Chicks!

[rambler]

Drove to my NH Ford dealer for some tractor parts an hour away, stopped for some shopping while there.

Browsed the TSC store, they got chicks shipped in this morning. Wow, here in Minnesota, its warm yesterday and today around freezing for a high, but was 12 below zero a couple days ago and should dip down below zero most nights of the next 7 days.

They said people were coming this morning as soon as they called them, wanting to get going with the little things.

I emailed my wife, that I was at the big city looking at chicks.

I hope she understands what I meant?

Paul

[Maura]

I guess you will have house chickens. By the time they are ready to be outside in Minnesota, they’ll be laying. I miss chickens.

[My2butterflies]

What! I don't want to miss our local store getting chicks in but this is way too soon! So crazy!

[Nancy]

Our feed store has chicks in too but I asked if they were getting any black astrolarps and the gal looked on their calendar of chick arrivals. The blacks are coming in about mid April. I'm glad for that. I have the brooder house ready. Just need to get chick starter and turn on the heat lamps. And if your wife knows you at all she'll understand

[halfpint]

Our TSC has had chicks for about 2 weeks. They are out of heat lamps and bulbs due to the cold, so I hope that those purchasing them have them on hand. They told me they actually received them on the day it was in the single digit temperatures.

I don't like to purchase there, I paid for Amerucaunas once and they ended up being mixed breeds and of the 20, only two laid blue/green eggs, and purchased pullets once and almost half were males. They aren't careful to keep them separated. I did keep my receipt and got the difference in price for the pullets vs straight run.

Dawn

[am1too]

Originally Posted by halfpint

Our TSC has had chicks for about 2 weeks. They are out of heat lamps and bulbs due to the cold, so I hope that those purchasing them have them on hand. They told me they actually received them on the day it was in the single digit temperatures.

I don't like to purchase there, I paid for Amerucaunas once and they ended up being mixed breeds and of the 20, only two laid blue/green eggs, and purchased pullets once and almost half were males. They aren't careful to keep them separated. I did keep my receipt and got the difference in price for the pullets vs straight run.

Dawn

That seems to be consistent with what I hear about TSC. They won't get me to buy chicks there. I can custom order elsewhere. Here TSC offers only straight run for this reason.

[Homesteader1]

I got backed up on eggs for awhile, I froze a couple dozen and now waiting for 2doz to hatch,should hatch about March 3rd. I'm hoping for 18 chicks. It's been awhile sense I did some hatching. We'll see. Still working on chicken plucker, weather has been an issue.

[Jennifer L.]

Early chicks are why houses are designed with dining rooms.

[Forcast]

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

Early chicks are why houses are designed with dining rooms.

Thats how I start mine then they move to a bedroom then to the playroom then to the coop. But I learned to control chick dust...... I took a box fan put furnace air filters on both sides put the fan on low blowing away from the chicks. Helps with the dust like 90 %. Its been so cold here in wv I will start setting in march.

[Michael W. Smith]

I don't understand why TS insists on getting chicks in so early.

I would prefer to get them in late April or early May when the temperatures are more stable. Doesn't make much sense to me to get chicks this time of year in freezing cold temps. All it takes is for your electric breaker to trip, the light bulb to burn out, or loss of electric - and if you aren't home and able to get them out of the garage, barn, or chicken coop - you will come home to have dead chicks. Then you would have to go and buy more.

Oh . . . . . . . wait a minute . . . . . . maybe that is what they are counting on!

[am1too]

Originally Posted by Michael W. Smith

I don't understand why TS insists on getting chicks in so early.

I would prefer to get them in late April or early May when the temperatures are more stable. Doesn't make much sense to me to get chicks this time of year in freezing cold temps. All it takes is for your electric breaker to trip, the light bulb to burn out, or loss of electric - and if you aren't home and able to get them out of the garage, barn, or chicken coop - you will come home to have dead chicks. Then you would have to go and buy more.

Oh . . . . . . . wait a minute . . . . . . maybe that is what they are counting on!

Local chicks are available till mid April at most places. I'll be getting some late March or early April.

[Rustaholic]

The closest feed store to me is a farm family owned one and they listen to people. Their first order will come in late April with another one mid May.

[Fire-Man]

Just get you a incubator and find some eggs and you can get chicks when you want them----I have hatched out several thousand since I built my incubator a few months back---LOL. Being Honest----Its been fun!

[Dixie Bee Acres]

I'm of the opinion that getting chicks earlier is better. People go to TSC in April and think, Yea, we can buy chicks and get our own eggs....yeah, in September.
I sell a lot more eggs in summer than in winter, so i want my birds producing as early as possible.

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by Dixie Bee Acres

I'm of the opinion that getting chicks earlier is better. People go to TSC in April and think, Yea, we can buy chicks and get our own eggs....yeah, in September.
I sell a lot more eggs in summer than in winter, so i want my birds producing as early as possible.

That was my sales line when I posted chicks on craighslist or sold them at the Auction during the winter-----I would tell them if they would get them now(Nov, Dec, Jan, etc)---they will be laying before summer gets here.

[Jlynnp]

Originally Posted by Dixie Bee Acres

I'm of the opinion that getting chicks earlier is better. People go to TSC in April and think, Yea, we can buy chicks and get our own eggs....yeah, in September.
I sell a lot more eggs in summer than in winter, so i want my birds producing as early as possible.

I agree, I got my first shipment early this month 56 chicks from McMurrays. I only lost 3 and we have been without power since Saturday am. Fortunately the generator is running like a champ and we are all toasty warm.

[o&itw]

Years ago I got chicks in February. At the time we lived in a 150 year old farm house that had a rock basment and semi dirt floors and half inch wide cracks in some of the walls (my wife dubed it "the dungeon" ) We put up a carboard wall out from one corner about 2' high and put the (100) chicks in it. Kept a heat lamp where they could get under it, and a couple of wates and feeders. The chicks all did great, and we had them outside in a hen house in 3 or 4 weeks. They were the fastest growing and healthies chickens I had raised up untill that time.

Since then I have always raised my chickens and most other young animals to grow out during the winter or early spring. They have all been much heathier and faster growing than those raised when it got hot.

Btw, we had good litter down for those chicks and the basment windows tilted in about for ventilation so there was nor objectionable odor. The "fuzz", however did get everywhere. I am not suggesting to anyone that they raise chickens in their basment, but if you have an outbuilding where you can keep a small space reasonably warm, early chicks do great.

[thistle]

My husband works at a rural king and this branch is going to be carrying chickens from Feb to Oct. You can imagine the temptation when different breeds get "to old" and go on half prices sale. We already have brahmas, cornish X, a little pack of banty silkies, and some khaki campbell ducks in brooder boxes. Now I'm just waiting for the pheasants to come in