Poo help please!

[hpops]

Sorry forgot to post address - http://www.wiltonpets.co.uk/ - This is the offending pet shop!!!

[Nicola O]

NNOOOO, not Wiltons Pet Shop !!!

 

They do not have a very good reputation. They are only a mile or two from me but I would NEVER go to them.

 

They are a 'marmite' shop, you either like them or HATE them. They call themselves an exotic pet shop and 'specialise' in reptiles so I wouldn't be surprised if the chicks were meant as live reptile food. And they probably wouldn't be worried about selling them to someone who wanted to rear them.

 

I hope you were able to get a friend for your little chick. If only I had the facilities for raising little'uns I would pop down and rescue some.

 

Wiltons - they make me SO angry

 

Nicola.

[Nicola O]

Oh, just noticed that was my 100th post !!

 

Yay .

 

Nicola.

[bronze]

!

 

If they don't would it be possible to get a chick from somewhere else? what I am thinking is that other breeders (more responsible ones!!!) wouldn't let you have a chick that young - so would it be possible to put her with an older chick or would she get bullied? What age do you think it would be ok till??

 

 

Cheers

 

You can get day old chicks fairly easily and week olds so I'm sure somewhere would have one around the right age for you. The only thing is it may be a bit of a challenge because of the time of year.

If you do take pics of it to show us spread out the wing feathers and hold them against a dark background and take a photo of that too. We may be able to give you some indication of what sex it is

[bronze]

in fact there some autosexed 3 week olds going in romford on practical poultry I'm sure you'll find something but you do need to go close togetehr in age /size

[The Dogmother]

Have a look on the pekinbantams.com forum - there's always loads going on there - not all bantams either.

[hpops]

Here are some pics - fingers crossed!!

 

 

[bronze]

I would agree at older than two weeks my guess would be about 3 but its hard to tell. Amount of feathers also seems todepend on sex. I'm struggling with feather sexing.....Fee?

[tara]

Looks like an amber star very pretty

[The Dogmother]

Don't hold me to this, but I think it looks like a girl

 

What a cutie

[xChicken04x]

Looks rather girly to me aswell, but i don't want to get your hopes up! His/her comb looks quite small.......

 

xx

[feemcg]

My chicks were 3 weeks on Tuesday and this wee chap looks very similar, if not very slightly older. Also all my boys have combs, and some have tiny wattles already so I agree, this could be a girlie

[bronze]

oh I'm glad you lot thought that cos I did but didnt want to seem like a numpty cos I'm not very expert at it.

[Shirl]

Not realising where you were I was thinking to myself that I'd seen chicks in Wiltons before. Lots of reptile shops sell mice as live food. Some snakes won't eat defrosted . I've never had a snake that eats chicks but I've never heard of anyone feeding live chicks.

 

I hope your little one does well. The problem is if people buy them then they'll keep selling them. It's a bit like petshops that sell puppies and kittens. It really shouldn't be allowed.

[The Dogmother]

A lot of people who keep birds of prey feed them chicks.

[Shirl]

I thought they were dead though? Maybe they need to feed them live sometimes too

[The Dogmother]

They usually are fed dead.

 

I reckon that chickie was part of a batch that were hatched by someone who hadn't though through the consequences of finding homes for all those chicks They're easy enough to manage when they are tiny balls of fluff, but once they get more adventurous and vocal it's a different matter and you need to be prpepared for that.

 

Sorry I get a real bee in my bonnet about irresponsible hatching

[foreveryoung]

the RSPCA need to be called!

[tara]

That little chick was saved but there must have been little chicks put in front of a snakes .So it new the pain of no mother and being very frightened before it was killed.How can people be so nasty.Just because we cant understand it when it chatters l really could never swap with an animal but there are some humans out there l wish would.Has the RSPCA been called ?

[hpops]

Hi I now have another chick to keep him company!! I found a local breeder and told them what had happened and asked if he had any chick and he did!!

 

He also told me that Wiltons are renouned for not being very honest and missleading people - he tried to sex my chick and said - if you got it from wiltons I can guarentee you 90% it's a cockrel - I know where he gets his chicks from and he pays £1 less for cockrels and sells them as female chicks so he makes more money!!!. He seemed to think they were meant for sale as poultry not food - but I wouldn't be supprised if they didn't sell them after a certain amound of time they met their end infront of some reptile or another!!

 

I suppose the good thing about all this is the more people find out about how dodgy they are and the more people tell other people then the less customers they will have - I know i'll tell everybody I can not to ever go there!

 

So it looks like my chick is a cockrel which is sad as my husband really won't let me keep him (unless he turns out to be a very quiet one which the breeder we saw said isn't that uncommon - finger crossed!!) however the breeder did say if we can't keep him then he will give him a home once he starts to crow - on a lovely farm with chickens, ducks and all manner of things! And meanwhile he has got another chick for company who he gets on with REALLY well and snuggles up to all the time. The other chick is a Golden Pencilled Hamburg which I know aren't the tamest bird and are a bit flighty - but I am working hard taming her and she jumps onto my hand now when I put it in the cage - so I have high hopes. We have a big garden and my chickens are out all the rime so I think she'll be really happy here.

 

All this would have been avoided if Wiltons hadn't given me the wrong advice (and I hadn't been quite so keen to bekeive it!!) and also lied about the sex! Anyway I am now confident that I have all the bases covered and both chicks will have a happy home to see out there lives whatever sex they are and not encounter any hungry reptiles along the way!!!

 

Thanks all for your help and support (and if anybody read my paniky post last night about a possible tumor on my first chicks breast - it was a full crop!!! Greedy little watsit!!!)

[Lesley]

I hope you are going to report the pet shop?

[hpops]

Already done

[Krysia]

I am so pleased 'he' has a friend to grow up with.

 

What a dreadful shop keeper but at least there is a happy ending this time!

[Lesley]

Already done

 

Sorry - didn't mean to leave such an abrupt message with no Smilies - I had to dash off