Why Do People Buy Live Chicks From Breeders and Farm Stores‭?

[cmom]

I haven't read this whole thread but thought I'd put in my two cents. I breed for exhibition poultry because I show them at poultry shows. I have let broody's hatch out eggs but mostly they go into my cabinet incubator. I do have my birds tested yearly. I don't let people handle my birds or go into the coops or pens. I don't like people going around my birds because of bio-security. If I want to sell some birds I take them to a couple of Farm Swaps and sell them.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

because I am a grownup and I wanted to.

love it.

 

[WunnySharbit]

"This is what a US hatchery looks like. https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2...ite-house-on-the-hill-tour-mcmurray-hatchery/"

OMGoodness--what a great video!
I get my chix from a local feed store that I trust. I've been buying feed and chix from them over 20 years and have been impressed with their care of the little things. They're kept in horse water tanks, so they are easy to see but hard to touch. They do buy from MurrayMcMurray and over 15 years of chix, I've never bought a male! I bought a few chix from another feed store 2 years ago. While they did have a huge breed selection, the pens were small, easily accessable, and many chix were handled by many people and there seemed to be at least 1 sick chick per pen. I don't know who they purchased from, but I ended up with 3 of my 8 being male At $4-5+ ea, I was less than impressed. I like getting them at the feed store since I only get a few at a time, usually 2-4 pullets and some cornishx to make 17 ( I always lose 2 chix, no matter how many I buy!)
It's not worth my time to purchase an incubator or eggs or let my hens go broody on fertilized eggs (even if I did have a rooster, which I don't, being in the city and all). I have been able to try out dozens of breeds over the years this way, and I get 2-4 new chix/feeders every couple of years to hold at a flock of about 6-10
As far as farm swap meets, I personally know several people who sell chix and other animals at the meets, and I would never buy any animal from them. When one of them was banned, he sent his animals with someone else who sold them on consignment. While I'm sure most animals are perfectly fine from very nice breeders, just knowing that I may run into one of these other breeders or their stock has made my shy away from any of my local meets.

 

[WunnySharbit]

If were going to start choosing our food by what is least intelligent I'm going to have to start eating humans.

eeew! too much fat and cholesterol!

 

[Kris5902]

I had a poor hatch, due to my own lack of experience. I decided to try chicks from the same breeder, because they had a buyer change their mind. At $15/chick for 5 day olds, they were the same cost as what I managed to hatch out of the 44 eggs I got from my purchase of 36. It’s a fairly well respected breeder in my area, but I won’t be getting chicks again.

They were less robust than the survivors from my hatch. I lost one, from what was probably pasty butt that had been removed with the down shortly before I picked them up. There are huge variances in the sizes within one breed. One is ten days older than the rest, a replacement for “a mis-sorted breed” that I’m now thinking might have been a fatality before I picked them up.

I will have to get some chicks for meat birds, I’m going to do a bunch this year; but I’m going to stick with hatching eggs until my layer/breeding flock is established!

 

[oldrooster]

I haven't read this whole thread but thought I'd put in my two cents. I breed for exhibition poultry because I show them at poultry shows. I have let broody's hatch out eggs but mostly they go into my cabinet incubator. I do have my birds tested yearly. I don't let people handle my birds or go into the coops or pens. I don't like people going around my birds because of bio-security. If I want to sell some birds I take them to a couple of Farm Swaps and sell them.
View attachment 1607590

I wish my farm supply stores had a swap like that 1 could do it easily as large of a parking lot as it has the other would likely have to have a sign up sheet for reserved spaces for a few vendors and such.

 

[cmom]

I wish my farm supply stores had a swap like that 1 could do it easily as large of a parking lot as it has the other would likely have to have a sign up sheet for reserved spaces for a few vendors and such.

Our swaps are free and no signups required, just come and set up. Years ago we had the swaps at our farm but my hubby was concerned about if someone were to get hurt. We looked for event insurance but couldn't find any so I went to Tractor Supply Co., and ask if we could have our swap there. They said we could give it a go and see how it works out. We were a hit and many people would shop in the store. A few months later they told us we could do it monthly if we wanted and we said yes. That was about 10 years ago. Now we have a pretty good following and quite a lot of people show up every month. There aren't many places you can go to sell without paying a fee. There are many Tractor Supply stores and other feed stores having monthly swaps and some stores considering it. In Michigan where my brother lives they only have their TSC swaps in the warmer months.

 

[cmom]

This was this past Saturday