chicks could easily be 12 generations out from a common ancestor. Still, I'll be sourcing my males elsewhere..)

Anyway.. back to the point: I would expect TSC to utilize many hatcheries, in order to reduce shipping losses (I'd bet their wholesale contracts exclude free replacement of chicks lost in shipping, so shorter shipping distance increases the number of live chicks they can sell and the chicks' condition while on display..) I would also expect TSC to switch suppliers frequently in pursuit of the lowest bid price. So... your TSC could get their chicks from just about anywhere, and the only way to know for sure, is to ask when you're buying them.

 

[Justso]

Also got mine from TSC in Michigan/Townline. Out of three, lost one to Mereck's