Have you ever browsed through a hatchery catalog or visited your local feed store and stumbled upon the term “straight run chicken”? If you’re new to raising chickens, this phrase might leave you scratching your head. Don’t worry – I’ve been there too! When I first started my backyard flock journey, I was completely confused by all the poultry terminology.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know about straight run chickens, including what they are, their advantages and disadvantages, and why you might want to consider them for your flock. Let’s dive right in!
What Exactly is a Straight Run Chicken?
Simply put, a straight run chicken refers to a batch of chicks that haven’t been sorted by gender. When you order straight run chickens you’re getting chicks exactly as they hatched – a random mix of both males (roosters) and females (hens).
The term “straight run” has nothing to do with the breed of chicken. It only describes how the chicks are sold. These chicks come from hatches that haven’t been sexed, meaning no one has determined whether they’re male or female.
In most cases, a straight run batch will contain approximately a 50/50 split of males and females, though this can vary Some hatches might end up with more of one gender than the other
Straight Run vs. Sexed Chicks: What’s the Difference?
To better understand straight run chickens, it helps to compare them with the alternative – sexed chicks:
| Straight Run Chicks | Sexed Chicks |
|---|---|
| Not sorted by gender | Sorted as either male or female |
| Usually cheaper | More expensive due to sorting process |
| Approximately 50/50 gender ratio | Gender-specific (all pullets or all cockerels) |
| Unpredictable gender outcome | Predictable gender outcome (with 90-95% accuracy) |
When you purchase sexed chicks, a trained professional called a chick sexer has examined each chick to determine its gender. This is a specialized skill that requires training and practice as baby chicks don’t have obvious external differences.
The Pros of Ordering Straight Run Chicks
1. Cost Savings
One of the biggest advantages of straight run chickens is that they’re typically less expensive than sexed chicks. This price difference exists because the sexing process is time-consuming and requires skilled labor. By skipping this step, hatcheries can offer straight run chicks at a lower price point.
2. Variety and Natural Balance
If you’re hoping to maintain a natural flock with both males and females, straight run gives you that opportunity. Roosters can be beneficial for protecting your flock and, if you want fertilized eggs, they’re essential.
3. Meat and Egg Production
For those interested in dual-purpose breeds, straight run chickens make economic sense. The females will become your egg layers, while the extra males can be raised for meat. This approach aligns well with self-sufficient homesteading practices.
As Maeg from Silver Fox Farm explains: “On our farm, humanely raised, pastured meat is a natural byproduct of producing hatching eggs and chicks.” Many small-scale farmers find this balance both practical and ethical.
4. Self-Sustaining Flock Potential
With both roosters and hens, you gain the ability to hatch your own chicks in the future. This can make your flock self-sustaining, reducing your dependency on purchasing new chicks each year.
The Cons of Straight Run Chickens
1. Unpredictable Gender Ratio
When you order straight run chicks, there’s no guarantee of how many females versus males you’ll get. While the statistical average is 50/50, individual batches can vary significantly. This unpredictability can be problematic if you have specific needs.
2. The Rooster Dilemma
Perhaps the biggest challenge with straight run chickens is dealing with extra roosters. In many residential areas, roosters are prohibited due to their crowing. Additionally, keeping multiple roosters can lead to fighting if you don’t have enough hens for each rooster to claim.
As The Happy Chicken Coop points out: “Roosters can be noisy, some are aggressive, and they may fight with each other if there aren’t enough hens for each rooster to claim.”
3. Potential Waste if Not Prepared
If you’re not prepared to process roosters for meat or find homes for them, ordering straight run chicks could potentially create a situation where you have unwanted birds. This is both an ethical and practical concern.
The Hidden Reality of Sexed Chicks
Before deciding between straight run and sexed chicks, it’s important to understand a sobering reality of the poultry industry. When hatcheries produce sexed female chicks (pullets), they must determine what to do with the unwanted male chicks.
Unfortunately, in many large-scale operations, male chicks from laying breeds are often culled shortly after hatching. This practice exists because these males don’t grow efficiently for meat production compared to broiler breeds, and they obviously don’t lay eggs.
As Silver Fox Farm notes: “It’s a common practice for male chicks to be killed at hatch, immediately after sexing. This is usually accomplished through grinding, suffocating, or gassing.”
By purchasing straight run chicks, you’re accepting responsibility for all the chickens produced, rather than indirectly supporting the culling of male chicks. For many backyard chicken keepers with the space and ability to raise or rehome roosters, this can align better with their ethical values.
How to Determine the Gender of Straight Run Chicks
Determining the gender of baby chicks is challenging for beginners. While professional chick sexers can identify gender with approximately 90-95% accuracy, most backyard chicken keepers must wait until the chicks develop secondary sex characteristics.
Here are some general timeframes for gender identification:
- 6-8 weeks: Subtle differences in feathering and comb development may appear
- 12-16 weeks: More pronounced differences become apparent
- 16-20 weeks: Roosters begin to crow and develop distinct physical characteristics
Some breeds develop gender differences earlier than others, and some “sex-link” breeds can be sexed by color at hatching. However, for most straight run chicks, you’ll need patience to discover whether you have roosters or hens.
What to Do With Extra Roosters
If you end up with more roosters than you need or can legally keep, you have several options:
- Processing for meat – Many chicken keepers raise their extra roosters to processing age (typically 4-6 months)
- Finding new homes – Advertise roosters to other chicken keepers who need them
- Creating a bachelor flock – If you have space, some people maintain separate rooster flocks
- Donating to educational programs – Some agricultural programs accept roosters for educational purposes
The reality is that processing roosters for meat is often the most practical solution, especially for heritage or dual-purpose breeds. This practice connects you more directly with your food system and reduces waste.
Is Straight Run Right for Your Situation?
To determine whether straight run chickens are right for you, consider these questions:
- Can you legally keep roosters? Check local ordinances before ordering.
- Do you have plans for extra males? Consider whether you’re willing to process chickens for meat or have rehoming options.
- What’s your primary goal? If egg production is your only goal, sexed pullets might be better despite the higher cost.
- What’s your ethical position? Some people prefer straight run to avoid supporting the culling of male chicks in industrial settings.
Caring for Straight Run Chicks
When it comes to basic care, straight run chicks require the same attention as sexed chicks:
- A warm brooder (starting at 95°F, reducing by 5°F weekly)
- Clean water and appropriate starter feed
- Adequate space (minimum 2 square feet per chick in the brooder)
- Protection from drafts and predators
- Regular health monitoring
As they grow, you’ll need to watch for signs of rooster development and plan accordingly.
Where to Buy Straight Run Chickens
You can purchase straight run chickens from:
- Local hatcheries
- Feed and farm supply stores (especially in spring)
- Online hatcheries that ship nationwide
- Local chicken keepers and breeders
- Agricultural fairs and poultry shows
Prices typically range from $3-$6 per chick for common breeds, with heritage or rare breeds costing more.
Final Thoughts: Making the Ethical Choice
Choosing straight run chickens represents a more complete engagement with the realities of poultry keeping. As Silver Fox Farm eloquently states:
“Buying straight-run is an opportunity to both offer male chicks a quality life and connect with your food in a powerful way.”
While it may not be the right choice for everyone, straight run chickens offer both challenges and rewards that can deepen your connection to your flock and your food system.
I’ve personally raised several batches of straight run chicks over the years, and while dealing with the roosters hasn’t always been easy, it’s given me a greater appreciation for the full cycle of chicken keeping. The journey from fluffy chick to either laying hen or Sunday dinner has taught me valuable lessons about responsibility, sustainability, and ethical food production.
Have you raised straight run chickens? What was your experience like? I’d love to hear your stories and questions in the comments below!
FAQ About Straight Run Chickens
Q: How accurate is chick sexing for sexed chicks?
A: Professional chick sexing is typically 90-95% accurate, meaning there’s still a small chance of getting a rooster in a batch of supposedly all-female chicks.
Q: Are straight run chickens suitable for beginners?
A: They can be, but beginners should have a plan for dealing with roosters before ordering straight run chicks.
Q: Can straight run chicks be integrated into an existing flock?
A: Yes, but like any new chickens, they should be introduced gradually and monitored for compatibility, especially as the roosters mature.
Q: How many roosters can I keep with my hens?
A: The general recommendation is one rooster for every 8-12 hens. Too many roosters can stress your hens and cause fighting among the males.
Q: Do straight run chickens grow differently than sexed chicks?
A: No, the growth rate is determined by breed and care, not by how they were sold. However, males typically grow faster and larger than females of the same breed.
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Beware the Straight Run Chicks
Beware the Straight Run Chicks
By Amy Barkley, Livestock and Beginning Farm Specialist with the SWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program and Jason Detzel, Livestock Educator with CCE Ulster
The pandemic has disrupted many of our domestic industries, and the farming sector is no exception. Last year brought trouble for seed suppliers (Seed shortages, 2021), tool makers (Meester, Bisson, and Dekker, 2020), and even poultry hatcheries as demand far outstripped supply (Chick suppliers, 2020). With many families spending more time at home, some are fixing up their backyards and growing some of their own food, which for many includes chickens.
While agricultural supply stores are in the thick of their chick season, there has been a rumor floating around that one of our largest agricultural supply stores in the state was only going to sell straight run chickens this year. While not yet confirmed, it would not be a surprise. Ordering chicks in from major hatcheries has been difficult. Not only has the pandemic resulted in increased demand, but the recent cold snap in the Midwest had a significant impact on number of chicks hatched in March. This, and hatcheries are still catching up on orders that were cancelled because of the recent live animal weather-related transport ban and brutal stretch of winter weather which resulted in the inability to ship chicks safely. When there are more orders than there are chicks to fill them, one option that hatcheries have is increasing the number of straight run chicks sold to help keep up with the demand. Pullets (or female chicks) are sold out at many hatcheries through the summer, and straight run may be the only option available for those looking to get chicks this spring.
That said, as livestock educators, we have a simple warning for those who are interested in raising poultry for fun and profit…BEWARE THE STRAIGHT RUN!
Straight run means that hatcheries do not separate the chicks by sex; your purchase will be split roughly 50/50 between roosters and hens. Hatcheries do not yet have the commercially available technology to sex baby chicks before hatching, but the technology is being developed in countries around the world (In-ovo sexing, 2021). Another technology, which features the ability to hatch 100% females, is being developed right here in NYS (Zonshine, 2020). However, those technologies are still some years out from being commonplace. Hatcheries are currently forced to hatch all the eggs set, and then hire highly trained “sexers” to sort the birds by sex. The reason they are separated is that most heritage egg-type poultry growers only want the birds that are going to lay eggs for them to sell, and as we all know, roosters dont lay many eggs.
Typically, when you buy from the hatcheries directly, you can choose from three different options for sexing, depending on your specific needs. The most expensive class is female birds because these are the egg layers. The male chicks still cost money to produce, and by separating out the males, which must be sold at a lower price point, the costs must be made up through the sale of the female chicks. That, and its an equation of supply and demand; female chicks are in higher demand, so naturally theyll cost more.
The second most expensive class would be the straight run, a mix of birds that are 50/50 male and female. While not preferred by folks wanting to produce eggs for their own enjoyment or for market, straight run is popular with farms that raise broilers (meat birds). This is because the strains of birds grown for meat grow so quickly that weight differences due to the sex of the bird are not a large factor. The lack of need to separate the birds by sex also helps to keep costs lower for meat bird producers.
The final and cheapest class of heritage egg-producing chicks you can purchase are the males. They are cheapest because they do not lay eggs, they have a slow, inefficient growth rate for meat production, and they can be very loud and aggressive.
Most hatcheries offer all three options to the public, but farm supply stores typically only have pullets and straight run, since demand for male chicks is so low. However, because of the shortage of chicks this year, some merchants may switch from offering primarily pullet chicks to offering primarily straight run chicks. That means that you will have approximately 50 percent males and 50 percent females. While this may seem like fun, it can mean big problems for many newer poultry farmers and enthusiasts who are not aware of the potential issues with raising roosters.
Most backyard chicken-keeping regulations state that no roosters may be kept on residential properties. Not only can they be aggressive, but they have evolved to be very loud to claim their territories and protect their hens, which is disruptive to neighbors, especially those living close by. While raising roosters is very similar to raising hens at first, in about 3-4 months, those roosters are going to feel their oats and begin crowing and going after the hens to mate them. Unfortunately, this can be quite an aggressive behavior, and some may find that hens will lose feathers or run scared out of fear of being harassed, which can delay their maturity to egg-laying age. Because its possible to manage young males advances on the hens, you may think that you can just hold onto a couple and no one in the neighborhood will notice. Unfortunately, this is not true.
Although the young birds will only crow a little at first, as time goes on, they will crow louder and more often. Roosters crowing in one part of a neighborhood can cause other, local roosters to crow in return as a show of dominance. Crowing starts a few hours before sunrise because of birds internal clocks. Theyll even crow as early as 3-4am in the summer! I bet if you ask around, no one is going to want to be woken up in the wee hours of the morning, and that can include you and your family! Crowing isnt confined to morning, either. Most roosters will crow throughout the day, and some will crow in the middle of the night if something startles them. What were getting at here is if you have neighbors, they are going to notice the gentleman you keep with the ladies.
If youve identified that you have roosters where they arent permitted or dont want roosters in your flock, you may be wondering your options are.
You may have the idea to send your birds to a local farm sanctuary or rescue organization. However, after speaking with some of them, they have shared that they dont have room, and therefore cannot take on any more unclaimed roosters. The same is true for the ASPCA. In 2020, the Ulster County ASPCA took in about 25 birds that were part of a former fighting ring in the area. Those birds, which have been raised to be aggressive, must live in solitary cages and are difficult to rehome. This is one of the many examples of how shelters fill up, leaving no more room for roosters that need new homes. That leaves a rooster owner in a pickle.
If you have the resources and abilities, humanly processing these birds for meat at home would be a great option. Unfortunately, many local codes specifically prohibit at-home slaughter in high density neighborhoods. That said, if you live in an area where this is allowed, there are resources on humane slaughter and food-safe processing, such as Cornells self-paced, On-Farm Poultry Processing Course (https://smallfarmcourses.com/p/on-farm-poultry-processing).
Alternatively, there are small, local poultry processors across the state that will take small orders, but sometimes these folks are booked out months in advance, and its difficult to get an appointment. However, if you can get a slot when you start to see the male birds combs and wattles begin to grow large and red, which is around 6-8 weeks of age, you may be able to book an appointment for them when they are 16-20 weeks old, which is the proper finishing age for an egg-type heritage rooster.
With the above said, there are a few more options for flock owners. There are some ads on social media by individuals who indicate that they will take in any birds that you have of the offer. However, we cannot speak for any of these entities or individuals, or what will become of the birds you give them. There are also opportunities to post ads that either sell or give away live birds in the paper, on farm store bulletin boards, and on some limited online advertising forums. If you have a local livestock auction nearby, that may also be an option. Most often, roosters sold through these means are processed at buyers homes for their own consumption. Very few sold will end up as pets or flock protectors, but it is a possibility.
So there you have it: your options for unwanted roosters. If after reading this article, you feel that you are up to the challenge of purchasing and managing straight run chicks, go for it! However, if this isnt the right decision for you, steer clear of the straight run chicks and opt for pullets instead.
References:
- Backyard chickens and covid-19. (2020). Retrieved from http://extension.msstate.edu/p…
- In-ovo sexing. (2021). Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-
- Meester, J., Bisson, L., & Dekker, B. (2020). . Clingendael Institute. doi:10.2307/resrep29361
- Seed shortages in 2021. (2021). Retrieved from https://extension.umn.edu/yard…
- Zonshine, I. (2020). Israeli chicken sex-change start-up wins $1M prize in NY Agri-Tech Contest. Retrieved April 3, 2021, from https://www.jpost.com/jpost-te…