Spring Chick Sales at Farm Stores

[dakers]

Chick sales have begun at our local TSC Store in Lafayette, IN. I found it interesting that they have a large stock tank with hundreds of "straight run" Golden Comet chicks for 99 cents each. Most of you know that the male chicks are all yellow and the females have some rust orange on them.

Last year a local TSC store had a designated group of pullet Golden Comet chicks for $2. each and another group of straight run Golden Comet chicks for $1. each. Buyer beware. Those who have educated themselves regarding the color sex linked Golden Comet chicks will get the best deal...unless they want lots of Golden Comet cockerels.

[dakers]

[quote="dakers"]Chick sales have begun at our local TSC Store in Lafayette, IN.

It was Rural King, not TSC that I saw the chicks yesterday.

[Pathfinders]

Can't imagine why anyone would want straight run Golden Comets.

[7961]

FYI...A friend @ a local TSC near Ann Arbor, MI told me that they will be getting in chicks to his store sometime the first of April.

[Duk]

About 20 years ago when colored eggs were popular and every little hardware store stocked a few bags of feed I supplied a few with chicks. I'd drop off a batch of straight run chicks and they would sell choice. In a few days I'd pick up the ones that didn't sell. Once people thought they had been picked over they'd stop buying and wait for the next batch.Most people picked the friendly ones that ran to greet them when they put their hand in the tub. Needless to say most of the pullets never got picked.

[Neil E. Grassbaugh]

During this season I have a lot of contact with the seasonal hatcheries in this area. I have done many buildings and much of the equipment for what breeder flocks they maintain.
The reports are that sales are phenomenal. Much of what they offer is sold out for the year.
On a national scale I have been told that Strombergs and Urch are sold out. The demand at Ideal is nearing the limit of their ability to produce.
All seem to think that self sustainability in difficult economic times is the driving force behind the demand.

[Bob308]

Strombergs and Urch are sold out. The demand at Ideal is nearing the limit of their ability to produce.
All seem to think that self sustainability in difficult economic times is the driving force behind the demand.

I believe that is part of it but didn't the same thing happen last year? I think it is also part of a back to basics movement. I do know that there is an urban chicken movement in the Austin Texas area. They even have a tour of urban coops coming up.

[Pathfinders]

I know that locally I have had people coming out of the woodwork looking for birds. They seem to think that it will be cheaper to have chickens to lay eggs for them than buy them at Wally World. My grandmother would laugh out loud, as she always said that the eggs my grandfather's birds produced cost at least a dollar each (he doted on his birds and fed and housed them well.)

People just don't do the math. Of course, there's a subset who understand the inherent superiority of eggs and meat produced by yourself (being able to control housing and feed and everything else that goes in, or doesn't, as the case may be), but I'd say that at least 90% of the queries I get are from people who think they'll be saving money by owning the bird, rather than buying the eggs commercially.

[birddog2]

What??? You mean I am losing money at raising my own egg layers!!! I try not to pay attention to the simple pleasures in life. I have kept track the last few years with all birds bought, feed, etc......and I take my "loss" in farming come tax-time. For those of you that feed 50-100 birds, if you start keeping receipts it might scare you how much we spend on our "farm eggs". Those that might raise their own grain and hatch all their own chicks may be a little better off. But, I buy laying ration and starter that I couldnt make myself.

Locally our Orscheln farm store has had baby chicks for over a month and they seem to be selling pretty good. I have a bad habit of stopping by every week to see how they are doing.....

[goosedragon]

Hens will lay without layer feed, ours only used to get it when the snow was on the ground and we would let them go out of production then as they tended to do anyway. Even hen raised chicks used to get starter for the first few weeks with creep feeders that kept the hens away. On the other hand they had grain fields to search and what other feed they could steal from the other animals. Whole grains in the evening to get them back to the coop. The egg money went into Mom's account, the feed bills were in the farm's account, so I don't think anybody knew what the eggs actually cost. The price of eggs was higher before the factory type operations. We could sell out at $1 dozen, I paid about the same yesterday at the supermarket. ~gd

[Neil E. Grassbaugh]

Today cash price for USDA Grade A large white commodity eggs, cased in dozen boxes, delivered to the terminals in Chicago were traded at 83.5 cents per dozen. Commodity eggs are not value added- not cage free,not free range, not organic or any other special diet.
The egg producers get prices that are called "back of Chicago" or "back of New York" Today Midwest eggs were 22 cents "behind Chicago" or 61.5 cents per dozen for the eggs that "made grade". Meaning that they were paid that only for the eggs that were Grade A and large. They are penalized as much as 8 cents per dozen for shipping eggs bigger than large, mediums are usually about half the base price and the smalls may be charged back to the producer at 10 cents a dozen. At this time of the year during "the Easter run-up" the processors may have a shell market for those smalls and may not charge the producer for shipping them. This Easter is not expected to add as much to the market as usual.
My customers that are "integrators" say they are making a little bit. Usually meaning that they are making 3 to 6 cents per dozen.
The contract grower gets 6 to 8 cents per each of these dozens from the integrator for providing the housing, equipment, utilities, and labor to tend the hens and gather the eggs. That amount does not vary much. If the integrator does well, especilly if it is a farmer's co-op, there maybe a "conversion bonus" for the farmers who produce the most marketable eggs for the least amount of feed.

[goosedragon]

Neil, Thanks for the actual numbers that back my statement that egg prices were higher before the "factory" system became wide spread. Eggs are about the cheapest protein available. I hope they can maintain a profit with the higher feed prices.
Here it is all meat birds and one of the two regional "integrators" is Pilgrim Pride which is either in Chapter 11 or headed that way. First they cut back on the number of Cycles/house. Recently they dropped contracts with about 140 of their producers and it is expected that all the operations (hatchery, feed mill and plant) will be either sold or closed. The bank loans are basically 'toxic assets' they don't want to foreclose unless there is land involved because no one wants grow houses at the moment. ~gd

[AdamM]

Thanks a lot for this information. Really interesting stuff! So crazy to wrap your mind around. Unbelievable really. You see that WALL of eggs in the grocery store, no one ever really thinks about how they got there.
Adam

[msmeower]

Wow- That is all really interesting to me, too. I KNOW we are losing money selling our eggs at $2/dozen but I love the 'hobby'!
Back to the original post....I called my two closest TSC stores today and inquired what breed chicks they were selling. Both recited to me over the phone: "Mixed pullets, straight run Reds, mixed banties...."
I asked the second TSC man if he knew what breeds of bantums they had. He said very sternly: "Ma'am....Banty IS a breed"

[batesbrowns]

It is just hilarious some of the responses i have heard the people at my local farm stores tell people about chickens there was one person asking one time as i recall about what to do with the bands in the pullets wings and the store employee responeded to just pull them out of the wing if they didnt like them i thought they will have some flightless chickens after that i too like to stop by now and then to see all the diffrent chicks and to identify as many of the breeds i can i did see alot of buttercups last time i stopped in very unusal down color but i always remind myself that they are just hatchery junk and i don't feed junk it cost to much to feed my show birds i already have over 60 light brown bantams in the brooder and the incubator is full looks like my idea of not hatching as many this year has failed once again .
thanks
Jacob

[Glenda L Heywood]

My favorite thought goes way back
If we had not gotten chicks from the hatchery, we would have never got interested in pure bred poultry.
So the hatchery does play an important part in pure bred poultry.
We had a time finding out about where to buy pure bred. Finally drove to Kansas City show in early 70;s to buy Modern Game eggs from John Wunderlich
Back in 60's we had gone to a pigeon swap meet in Iowa and I bought some pure bred white Cochin bantams. I will always be thankful we found them as then the man told us about Poultry Press.
Many yrs down the line there still is poultry Press and pur bred chickens/
Glenda L Heywood
http:/ww.gkpet.com

[dakers]

Our local TSC store is selling "Amberlinks" chicks from Mt. Healthy Hatchery, Ohio
I haven't seen this layer breed sold before. I didn't find much except the info below from my internet search. Neil, what else can you add? Are they similar genetics as Bovans Brown, Golden Comets. They are much more white in color than Golden Comets.
Doug

Dekalb Amberlinks - pullets
After having been away from the US market for several years, she is back by popular demand. Mainly white with some brown feathers, the Amberlink has become a favorite, with her beautiful full brown egg color. Mt Healthy is one of the very few hatcheries in the county to offer this variety.

The DEKALB AMBERLINK is a brown egg layer, mainly white- with some brown feathers. After having been away from the US market for several years, she is back by popular demand! She is the bird of choice for alternative production methods. She is very adaptive to non-cage operations with her excellent livability, her beautiful full brown egg color and ability to keep her feathers well throughout the lay.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US)
White-feathered birds laying hundreds of dark-brown eggs. That's one of several features of a new layer breed being launched in the UK next year.
The new breed, the Dekalb Amberlink, will be launched here by Joice and Hill and is aimed at giving free-range producers something a little different...

[Neil E. Grassbaugh]

Dekalb
ISA
Bovans
Hyline
Hubbard/Golden Comet
Ambers
Red Sex Links
Brown Sex Links
Cherry Eggers
(all commercially available color sex links using a red factor)

For backyard operations the diffences are so slight it is not worth considering. They all perform very well and there is little difference in the "disposition" which is all important to the backyarder. They are a marvelous genetic combination. I would imagine that the Dekalb Amber is not so well suited to caged layer egg production.

The Black sexlinks - Almost always a Bovans NERA in the US is a little more hardy and not so docile as the red sexlink layers. She is a oftentimes prefered in countires where conditions are not optimum. Widely used in eastern Europe.

[daisyduck42]

I know that locally I have had people coming out of the woodwork looking for birds. They seem to think that it will be cheaper to have chickens to lay eggs for them than buy them at Wally World. My grandmother would laugh out loud, as she always said that the eggs my grandfather's birds produced cost at least a dollar each (he doted on his birds and fed and housed them well.)

People just don't do the math. Of course, there's a subset who understand the inherent superiority of eggs and meat produced by yourself (being able to control housing and feed and everything else that goes in, or doesn't, as the case may be), but I'd say that at least 90% of the queries I get are from people who think they'll be saving money by owning the bird, rather than buying the eggs commercially.

I just visited the TSC in another town.I had to make a trip there anyway for some exotic pet supplies at another store.I went there to pick up some chick starter and of course i had to follow the peep's in the back. .The guy said yea We probably have around 1200 now.From what I was told by a near by store where We bought 12 RIR's,6 Americauna's and 6 duckwing bantam's that they were sold out.Yep 2nd shipment! OMG. this is a suburban University area.I was thinking to myself who bought the first almost 1000 chicks!Yes GO GREEN GUYS!.Organic eggs are the best BUT they are NOT cheap and you have to work for them!You have to deal with the poop's keeping them warm,bedding,frozen water's in winter, housing, feeding them, keeping them safe from your cat who you think wouldn't hurt a fly and the pesky neighbor's dog.Hens dont even lay eggs till 5/ 6 months old on avg.Then if you get a roo you probabaly gonna get complaint's about his crowing. It's almost Easter here and I have a lot of chicks for sale and baaaaaaaa will have to grill new buyers again on the drill and responsibilties of getting a chick or duck. They don't stay small and cute and fuzzy forever.They grow and make wonderful pets and yes fresh eggs for layer egg size bird's.You have to crack 3 frizzle eggs to match one layer hehe.We do need to conserve so many breed's of bird's out there and hope that We don't get too many people that do not have their heart's into it.If you don't like chicken's or any bird's yep you may as well get your egg's from Wally World.

[YARDBIRD]

Our local feed store here in NC has been selling out on his chicks for several months now. I got some barred rocks back in Feb. Everything was already sold when I got mine. He sells out as soon as someone hears that he has them. I swear if I wanted that many birds, I would order them myself from the "factory."