Buying my hens from???????

[April Manier]

SO I posted this question, kind of an add on frommy other thread on this new post hoping for lots of responses.

I am NOT going to hatch my eggs, as I have no way to do so. I am going to buy hens. Mainly the old stand by's but a few sexlinks.

Where should I buy pullets from?

 

[lesa]

Do you want day olds? If so, I have had good luck with both McMurray Hatchery and Cackle Hatchery. Out of the two, I prefer Cackle. You might try putting feelers out in your area- there are a few people around me that sell chicks from their farms. I haven't tried that, but it seems like a plus if you can avoid the stress of shipping. I forget how many you said you wanted- but tons of people buy chicks from Tractor Supply and have good luck...

 

[thistlebloom]

I bought day olds from the feed store, and some from a breeder of a less common type. They stayed in the office in the brooder until they were big enough to go outside.

There were pros and cons to that. Some of the positives were being able to hold them and socialize them which was important to me because I like friendly hens. And it was fun to see them grow.

Some negatives to that were the colossal amount of dust they generate and the odor which caused me to clean the brooder box daily.
So that was labor intensive.

Then a few months down the road I found some very healthy 4 month old pullets of breeds I liked on Craigslist for $10 -$15 apeice. That's the way I'd do it again, since all the work had been done and it was much cheaper. The hens aren't as friendly ( they don't sit on my lap like the others ) but they will eat out of my hand.

I think you can do pretty good if you're not in a hurry and you watch on Craigslist.

I guess it depends on how many you're after.

 

[joz]

http://eugenebackyardfarmer.com/. Looks like they're getting chicks starting in February. They've got a calendar with anticipated breed arrival dates.

Maybe J Co Feeds (Beltline and 99-ish) will have 'em....

Diess Feed and Seed at W11th/Crow Road...?

 

[curly_kate]

We've gotten pullets from Craigslist, and chicks from Orschlens (feed store) and from a guy we knew who had a bunch extra. We had good luck with all of them. The ones from Craigslist were free because the guy had too many.

 

[lesa]

Just a quick reminder about bio-security. Adding birds to your flock without quarantine is just an accident waiting to happen... I would try and get my birds from one source, because of that. JMHO

 

[skeeter9]

I agree that Craigslist is a great place to find pullets. Seems like someone is always getting rid of birds for one reason or another on there.

 

[catjac1975]

Murray macmurry

 

[gardentoad]

I hatch most of the ones I need now and sell my extra, but when I first started I used Ideal in Texas


Don

 

[peteyfoozer]

I usually get mine from a hatchery, so I can choose what breed I get. Hopefully, my girls will start setting on eggs this summer and produce replacements!