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

[Shadrach]

This thread is so far off the original subject, it is effectively dead.

Sometimes people just like to chat

 

[roosterhavoc]

Aww, how sweet is this. I've just been PM'd for some larger pics from one of my articles......not of me unfortunately,,,the chickens

Someone is trying to pick it apart. Don’t do it. It’s a trap!

 

[Shadrach]

Someone is trying to pick it apart. Don’t do it. It’s a trap!

Do you think it might be centrachid?

 

[Kiki]

Aww, how sweet is this. I've just been PM'd for some larger pics from one of my articles......not of me unfortunately,,,the chickens

I'll talk take a selfie. (from you)

I am curious what age you are.


edited my typo.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Do you think it might be centrachid?

Could be.

 

[Shadrach]

Right people, I'm going to do roosters and sleep. Good night all.

 

[Molpet]

Well ... I have formed an opinion based on Shadrach’s responses. And it’s quite different from my first opinion.
This is not someone being paid to write a book. This is not someone who has kept chickens before.
This is a guy who by his own accounts took a job on a property to fix fences and what ever else and their happened to be chickens there. Not a landrace chicken but semi feral probably because the owners vacated the property. So ... he decided to write a book.
Somehow the whole National Geographic pie in the sky vision I had went poof!
There is no care for these chickens there is no shelter for these chickens.
Perhaps I should write a book on the wild cat’s that I observe. Their daily struggle
With trying to stay alive.
Live and learn.

He has numerous posts and articles, taking the chicken to the vet for stitches , on the coops and so forth.

 

[MissChick@dee]

He has numerous posts and articles, taking the chicken to the vet for stitches , on the coops and so forth.

I could post some of his replies. It’s contradiction left and right. I’m so done. But thank you for your post.

 

[feathermaid]

So I just spent half my day reading every single post and I've really enjoyed everything up to page 20ish, then the thread sort of disintegrated, but I'm still willing to contribute.

I'm always quite interested in differing viewpoints and their accompanying reasons. Everyone does what they do for a reason, and each reason or circumstance cannot possibly apply to every single person around the world. The beauty of this website is the ability to gather information about other techniques we otherwise would probably never have the means to acquire.

I'm only assuming here, but I think the reason this website was created was to connect people trying to raise chickens in urban environments -essentially backyard chickens-where space is minimal and people are not farmers by trade... which of course also includes the welcome contributions from poultry keepers of all types and experience levels.

Going back to the original thread question:

So,‭ ‬what is the reason people buy chicks when the risks are so high and there are better ways of starting or enlarging a flock?

Well, I believe one answer is because not everyone lives on acreage and has the luxury of raising a large flock with the benefits of roosters and broody hens, among the many other reasons people have already stated.
So, rather than completely depriving ourselves the pleasure of raising and keeping these wonderful creatures that provide us with so much, buying already-hatched chicks happens to be a very good way to get them into our lives. But not the only way.

With so much concern about where our food actually comes from, and GMOs and the horrible conditions in which animals are raised by some large scale operations, many people want the peace of mind of raising their own food, which happens to increase the popularity of raising backyard flocks, because... backyard cattle? Although it's much easier to accomplish a homesteading lifestyle with a larger plot of land, some of us small time suburbanites still want fresh eggs, free compost for the garden, meat for the freezer or an enjoyable hobby... even if it's not very cost efficient.

And yes @Shadrach , we do want those things. Why would that be wrong?

Is the reason you believe there's so much risk in bringing home chicks vs. eggs to incubate because of all the problems you read about people posting here? I think many of those problems arise because certain people don't know what they're doing. They come here to learn after the fact, instead of preparing for or preventing problems in the first place, and then they're never heard from again.

Not all backyard flock keepers are irresponsible, but sometimes bad things do happen, even to the birds under your own care. I think we all want what's best for our feathered friends, even if it means some of us buy chicks that have been traumatized in transport to the feed store.

Yes, it's true that there's a mortality rate amongst shipped chicks. But also true for home-incubated and broody-hatched chicks as well. There is no perfect solution... no perfect world. We can only do the best we can with what we have available.

 

[Shadrach]

So I just spent half my day reading every single post and I've really enjoyed everything up to page 20ish, then the thread sort of disintegrated, but I'm still willing to contribute.

I'm always quite interested in differing viewpoints and their accompanying reasons. Everyone does what they do for a reason, and each reason or circumstance cannot possibly apply to every single person around the world. The beauty of this website is the ability to gather information about other techniques we otherwise would probably never have the means to acquire.

I'm only assuming here, but I think the reason this website was created was to connect people trying to raise chickens in urban environments -essentially backyard chickens-where space is minimal and people are not farmers by trade... which of course also includes the welcome contributions from poultry keepers of all types and experience levels.

Going back to the original thread question:

Well, I believe one answer is because not everyone lives on acreage and has the luxury of raising a large flock with the benefits of roosters and broody hens, among the many other reasons people have already stated.
So, rather than completely depriving ourselves the pleasure of raising and keeping these wonderful creatures that provide us with so much, buying already-hatched chicks happens to be a very good way to get them into our lives. But not the only way.

With so much concern about where our food actually comes from, and GMOs and the horrible conditions in which animals are raised by some large scale operations, many people want the peace of mind of raising their own food, which happens to increase the popularity of raising backyard flocks, because... backyard cattle? Although it's much easier to accomplish a homesteading lifestyle with a larger plot of land, some of us small time suburbanites still want fresh eggs, free compost for the garden, meat for the freezer or an enjoyable hobby... even if it's not very cost efficient.

And yes @Shadrach , we do want those things. Why would that be wrong?

Is the reason you believe there's so much risk in bringing home chicks vs. eggs to incubate because of all the problems you read about people posting here? I think many of those problems arise because certain people don't know what they're doing. They come here to learn after the fact, instead of preparing for or preventing problems in the first place, and then they're never heard from again.

Not all backyard flock keepers are irresponsible, but sometimes bad things do happen, even to the birds under your own care. I think we all want what's best for our feathered friends, even if it means some of us buy chicks that have been traumatized in transport to the feed store.

Yes, it's true that there's a mortality rate amongst shipped chicks. But also true for home-incubated and broody-hatched chicks as well. There is no perfect solution... no perfect world. We can only do the best we can with what we have available.

The thread did kind of wander off. It’s quite difficult to keep a thread on track, particularly when people jump in at a point without reading the preceding pages.

The site is called Backyard Chickens and that is one of the reasons I joined. There is a chapter in the book I’m writing about the backyard chicken keeping movement, if that’s the right description. I’ve looked for backyard chicken keeping here hoping to get some material but it isn’t common where I live. Those who keep chickens in a more urban environment here, that I’ve seen, don’t use the coop and run system that is common on this site. often the chickens get free run of the yard, or don’t get out of a barn or shed at all.
This site has been a great resource for the book chapter. I’ve got a lot of material now and some great stories about the various views and chicken keeping methods.
I have a tendency to get my ethical views mixed up with the realities of chicken keeping, and my attempt to learn what motivates the backyard chicken keeper.

To be honest this book project has been much more work than I anticipated. I shall be glad when it’s finished and I can get back outside and be with the chickens.
What has surprised me is how quickly I became completely fascinated by chickens. I didn’t come to Catalonia to raise chickens and it was just circumstances and the plight of the chickens when I became resonsible for their care that sucked me in.

Is the reason you believe there's so much risk in bringing home chicks vs. eggs to incubate because of all the problems you read about people posting here? I think many of those problems arise because certain people don't know what they're doing. They come here to learn after the fact, instead of preparing for or preventing problems in the first place, and then they're never heard from again.

I agree with you. Unfortunately while such people are learninng, chickens are dying.
Mixing ethics and prcticality again, learning and making mistakes while making lamps for example, as I do, is fine, the piece of wood doesn't suffer, it's an object; chickens are not.
Good post btw.