Chicks vs. Chickens?

[ihugtrees]

We are preparing to move to our little 1/4 acre homestead & I am looking forward to finally having backyard chickens (I've been working on my DH for 2 years to let me get them! He's finally on board. Wonder how long it will take me to convince him to let me have goats?)

I've seen some full grown, already-laying hens on Craigslist, and I've also seen the super cute little chicks at the farm supply store. On the one hand, I'd love to have chicks so I can handle them a lot & get them used to you (and my daughter would love it!) On the other, it'd be nice to have chickens already laying. Which do you think is better? Also, I know you can buy them online...is it better to do that then get them at the store? Are their chicken mills the way there are puppy mills? I had read that there were web sites online that don't do mass culling of male chicks...

[mattemma04]

I think you can get good deals on craigs,but some people lie and sell old hens. I got chicks from TSC last May,and they started laying at the end of August.Having chicks was not hard.I put them in a baby play pen I still had.You will need to buy a heat lamp and a water/feeder,shavings for bedding.It was pretty easy,and I plan to do it again.

I saw the hens selling for $15 at hatcheries.I sold my 3(out of 6) for $4 each on craigs.I lucked out with a homeschooling mom wanting layers.She got straight run chicks and ended up with roosters.Pay extra and get sexed chicks if you get chicks.

Don't know about chicken mills.I took my time picking my chicks and got 3 red sex links and 3 meaties(leghorns).My red sex link hens have laid brown eggs all winter long.Never any health issues with my hens.

Have fun! Those chicks grow so fast.

[Chicky2]

We like to brood our own chicks. They are much more tame. We just ordered our chicks last week. We have ordered from several places online, and are ordering from one in our state this year. The last time we ordered from somewhere farther away they got chilled during shipping and we had a big loss.

If you are only wanting a few chicks, then you'd be best getting them from the farm supply store. We went in on a big order (3 families) this year.

[Pepper44]

Don't get laying hens. I made that mistake and though the farmer swore they were healthy, a few days after having them home disease issues popped up. They infected all of my other chickens, and I lost the entire flock. It was HORRIBLE.

Biosecurity is so so important when keeping a backyard flock!

I have ordered chicks from hatcheries, gotten them from the feed store (most feed stores get theirs from a hatchery), and also gotten them from farmers. I would get from which ever source has the breeds you want at the time you want them for the best price!

If you want to avoid places that cull unwanted cockerel chicks then your only option is basically to get chicks from somewhere that only provides them straight run, like a farm.

On the other hand you can get eggs and hatch your own! I built my own incubator out of a cooler, water heater thermostat, bottle lamp kit, and old pc fan. Hatching them has been SO much fun for our entire family, and the hatched chicks have been the tamest ones yet.

With my last hatch I got two roosters and six hens!

[PinkCedar]

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Pepper44

If you want to avoid places that cull unwanted cockerel chicks then your only option is basically to get chicks from somewhere that only provides them straight run, like a farm.

Um, not trying to argue here, but farms cull unwanted roosters all the time. We sure as heck do. That's what fills our freezer. And everyone else I know who has chickens, goats, rabbits, cows, etc...

[Autumn Mama]

Go for chicks!!! It's really not hard at all. Backyard Chickens website was my forum of choice for about 6 months. They are an amazing group of helpful people, just like here. I hardly even logged on here, lol!

We did raise chicks last year, and the entire experience was wonderful for our life learning family. What an adventure! We got a few from McMurray's (Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, including our roo....gorgeous birds!) and another 8 from a well-respected, clean farm. They were Black Australorps, and two Easter Eggers (one who gives us green eggs! One gives us pink eggs!) They were all straight run, and our surplus roos were harvested humanely for meat for our family. A real learning immersion is all I can say. It's good to know where your food truly comes from and my kids really understand some pretty big and complex food issues, in a way they never would have, by reading about it. The experience was valuable for all of us, especially so for them.

And waiting for the eggs was just the icing on the cake...it made it so delicious when we finally got the first one! And collecting them everyday is still a joy. It never gets old!

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Autumn Mama

And waiting for the eggs was just the icing on the cake...it made it so delicious when we finally got the first one! And collecting them everyday is still a joy. It never gets old!

We've had chickens for years and getting those eggs is still a big treat for us. And since ours are largely free range it's an Easter egg hunt each day here!

[Pepper44]

Originally Posted by Chicky2

Um, not trying to argue here, but farms cull unwanted roosters all the time. We sure as heck do. That's what fills our freezer. And everyone else I know who has chickens, goats, rabbits, cows, etc...

But for meat, right? Not like hatcheries where they often just trash the little chicks. That's what I was thinking.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Pepper44

But for meat, right? Not like hatcheries where they often just trash the little chicks. That's what I was thinking.

Ewww, no, not the little ones! I didn't even know that happens...