Frustrated about the availability of chicks

[ValkerieGunn]

Our local TSC store is selling faster than normal and by day 3 most are gone usually. They got chicks yesterday and still had about 75 chicks left today when I went in for some gardening supplies.

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

Here in Indiana we have had SUPER slow shipping times from Indy outward, so I wonder if part of that is why every TSC I've been in is empty- clean bins ready for chicks but no chicks.

I had a package sit in Indy for over a week.

We are hatching this year but I still like looking at all the fuzzy chicks! Haven't seen one yet!

 

[2 Acres]

Most people don't realize that animals are hard work.

That being said... TSC and the other farm stores don't vaccinate for Marek's disease.

That's strike one for the baby chicks.

IF... I get more chicks... I will wait till the weather warms up, and buy mine mail order.

Right now I'd bet that the H5N1 virus will decimate baby chicks (since there is currently no vaccine for the H5N1).

People aren't thinking rationally.

 

[fowltemptress]

Most people don't realize that animals are hard work.

That being said... TSC and the other farm stores don't vaccinate for Marek's disease.

That's strike one for the baby chicks.

IF... I get more chicks... I will wait till the weather warms up, and buy mine mail order.

Right now I'd bet that the H5N1 virus will decimate baby chicks (since there is currently no vaccine for the H5N1).

People aren't thinking rationally.

Why on earth would you think this is a given?

 

[bhawk-23]

Most people don't realize that animals are hard work.

That being said... TSC and the other farm stores don't vaccinate for Marek's disease.

That's strike one for the baby chicks.

IF... I get more chicks... I will wait till the weather warms up, and buy mine mail order.

Right now I'd bet that the H5N1 virus will decimate baby chicks (since there is currently no vaccine for the H5N1).

People aren't thinking rationally.

TSC does not vaccinate? Do you know if Rural King and Farm and Fleet do? When I’ve called in the past no one seems to know for sure. I was planning to buy a couple of the older chicks that did not sell quick enough. I am hoping the Mareks vaccine will have gotten in their system good before being exposed to mine. Our local stores used to struggle with extra chicks but now I’m wondering if my plan will work.

We had a local chicken keeper post on the Nextdoor app about raising chickens for “cheaper” eggs. It was so detailed about costs and care. Building coops, buying feed, time taken, predators etc. it was awesome! He finished with, not including the initial cost of building the coop and set up, the cost on average about 60 cents per egg. I added in the comments about the medical costs (local vet is $150 just to be seen) and the care that will inevitably come up. It was so nice to see someone take the time to educate about chickens being pets that require a lot of work. And that grocery stores end up having “cheaper” eggs.

 

[StacyT]

I stopped by the local TSC yesterday to see if they had any chicks. They told me the last 2 shipments they received that over half the chicks they sold customers have come back within a day saying they’re chicks died. I don’t know if the chicks are poor quality, shipping issues or if it’s the fact that so many new beginners are trying to raise chicks.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Tractor Supply orders chicks from Hoovers Hatchery and then just sells them at a higher price in-store. My local TS had a bunch of chocolate Orpingtons recently but I have zero interest in them

Anyone who wants chicks should just order them from the closest hatchery. I think Cackle is the closest to my area

 

[DonyaQuick]

I stopped by the local TSC yesterday to see if they had any chicks. They told me the last 2 shipments they received that over half the chicks they sold customers have come back within a day saying they’re chicks died. I don’t know if the chicks are poor quality, shipping issues or if it’s the fact that so many new beginners are trying to raise chicks.

I've been wondering about that too. I heard & read some stores have started enforcing a small waiting period post-shipping in response to that kind of thing so that the birds get a bit of a break before being sold and don't just go out of one box and straight into another. So hopefully it's more a combination of newbie problems and procedure.

Tractor Supply orders chicks from Hoovers Hatchery and then just sells them at a higher price in-store. My local TS had a bunch of chocolate Orpingtons recently but I have zero interest in them

Anyone who wants chicks should just order them from the closest hatchery. I think Cackle is the closest to my area

For smaller quantities though, the shipping is kinda...oof. Even if I factor in that I got a freebee in my cackle order last year, that was over $80 for 5 pullets mostly due to fees that were not the cost of the birds themselves. This year shipping also went up even more since there's a new extra fee from USPS on live bird shipments. Plus the added urgency of right-out-of-the-box care, felt like less margin for error, so costs aside I was honestly afraid of doing mail order until I felt like I already knew what I was doing with chickens. My first 6 BOs at the feed store cost me something like $25, and I think bundled with all the get-started-raising-chicks stuff it was still less than that cackle order. Maybe they'd more now; in truth I haven't really been paying attention to the in-store prices of empty bins lol. I'll have to take a closer look next time. I guess if people are buying them right out of the box at the store though it also removes that care buffer that I felt like I got by getting birds that had been at the store for a couple days.

(Don't get me wrong, I love my cackle babies and have another order with them for quite a bit later in the year which is unfortunately how I learned about that USPS fee...)

 

[Evadig]

Anyone who wants chicks should just order them from the closest hatchery. I think Cackle is the closest to my area

You can’t…unless you want cockerels. Unless I’m seeing something wrong, none of the hatcheries have female chicks available.

 

[ILoveDaffy]

Ordered mine online for the first time this year, and now I'm very glad I did. I've been in TSC nearly every day this week getting fencing for a garden, and they are bought out of chicks pretty well the minute they get put out. I haven't seen a chick there in weeks.