Tractor Supply Co. Horror Story

[Clucking_Caramel]

I have been holding this in for a while. In April 2017, I bought my first peeps! Before so, I called and asked "Can you tell hens from roosters?" The man on the phone happily said he could. Upon arrival, I asked for six rhode island reds, one silkie, and two araucanas. I asked for all girls. The person handling the babies said that he doesn't know which is which and frankly didn't care. He gave us two 'brown ones' a big fluffy 'white one' and three 'yellows'.

Once they were raised we noticed that half, four out of eight, peeps were roosters.

Down to six chickens, two roos and four hens. Three hens and one roo was in the main pen. The other roo (A RSL) had his own coop. The final hen? She now lives in my room for she broke/splayed her legs and we DID splint her, however it failed. Instead of looking like an adult hen just on the floor, she appears like a fledgling. She is still mistaken for a baby. My family concluded that she was probably incubated wrong.

My silkie roo attacks people, except me. Over the winter he got dried skin and needed to be moisturized daily. He also spent all his time inside the coop trying to stay warm in the most mild winter I have ever had. (The others didn't mind the cold.) This was dissapointing for a 'winter hardy' breed.

The final two of those roosters later had to be culled for they would viciously attack other chickens. One ended with a swollen and bloody eye, another's chest was plucked clean. One even ran away, did not come back to his coop to roost, and we had to use a hen as bait. No he didn't try to mate her, he attacked her. Those two never liked people or other chickens. My step-dad researched them and concluded they are bred for cock fights. At any chance those phsycos would kill. Kinda regret not putting them down sooner to spare myself from the heartache.

Overall with the poor service and care for their chickens, I DO NOT RECOMMEND Tractor Suply Co.

 

[ChickenGeek_101]

the roosters were Rhode Island Reds?

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Nope. Not a single Rhode Island. We think the two were Catalanas.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Wow you've had many issues with these birds! Too bad in a way that you didn't join here sooner, possibly you would have found helpful input to temper or improve this poor experience. How are the others doing? What's your coop/run setup?

 

[ChickenGeek_101]

.

Nope. Not a single Rhode Island. We think the two were Catalanas.

oh ok. I know that the RIR roos tend to be mean and attack people, it's just the way those roos are

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Wow you've had many issues with these birds! Too bad in a way that you didn't join here sooner, possibly you would have found helpful input to temper or improve this poor experience. How are the others doing? What's your coop/run setup?

Currently we have a big coop with the silkie (Moonshine) since although he attacks people (Except me) he is great with the hens. They are usually penned and only let out with supervision beacause of chicken hawks. next to that pen is another one with a tiny coop where my RSL roo (Chubs) lives. He's a good boy but stinks with the ladies. (If they deny him mating he bites them) The permantly injured girl (Caramel- yes I named myself after her) is to my right as I type. She lives on a blanket on my floor until we build a THIRD coop for her.

 

[MinervaELS]

I'm sorry for your bad experiences, but none of this sounds like Tractor Supply's fault. You bought straight-run birds (meaning both genders mixed together) and got exactly that, a mixed bunch. If you had gotten rid of all but one rooster while they were adolescents you wouldn't have had this issue. They don't sound like game-bred birds, they sound like regular young cockerels acting the way young cockerels do- fighting! Unfortunately this is all part of the deal when buying straight run chicks. You have to figure out what to do with the excess males.

I think you can chalk this one up to a learning experience. More research before buying would have helped, but past is past and now you know, so keep moving forward with your chicken journey. If you post pictures here members can also help you identify breeds. I am fairly certain that Tractor Supply does not sell Catalana chickens.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Pullet posted signs = 90% greater chance of females.
Straight run posted signs= 90% chance of Males.
Taking advice for an employee trained to sell products before they require an abundance of maintenance is a no no.
There are ZERO guarantees when purchasing such a young chick unless you are willing to squeeze them to secrete fluid from their exit holes to see where it comes out. I seriously doubt a minimum wage employee is trained to distinguish the sex of a 4 day old chick when it is challenging for a seasoned pro to accomplish it.
It is part of the experience of purchasing new chicks. If you buy a car or new television, you know what you are buying. Buying new born chickens and expecting to receive a perfect world, is next to impossible.
I can't personally blame TSC for creating a horror. Because your expectations, set the bar beyond a realistic possibility. (with all due respect)
Sell your roos and move on. Just beware that there is zero chance of you purchasing an all pullet batch at such a young age of development. We are breeders, 50% of my mass hatches are males. They have to go somewhere.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Some TSC stores certainly do a better job than others. But straight run, well you could have very easily gotten all boys, it happens. The employee who said he could tell likely can with some breeds. All comes down to who is working.

The kinds of problems you've had can be space related. You say a big coop, how big inside and outside in the run?

 

[AlleysChicks]

Although TSC chicks have been known to get mixed up (I bought labeled pullets and 2/3 turned out to be cockerels) the person putting the chicks in boxes has no way to sex them other than what the label says.

Sorry you’re first time with chickens was rough.