We bought ALL the chicks - Our plan for 60 chickens

in homesteading •  7 years ago  (edited)

John went to Tractor Supply the other day and found the chicks on clearance for a dollar each. Now a dollar is a darn good deal for a chick, so even though we weren't planning on getting more chicks anytime soon he couldn't say no at that price. As he stood there texting me and contemplating how many chicks to get one of the workers comes up and starts chit-chatting. She said they were getting a new shipment of chicks the next day and really needed to get these guys out of the way. Then she gave John an offer he couldn't refuse; $0.50 a chick if he would take them all. 😲 So of course he got them. $0.50 each for two week-old chicks is unheard of. At least in our area the normal price is anywhere from $3 to $6 a chick. 

So we wound up with 58 chicks in total, a mix of Cornish rocks, Buckeyes, black sex links, wyandottes, and a single Americana :) Since weren't expecting chicks, much less 58, we didn't have anywhere prepared for them so they stayed in our bathtub the first night.   next day our broody duck hatched out two chicks along with two ducklings so we now have a total of 60 chicks. 

I'm super excited about the Americana , we haven't had one in our flock for over a year now and I really miss the green eggs. We'll also be keeping the 17 Cornish rocks, and 5 - 10 of the others. The rest we'll grow out for a few weeks and then sell. Hopefully will make a nice little profit and have some extra cash to put back into the homestead. :-) 

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Cool, that was a great deal. I'm really interested in getting some Buckeyes, I really like the history of that breed. Nettie Metcalf from Ohio developed the Buckeyes around 1900, and I just like pea combs. Good update I hope to see more, thanks.

Yeah we'll be keeping a few buckeyes for sure! They're supposed to be excellent foragers. We like to free range our chickens a few hours a day so I think they'll be a great addition to our flock.

OMGosh! I can remember when my son would get chicks in the mail.
One morning about 6:30AM, I was getting ready to do a run (I was driving school bus in rural MI) and I got a call. It was the post-mistress. She asked me when I would be back from the bus run cause the little guys were creating quite the ruckus in the PO. I miss those furry little guys!

What a great deal! I hope you'll be able to sell them! Do people often purchase in the fall? Around here spring really is when they get bought up, but I know the stores have more chicks in now.

Yep, we don't have much of a winter here so people buy pretty much year round.

I'm so happy for you. Deals like this rarely come. I like your plan of selling off several of the chicks to recoup some of your money. Smart thinkin'.

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