Where do you get your baby chicks?

[Fluffy&Cutie]

Trust me, if I could I would. The very close breeders only have silkies, polish and bantams. I'm not subjecting any of those to my big Berthas so shipping day olds is about my only choice, unless I wanted to hatch again and play rooster roulette lol! Giving away roosters isn't easy.

it s the opposite for me, of course, lol. i m looking to add a silkie or polish to my little gals, but they are not available...except from this one place an hour away...for $175 each. i d love to hatch, but no one wants to play ROOSTER ROULETTE!!!

 

[oceansunset73]

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.

About how long did your production reds live for, as an average? Just out of curiosity?

This is my first time with chicken keeping and I got 6 production reds at my local Feed Store last year. I'm thinking next time, I'll probably get heritage breeds from a hatchery instead though.

 

[Folly's place]

I don't keep accurate records, and have avoided these breed types for almost twenty years, so this is 'old news', based on 'old memories'.
As I recall, the hens made it out to two to four years, max. I was not happy with the nasty feather pecking behaviors of my production reds, so they left my farm early. The BOs and standard Brahmas were not our favorites, in spite of stellar reviews from others. Stand-offish, dumb, and died within two to three years of age.
I never had roosters of any of these breeds, so no experience there.
I do really like the bantam Brahmas, and have had both light and buffs. Nice birds, large for bantams. The roosters were very nice too.
It's fun to try many different breeds that look interesting, and who will do well in your climate, and then see what appeals to you! That's what we've done here, and come up with a shorter list of favorites.
Mary

 

[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.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I get my chicks from TSC. I have never had an issue with sick chicks or chicks that died. All very healthy. The only thing I had happen was 1 rooster who was not yet 1 year old died very suddenly in 36 hours. He was with all the others and no one else got sick so I believe it was specific to him/genetics. Other then that all my 23 beautiful hens and roos are healthy and thrive. I like TSC because I like to hand pick my chicks.. I want to see what I'm buying

 

[rosemarythyme]

So another question to all of you chicken raisers out there... what is your percentage of survival rate? I am doing horrible with 6 chickens (3 alive, 2 died and 1 roo) or is this normal and just magnified because of my lower quantites?

Maybe people lose chickens all the time and I am just new to this?

From my first batch of 3 chicks (which are now hens 2 years of age) I culled one (male), got another that then died in an accident, got 2 more, and then a hawk got one. So out of 6, 3 made it to the 2 year mark. Sometimes things happen, and you try and learn and adjust as you go.

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.

I agree, I don't think I could handle having them shipped to me only to find dead chicks in a box. I've also been at my local feed store when they received a shipment and watched the employees checking for pasty butt - they officially have a 24 hour policy too though I've found you can talk your way past that if you're really willing to take your chances to get the breeds you want.

 

[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.

 

[Pugsabi]

I was told that Andalusian's are super flighty birds but mine is the friendliest of the bunch. Oh and I got mine as sexed pullets at about 8 weeks of age. My city doesn't allow roosters on my size lot and I didn't want to invest in a brooder for a couple of weeks. They take so long to get to POL (point of lay). I think I'll start a small flock of quail when it's a bit cooler. They get to eating size/laying in about 7weeks.

 

[happyfrenchman]

I incubate and raise my own. I only have the one type. I imagine it is hard for people who only want a couple of chickens....of different kinds..... the hatcheries sometimes won't ship small orders and you never know what you will get from some other backyard breeder. My first chickens were 12 Rhode Island Reds I got from IDEAL. Good birds, but they shipped me a bunch (8) of box filling White leghorn cockerels, which got me off to an early start in culling unwanted roosters. Which I imagine would put some people off from the git go.

 

[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.)