Where do you get your baby chicks?

[mrskenmore]

After loosing my 1 year old BO this week suddenly to what I suspect was a heart attack, I am starting to rethink where I will get my next set of chicks to add to the flock. You see I am a backyard homesteader that has taken poultry classes at Cornell. So I like to think of my self as a savvy chicken keeper. I have a full time job and enjoy my laying hens as a hobby. I once had 6 hens last April, only to be down to three (lost a sexlink last year to EYP, my sussex turned out to be a rooster and now my BO has gone to join my sexlink up in the big chicken coop in the sky.) I have always gotten "sexed" (didn't work for the sussex lol) day old chicks and had fun raising them. As I have been doing this a little over 4 years now I don't want to be losing anymore hens to what I think are genetic and breeding disorders. I would like to ask the question of where do people get their chicks from. My problem is that I am on a 1/4 acre in suburbia so I like to keep my flock at around 6 laying hens. I need to rethink where I am getting the next set of chicks from as I would like three (preferable a Welsummer, a Sussex and another BO as she was lovely) Any help for breeder info, or if there is a good hatchery out there (I have had bad luck with two separate ones) please let me know.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Other (please post)

My incubators.

Do you buy eggs online? or get them locally?

I was only brief with my description because I was contributing to your poll.
The mass majority of our birds come from our breeding program. As far as refreshing the bloodlines or new breed introductions, we will purchase a straight run of 1/2 - a full dozen from a local feed store. Which is not that often.
Shipped eggs never. I call them scrambled eggs.

Benefits of buying chicks local-
All the shipping stress is over before you purchase you selections. I have been a TSC when the shipment arrives on a few occasions. The chicks are stressed out and a few didn't survive the transit. Then they won't sell them for 24 hours (store policy) until they are confident that they will survive the stress.
Also the fact that if you buy local, you can say "I want that particular one" while pointing at the largest and most active ones in the group. Having chicks shipped, the provider is just going to scoop up the quantity you requested dope them up and slap a stamp on the box.
Once your flock is established, if you are like me, it will be few and far having the need to rely on outside parties to provide your future needs. Unless of course you spotted a breed you wish to possess. That's when chicken math begins.

BTW, before you purchase chicks from a feed store, RESEARCH the description of said breed with a photo identification. Unless you want to start another thread implying "TSC mixed up your breeds". It is up to the consumer to pre educated themselves to ensure that they are receiving the breed they are purchasing, not the minimum wage employee whom most likely doesn't own any poultry themselves.

Best regards and good fortune.

 

[MommaCluckers]

I got my chickens from my local bomgaars. I found out after I got them that my local feed will order chicks in too. So I might go that route next year or buy from hatchery. Well see. ( I think in the photo is all 11 of my chickens.)

 

[Mrs. K]

You have gotten a lot of ideas on where and how to get them. I would address another part of your wish list.

Personally, I agree with Art, chickens are generally not real long lived.Some people do have some very old chickens, but many of us don’t.

Instead of keeping hens, keep a flock. If you have room for 6 birds, do not fill it the first year. Add a few each year, and some will subtract each year. It is sad to have them go, but then you can get chicks, and start the circle of life.

I like a multi-generational flock, I think socially it is healthier, and it keeps the hobby interesting.

I have made so many chicken plans, only real life gets in the way.

Good luck, my advice, enjoy the flock, if you loose a bird, and you do, well know that she had a good life and try something new. Don’t feel guilty, move on.

Mrs k

 

[Folly's place]

Given good husbandry, genetics are a big issue, when you are looking for healthy long- lived birds.
Hatcheries, and most breeders, use one year old birds as breeders, and don't keep birds around longer. There's no selection for longevity!!!
Historically, heritage birds have done better longer than any of the sex-links or hybrid layers. That's a raging generalization, given how breeders are now kept by almost everyone.
I buy from hatcheries mostly, and have liked my birds from Cackle especially.
I also hatch and raise my own, and keep my hens and cockbirds as breeding stock as long as possible. Trying to select for longevity!
Cherish your healthy older birds!
My personal experience, based on few birds, has been that none of the red production birds, or buff Orphingtons, or standard Brahmas, have lived long. Again, very small numbers here.
Right now my white Chanteclers are doing great, as have the Belgian d'Uccles, Speckled Sussex, and small Jersey Giants (not the big ones!).
Mary

 

[aart]

One of the hardest learning curves with keeping chickens is that they can die.
It's not like a dog or cat where you can take it to the vet, and they are just not as long lived. They have been domesticated as livestock(food) not as pets. It's one of the biggest bones I have with the whole 'backyard chickens' thing. I got chickens for the eggs, and I knew going in they would be for meat too. You can't hatch replacement layers without doing something with the ~50% males that will hatch. Small(<6) 'flocks' are tough to manage, they still need adequate space and you need extra, separate but adjacent, space to add birds. It can get complicated, and overwhelming, quickly. Romance meets Reality. Sorry for the 'jaded' rant.

 

[Better Than Rubies]

I just got my first 6 chicks around the beginning of March this year. Two of them I got from Orscheln's, and the other four I got from my aunt, and I believe she got hers from some type of farm store.
I really wanted chicks from an online hatchery, because they have a bigger variety of beautiful breeds, and breeds I REALLY want, but my mom wouldn't let me order any online. The thing I don't like is how they're treated; people treat chicks so roughly, as if they don't have any feelings!
On a lighter note, I kind of wish I could hatch my own birds, too, but no roosters allowed at my house right now. =P

 

[Floof]

I've bought eggs from other local breeders, hatching out different breeds from several sources, picked the ones I wanted to keep, and sold off the rest using craigslist. I always make sure the people who take them understand that they are straight run and that I have no way to know what sex they are, that is, unless you hatch a dimorphic breed like the 55 flowery chickens (loved those!). I've been able to make enough of a profit to pay for the hatching eggs, the cost of the incubator, and all the starter crumbles by doing it this way and I get first pick of whatever hatches.

 

[Pugsabi]

I have a flock of six. I'm fortunate enough to live in Texas, where I can get chickens of any age and practically any type all year round, because I only decided on getting a flock at the end of May.
While I was waiting on the coop I drove around to different feed stores. Unfortunately all of the ones close to my house looked dirty. Muddy runs, dusty stores, cobwebs, and even injuries on some of the birds!
I finally found a feed store about 50 miles from my house that treated their birds right. They get their birds from Ideal, which is about 2 & 1/2 hours from me. If I hadn't purchased my birds from the feed store I would have either driven to a Hatchery or tried my luck with Craigslist.
I have a white leghorn, a black sex link, a calico princess, a olive egger, a black laced gold Wyandotte, and a blue Andalusian. So far really great birds.
The problem with a tiny flock is that your stuck with the personalities you get unless you want to do the whole integration song and dance. So if your supposedly "sweet" orpington is mean enough to make Mother Teresa cuss, you either have to deal with it or make soup until you're able to add to your flock.

 

[Lalo Rolon]

I have begun hatching and selling my own chicks. I keep enough to support my own needs for my flock, but I am a novice to the breeding game. I hope to continue learning how to create the best bird for my needs.