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Even though chickens can’t fly, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t flying off the shelves, ahem, brooding areas, at Tractor Supply Company in Gray.
“We just got them in yesterday, and we sold about 100,” said lead sales associate Colette Matranga at Tractor Supply. “We sold about 30 ducks yesterday, too. Younger people are coming in to get them as pets for their children, and older people want to raise them for eggs.”
“They moved quickly when we got them in last year,” said sales associate Daisy Vanderpool. “People were already calling before we got them this year to see when we were getting them in. They are a little bit messy, but they are fun.”
Each year, Tractor Supply Companies across the country, including the one in Gray, host Chick Days from now until around April 22, and the popularity of poultry has grown considerably in the last few years as Americans pursue sustainable food options.
“We keep them in the brooding areas on the sales floor for about two hours to make sure they eat and drink before we sell them,” Matranga said as Vanderpool fed about 60 chickens and 30 ducks that had just placed in a brooding area in the store. “If you get a duck, get two so they can keep each other warm, and chicks must be purchased by the half dozen. They all go to bed around 5 p.m. They just bed down. You’d be surprised that they know when to go to bed.”
In addition to offering pamphlets on both duck and chick care, Vanderpool also gives chicken customers her own personalized tips for poultry pampering.
“Make sure to feed and water them and get heat lamp,” she said. “Don’t handle them too often either and make sure to wash hands because they can spread salmonella germs.”
“Adults turn into kids when they see them (in the store),” Vanderpool added.
Thibodaux residents Dwayne and Nancy Luke are dual purpose chicken owners who stopped by Tractor Supply to pick up some chickens on Thursday.
“We love eggs,” Dwayne said.
“Our grandkids love the chickens, and our son Josh is 31, but he still comes to the house every day to check on his three chickens that he keeps at our house,” Nancy said as she watched Vanderpool place the last 11 bantam chickens, mini-versions of the typical large chicken, in a cardboard carrying box.
“It teaches the grandkids responsibility, to take care of stuff and do work,” Dwayne said as he held a duckling.
The Luke’s new chickens will join the family’s menagerie of five ducks and two dwarf rabbits and will be placed in coops Dwayne refurbished for about $200 at the home he and his wife share on his late mother-in-law’s property.
“We only have one free range chicken, and her name is Becky,” Dwayne said. “She lays one egg at our back door every day in an old antique box. We put some hay in there for her, and that’s where she makes her deposit.”
Southerners love their
chickens
“Chicken raising as a hobby or for pleasure is very widespread and can be found practically anywhere, but production farming is more heavily concentrated in southeastern states,” said Tractor Supply spokesman Michael Graham. “Providing access to chicks is a key spring service to our rural lifestyle customers.”
According to Graham, breeds like Leghorns and Minorcas are better acclimated to hotter Southern temperatures, but customers have their favorites and look for variety in their flocks verses purchasing just one breed of chicken.
“Even though chicken production is most popular in the south, sales up nationwide,” he said. “Chickens are very popular among our customer base, and they look forward to chick days. Kids love chickens for 4-H or FFA projects, parents love them as a safe and local food source and everyone likes fresh eggs. Our sales associates get lots of questions on how to raise chicks, and we educate customers on how to raise them.”
Sales of chicks at Tractor Supply range from six to 10 bird for those raising fowl in backyards, but those looking to raise birds in the country usually purchase anywhere from 25-100 birds or more.
Setting up “poultry” shop
For those who want to get started in raising poultry or ducks, the first step in the process is to check parish zoning laws for having chickens and chicken coops in city limits. Chickens are permitted outside of city limits in all of the Tri-parishes, but those who live inside city limits may want to check with that particular municipality’s zoning office before launching an at-home egg factory.
After confirming where chickens can and can’t be raised, it’s off to get the birds, supplies and equipment needed to raise healthy, productive chickens.
At Tractor Supply Company, ducks cost $4.79 each; white long horn chickens, $1.99 each; and bantams are $2.99 each. Different breeds of chickens and ducks as well as turkeys can also be purchased through Tractor Supply’s special order program and shipped directly a customer’s home. Bird owners can also pick up the electrolyte package, a water additive for when the chicks arrive at their new home for $3.50; a 50-pound bag of chick starter feed for $17; automatic water and feeder dishes for $11.99; non-automatic water and feed dishes for $5.99; and heat bulbs and lamps for $9.99 each. Tractor supply also sells how-to books and poultry magazines ranging from $3.99 to $15.99.
According to Tractor Supply Company’s chick care quick tips pamphlets, available at www.TractorSupply.com at Know-How Central, chicks should be kept in a brooding area, usually a large box with walls 18 inches or higher, that provides one half square foot per bird and under a heat lamp kept at about 95-100 degrees. The brooding area should also be covered with a screen or towel. The box should be lined with hay or pine shavings and cleaned every day. The chicks should be fed once a day, and water, a gallon for every 50 chicks, should also be changed every day.
Owners who chose to have free range chicken are also advised to monitor the bird’s area for raccoons, weasels and even the family dog or cat. Winged predators are usually deterred by large fake owls.
Baby chicks and ducks can be purchased now through April 22 at Tractor Supply Company in Gray. The popularity of raising poultry has grown considerably in the last few years as Americans pursue sustainable food options.
