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

[MissChick@dee]

I have learned the most from spending hours with my chickens. Not everyone has this luxury. Not everyone cares too. Shadrach the study your doing sounds interesting. But it’s so far removed from my desires that I cannot judge it. Everyone has different values and beliefs.
Lifestyle is huge factor. You would be hard pressed to find anyone more passionate about chickens. There’s such a multifaceted spectrum in chicken keeping. Yours is just one of many upon many.

 

[Shadrach]

I have learned the most from spending hours with my chickens. Not everyone has this luxury. Not everyone cares too. Shadrach the study your doing sounds interesting. But it’s so far removed from my desires that I cannot judge it. Everyone has different values and beliefs.
Lifestyle is huge factor. You would be hard pressed to find anyone more passionate about chickens. There’s such a multifaceted spectrum in chicken keeping. Yours is just one of many upon many.

Sure, I understand this. That doesn't stop me wanting to share what I've discoverd with others though.

 

[ame087192]

I bought my first set of chicks from tractor supply. All were healthy. No one handles the chicks. Just the clerk who put them in a box.
I’ve also purchased a POL puppet from a small breeder. She let me go look at the puppets and pick one. It was healthy and I had no problems with her.
I’ve also purchased four chicks from a mid sized breeder who had converted a travel trailer to a massive chick brooder. I walked into it to pick the chicks I wanted. All turned out healthy.

I have my ‘chicken shoes’ that I wear only while I’m in the backyard. Every member of the family has backyard only shoes.
All chicks are quarinanted indoors before being exposed to the flock.
I’ve only lost chickens to physical issues (Broken leg) or old age.
I don’t hatch eggs because 1) you need a rooster to fertilize eggs and my city doesn’t even allow hens (different story for a different day) and 2) I don’t know the first thing about hatching eggs and 3) I don’t want to buy an expensive brooder/incubator to hatch 4 chicks. Oh yes- and then there’s that other factor——what would I do with the cockerels? I only buy sex linked or older pullet.

 

[Shadrach]

I bought my first set of chicks from tractor supply. All were healthy. No one handles the chicks. Just the clerk who put them in a box.
I’ve also purchased a POL puppet from a small breeder. She let me go look at the puppets and pick one. It was healthy and I had no problems with her.
I’ve also purchased four chicks from a mid sized breeder who had converted a travel trailer to a massive chick brooder. I walked into it to pick the chicks I wanted. All turned out healthy.

I have my ‘chicken shoes’ that I wear only while I’m in the backyard. Every member of the family has backyard only shoes.
All chicks are quarinanted indoors before being exposed to the flock.
I’ve only lost chickens to physical issues (Broken leg) or old age.
I don’t hatch eggs because 1) you need a rooster to fertilize eggs and my city doesn’t even allow hens (different story for a different day) and 2) I don’t know the first thing about hatching eggs and 3) I don’t want to buy an expensive brooder/incubator to hatch 4 chicks. Oh yes- and then there’s that other factor——what would I do with the cockerels? I only buy sex linked or older pullet.

I've got some 'elderly' hens and I'm dreading finding one dead one morning.
I'm so pleased to read that someone had chickens dying of old age.
Good for you on the quarantine.

 

[lomine]

I think it would be safe to say that a vast majority of people in the US, and maybe the world, couldn't get chickens if the only way to get them was to raise them under broodies. There's the simple fact that many just don't want to or can't hatch eggs for whatever reason. Then there's the fact that commercial hatcheries make chicks affordable. When you do things on a large scale your overhead cost per item goes down. Plus you have to take into account supply and demand. Chicks around the US would be way more expense if the only source of chicks were the few thousand chicks (totally guessing on that number) raised by broodies. There wouldn't be enough to go around so you wouldn't be seeing any $3 chicks for sale.

There are also many breeds available in the US that wouldn't be here if a hatchery hadn't gone through the time and expense of importing the breed. Plus the sheer variety they can offer that no breeder could ever match.

I love having broodies raising chicks in my flock, and it's my preferred method of brooding, but I know I wouldn't have the flock I have today if it weren't for the hatcheries and the option to buy chicks. I also know I could not match my needs for chicken meat if I didn't have an incubator or couldn't buy CX chicks. Broodies are great but they aren't the answer for everyone or everything.

 

[Kessel23]

I love having broodies raising chicks in my flock, and it's my preferred method of brooding, but I know I wouldn't have the flock I have today if it weren't for the hatcheries and the option to buy chicks. I also know I could not match my needs for chicken meat if I didn't have an incubator or couldn't buy CX chicks. Broodies are great but they aren't the answer for everyone or everything.

x2

 

[Shadrach]

I think it would be safe to say that a vast majority of people in the US, and maybe the world, couldn't get chickens if the only way to get them was to raise them under broodies. There's the simply fact that many just don't want to or can't hatch eggs for whatever reason. Then there's the fact that commercial hatcheries make chicks affordable. When you do things on a large scale your overhead cost per item goes down. Plus you have to take into account supply and demand. Chicks around the US would be way more expense if the only source of chicks were the few thousand chicks (totally guessing on that number) raised by broodies. There wouldn't be enough to go around so you wouldn't be seeing any $3 chicks for sale.

There are also many breeds available in the US that wouldn't be here if a hatchery hadn't gone through the time and expense of importing the breed. Plus the sheer variety they can offer that no breeder could ever match.

I love having broodies raising chicks in my flock, and it's my preferred method of brooding, but I know I wouldn't have the flock I have today if it weren't for the hatcheries and the option to buy chicks. I also know I could not match my needs for chicken meat if I didn't have an incubator or couldn't buy CX chicks. Broodies are great but they aren't the answer for everyone or everything.

I don’t know what proportion of the worlds chickens are supplied by hatcheries.
I’m not sure that being able to buy a chicken for $3 is a good thing. There is an argument that if you spend only $3 on a chicken that becomes the price of its life.

There are parts of the world where two or three chickens may be the entire wealth of a family.

Hatcheries are in business to make money. They are not in the business of chicken welfare. If they do practice good husbandry I don’t believe its because they are concerned about the chicken; they’re concerned about their reputation because a bad one might mean fewer sales and that means they make less money.

How much does a dead prepared to cook chicken cost in the US?

 

[casportpony]

How much does a dead prepared to cook chicken cost in the US?

Less than $1.00 per pound at most grocery stores near me.

 

[Kiki]

I don’t know what proportion of the worlds chickens are supplied by hatcheries.
I’m not sure that being able to buy a chicken for $3 is a good thing. There is an argument that if you spend only $3 on a chicken that becomes the price of its life.

There are parts of the world where two or three chickens may be the entire wealth of a family.

Hatcheries are in business to make money. They are not in the business of chicken welfare. If they do practice good husbandry I don’t believe its because they are concerned about the chicken; they’re concerned about their reputation because a bad one might mean fewer sales and that means they make less money.

How much does a dead prepared to cook chicken cost in the US?

About 5 dollars at my local grocery store. (whole bird)

 

[Shadrach]

So it would seem that it's cheaper to buy a prepared chicken than raise them yourself.