I walked into my local tack store yesterday after work to buy a mineral block for my niece’s pony and I noticed that it was busier than usual. I quickly realized why. There, in a large area sectioned off by bales of straw, were about 300 chicks, not more than a few days old. They really were very cute and I had the strongest urge to take some of them home with me. But, getting chicks in this manner is never recommended.

But, it is that time of year again and it is becoming more common to find chicks in many different types of stores. Spring is around the corner and it’s that time of year again where people start getting the itch to either start a chicken flock or add to an existing chicken flock. One of the easiest but WORST ways to start raising a backyard chicken flock is to either get “free” chicks or buy chicks from local feed stores.

Why is this one of the worst ways to start raising a backyard chicken flock? The main reason is that chicks are easily stressed which can make them sick. When you walk into your local feed store, or in my case, local horse tack shop, and see those cute little chicks, it can be hard to leave them. And, to sweeten the deal and make it even more difficult, my local tack store if offering a free chick when you buy a bag of chicken feed. I did need chicken feed and it was REALLY hard to not accept a chick or two.

I personally know a number of people who have bought these cute little chicks. They seemed active and healthy at the time but most of them later died. Picture this. The chicks are in their holding area, doing what chicks do and just being cute. Everyone crowds around the holding area watching them, talking excitedly about them and kids carrying them all over the store. Then, when mom or dad say “No”, they are plopped back into their pen until the next person grabs them and hauls them around the store. It’s no wonder so many of them don’t live long enough to grow into mature chickens. They just cannot handle the stress.

Raising a backyard chicken flock is also not something that you need to just jump into. Unless only one breed of chicks was ordered, it will be almost impossible to tell what type of chicken you will end up with. The other problem is that it is cheaper to buy these chicks in “straight runs” which means a good portion of them will be roosters! While I always keep at least one rooster, if you end up with too many, your hens will be harassed endlessly.

I know how hard it is to resist the appeal of the chicks in these types of situations. Many people also get the urge to “rescue” them. If you already are raising a backyard chicken flock, you don’t know what kinds of diseases these cute little chicks may introduce to your existing flock. Worse, if you have never owned chickens before, this is the worst way to start raising a backyard chicken flock. Do not succumb to their cuteness and take one or more chicks home because you will almost certainly experience heartbreak when some or all die within days of taking them home. You will also end up with birds that may not be what you wanted or needed.

Source by Deb McKenzie