Straight run vs. pullets....

[GatorFan]

I'm brand new to chickens....just trying to wrap my mind around some of the things I'm reading. A friend thought he would be funny and surprise me with 6 chicks and 2 ducklings......but as it turns out, I love the chickens. I'm not crazy about the ducklings, but know some farmers that will let them re-home to their ponds.

I see straight run chicks advertised, and I see pullets advertised, and the price is not too different. Why would anyone risk the straight run if they really don't want roosters?

Also, are roosters that bad? I have 6 chicks, and so what if 3 turn out to be roosters???

Finally, the sex links....are those just cross bred chickens that make great layers? Are those the prefered birds for pure egg laying ability? Why call them sex links, and not some other fancy term? This makes them sound like an experiment that just recenlty occured.

Thanks for the feedback.

Gator Fan

 

[pattypenny]

sex-links are a cross between 2 breeds that can be sexed at hatch by color and they are great layers.
There are times and people who want roosters as well as hens and will purchase stright run , they are some cheaper than pullets. Others don't want roosters and don't want to feed a bunch of roosters so they buy pullets.

 

[LarryPQ]

I'm brand new to chickens

Why would anyone risk the straight run if they really don't want roosters?

Some people want roosters. Some people just eat the extras.

Also, are roosters that bad? I have 6 chicks, and so what if 3 turn out to be roosters???

No. I love mine. They are all lap chickens, right up until the extras go to freezer camp. Rehome them, eat them, keep them--whatever suits your needs.

Finally, the sex links....are those just cross bred chickens that make great layers?

No- sexlinks are chickens that are bred to be sexed at birth. Many ARE bred to be good layers.

Are those the prefered birds for pure egg laying ability?

Not for everyone. Leghorns, australorps, and a few others can really show up sexlinks.

Why call them sex links, and not some other fancy term?

Because there are a bajillion ways to create a sexlink. You can use diff breeds and diff colors. Sexlink describes the genetics, not the breed. Sometimes you will see them as ___ Comets, Cinnamon Queens, or whatever. Other chicken breeds NATURALLY sex-link, such as cuckoo marans or barred rocks.​

 

[math ace]

ROOSTERS - - -

What's wrong with them - - -

1.) They can become aggressive towards people. Not all, but some will attack people.

2.) They will fight with each other - - - so having 3 in one pen could become a problem.

3.) It takes about 7 hens to keep 1 roo happy. Otherwise the hens could get damaged from over mating.
The hens can also become stressed from the over mating and stop laying.

4.) They eat a lot of food and don't provide eggs - - - Do you want to kill and eat your birds ? ? ? ?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

don't do stright run, it might look cheeper but it is not, if you look at the fine print most hatcheries that sell stright run and sexed birds will only say you get up to 40% pullets, but if the hatchery doesn't sex, then stright run is fine (luck of the draw), if you want lets say 20 hens and 5 roosters, order sexed. if you check the price it will actually be cheeper. i do not know anyone who has gotten 50-50 with stright run, you will be short on pullets

 

[ChicksNPigs]

Also, are roosters that bad? I have 6 chicks, and so what if 3 turn out to be roosters???



I'm not at all "experienced" compared to many people here, but all 6 could be roosters. I think theoreticaly, you should be able to count on half of each, but I think your odds aren't tht great with a small number.
I ordered 25 straight run chicks this spring, and luckily wound up with "only" 13 roos, as far as I can tell so far. That's roughly half, which isn't horrible, but I won't be keeping more than one, if I keep any. For me, rehoming isn't difficult, but plenty of people can't have roosters or don't want more than they already have. It was worth it to me to buy straight run and deal with the roosters, but not everyone feels that way.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
there is nothing wrong with roosters

1) i have 30 or more roosters, alot of them run free, they do not attack
2) you might get a fight here and there yes, but the hens do it too
3)I've got many pairs, my roo's with only one hen are very happy, no damage either
4) they eat yes, but they also protect there hens, help keep varmints out, and are fun to watch

So there is nothing WRONG with roosters, I would not be with out my roosters

 

[Farmer Benjii]

Quote:
Wait... are you serious? I love the roosters, my rooster is scared of me...Can you guess how my rooster "roostie" died?
Well a couple of dogs ran in the yard (my rooster had already been attacked and we raised him back to health with betadine so he was really slow) anyways the dogs ran for where chickens were and the rooster cock-a-doodle-doo'ed as much as he could informing the chickens to hide and guess what they did but then he couldent run away to safety so the dog got him ran away about 1000 meters away and bit it's neck and left it. We had a funeral for it but anyway the point is that roosters guard the flock and they don't need 7 hems to keep one happy, we started with to but it varies with the breed. Get a rooster if you want to watch it grow/eat or potentially guard the flock.

 

[FiveHens]

Yeah, you've probably already been told, but...

Sex-links are not a breed per say, but they are good layers that can be sexed at birth by color. I've heard of them as cinnamons, comets, sex-links, etc.

Pullets are mostly for people who don't want to kill and eat the roosters or would like a more certain outcome. Roosters...well, for a flock that size, you definitely don't want more than one. They fight amongst themselves, they crow, they can be really aggressive to people, and too many will bother the hens, if not injure them directly.

I've read that one rooster for every 12 hens is enough. If I were you, I'd raise the chicks, keep your favorite rooster, and kill or re-home the others. Maybe your farm friends would take them. Good luck with your little ones!



PS- Personally, I'd be pretty mad at the friend who just assigned you 8 new charges without asking you...chickens, as with any animal, are a BIG DEAL. I would never give an animal to another as a surprise unless I was absolutely sure they would want it...an animal is a responsibility to take on! You need to be sure you can love and care for before you get it! As I once saw a bumper sticker say, "a dog for life, not just for Christmas"

Pardon my tirade, I did not mean anything negative about your friend, just my own feelings on the matter.

 

[enola]

Roosters also CROW, so those of us who have neighbors that aren't "chicken people" might have to be careful keeping roosters.

I have more roosters than I should, but so far no one has said anything......

Another reason not to buy straight run ? In my neck of the woods, you cannot even give roosters away, so in order to get rid of them, I have to butcher them. I have learned how to feed my dogs a diet that is balanced using all my extra roosters.