What Are Straight Run Chickens? Know The Pros and Cons

You finally decide to order baby chicks from the hatchery and discover you can order straight run chicks. What are straight run chickens and what are the pros and cons?

What Are Straight Run Chickens?

Straight-run chicks are chicks that the hatchery has not sexed.  When you order baby chicks this way, you will get a mix of male and female chicks.

​Chicken Terminology You Need to Know When Ordering From the Hatchery

Before you place your hatchery order, you’ll need to know a few terms so you understand what you are ordering. What Does the Terms Straight Run, Pullet, Hen, Cockerel, Biddy, Broiler, Dual-Purpose, and Bantum mean?

• Straight-Run Chicks- Chicks that have not been sexed.
• Pullet- A young hen, under a year old.
• Hen- A female chicken.
• Cockerel- A young male chicken, under a year old.
• Biddy- Newly hatched baby chicks.
• Broiler- A chicken for meat production.
• Dual-Purpose- A chicken that is kept for both egg production and meat production.
• Bantum- A much smaller chicken, when fully grown, than a standard-size chicken.

The Pros and Cons of Straight Run Chickens

Now that we’ve answered the question, what are straight run chickens, let’s look at the pros and cons of ordering straight run chicks. They may be a good choice for some homesteads and a bad choice for others. 

The Benefits of Choosing Straight Run Chickens

• Cost-  Straight-run chicks are cheaper to buy than sexed chicks.
• Dual-purpose- You’ll have hens for eggs and you can process the roosters for meat. 
• Fertile Eggs- Since you will have a rooster, your eggs will be fertile. This gives you the chance to hatch your own chicks, upping your sustainability game. 
• The Best Rooster- You’ll have multiple roosters so you’ll be able to choose the best one out of the bunch to keep. 
• The Ugly Truth of Chick Culling- Ordering straight-run chicks from the hatchery means fewer male baby chicks will be killed.  It’s an unfortunate practice that happens at most hatcheries, as male chicks just don’t sell as well as female chickens.

The Downside of Ordering Straight Run Chickens

Many people find the excess roosters to be the main drawback when ordering straight run chicks, as these orders are usually a 50-50 mix of male and female chicks. You’ll need to have a plan in place for all those roosters.

Besides, can you even have roosters where you live? Be sure to check your local codes.

Raising Roosters

A problem you may run into when raising multiple roosters is aggressive behavior. They will often become aggressive with each other to see who the dominant rooster will be. You may end up needing separate coops for roosters that show aggressive behavior or you may even need to cull them earlier than planned. 

What to do With All Those Unwanted Roosters?

There are a few different options when it comes to excess roosters. Finding them a new home can sometimes be challenging and they are frequently given away for free. I see them posted on farm store bulletin boards often. 

The second option is to learn how to process chickens and butcher extra boys once they are fully grown. In this case, you may want to consider ordering a dual-purpose breed so you get a meatier bird. The third option is to order sexed chicks so you know you are only getting hens.

How to Choose Straight Run or Sexed Chickens

When buying any type of chick, sexed or not, there are lots of choices. You’ll want to carefully consider a few things before deciding what type of chickens are right for your homestead. 

Choosing the Right Breed

​Some breeds may be better suited for your homestead than others.  You’ll want to consider your climate, temperament, egg production, meat production, and how much space you have. 

Temperature Tolerance

Chickens such as the Plymouth Rock, Speckled Sussex, and Rhode Island Red are exceptionally cold hardy. Whereas the Leghorn, Orpington, and Easter egger do well in hot climates. 

Temperament

Are you looking for pet chickens? Some breeds are more docile than others. Look to the Buff Orpington, Speckled Sussex, Plymouth Rocks, Wynadottes, or award-winning Silkie Show chickens.

Egg Production

When it comes to egg production, some breeds out-produce others by far. If eggs are what you are after, ordering sexed chicks will ensure you don’t end up with any surprise roosters.  Some hatcheries even offer free rooster returns on sexed chickens. For maximum egg production, the best option is a hybrid breed of chicken like the Isa Brown.

​Do You Want Dual Purpose?

For the ultimate in sustainability, order dual-purpose straight-run chicks. Look to the American Breese, Jersey Giant, Buff Orpington, or Australorps to start. You can find the ultimate list of dual-purpose breeds here.

With a straight run order of these breeds, the hens will give you eggs and you can process all but one rooster for the meat. This will yield fertile eggs that can be hatched either in an incubator or under a broody hen, providing another generation of hens and roosters for meat production. Now that’s sustainable. 

Broiler Chickens

If raising your own meat is what you are after, order some broiler chicks. They grow out much faster and meatier than dual-purpose or egg-production chickens.  Ordering straight-run broiler chicks will give you finished chickens of different sizes compared to the more consistent and larger finished weights of ordering all male broiler chicks. 

Size and Space

How much space do you have in your coop? If choosing an extra large breed of chicken, like the Jersy Giant, you’ll need a little more space in your coop. 

Rare Breeds Vs Common Breeds

There are so many breeds to choose from. Be it fancy, funky, bantum, top-tier show quality, or a common breed of chicken.  Just know that the rare breeds will cost more and be more difficult to find.  

The common breeds are in higher demand. They will be readily available at most hatcheries or even at your local feed store. 

Where Do You Get Straight Run Chicks?

You can order straight run chicks at most hatcheries.  Seasonally, you can also find them at your local feed store. However, I have found that most feed stores offer sexed chicks for egg production and straight run chicks for meat birds. 

A Couple of My Favorite Hatcheries

You can expect straight run orders to have a hatching ratio of approximately a 50-50 mix. So, if you know that you want around 6 laying hens you may want to double the number of chicks you order to 12, hoping for the 50-50 mix. However, the hatchery never guarantees the exact ratio of males to females.

Sexing Straight Run Chicks

• Comb Size- Male chicks will usually have combs and wattles that develop bigger and faster than female chicks. 
• Feather Sexing- Around a week old, Females will have more developed wing feathers at varying lengths, whereas roosters will have shorter, more blunt wing feathers. 
• Sex-Linked Chicks–  Some hybrid chicken breeds, which will not breed back true, can be sexed by their coloring or a dot on their head as day-old chicks. 
• Auto-Sexed Chicks- Different purebreds or heritage breeds of chickens will have female chickens that hatch out a different color than the males, like the Cream Legbar. These breeds will breed back true, unlike the hybrid, sex-link chickens.
• Vent Sexed Chicks- This is a method only recommended to be done by professionals.  This is how the large scale hatcheries sex chicks. It is an internal exam of the sex organs.
• Spurs- Spurs can develop on roosters as early as three months, but some do not until eight months of age.
• Crowing- Most roosters will start crowing around 16 weeks of age.  Keep in mind though that some hens have been known to crow. 

Raising Straight Run Chickens

Raising straight-run baby chickens is no different than raising sexed baby chickens. You’ll want your brooder box set up with fresh water, starter feed, and a secure heat lamp for every 25 chicks. Egg-laying chicks usually stay in the brooder box until they are fully feathered, at around 6-8 weeks of age.  Whereas broiler chicks will come out around 2-3 weeks of age. 

In Conclusion, What Are Straight Run Chickens?

Knowing that straight run chickens are a mix of male and female chickens and the pros and cons of purchasing baby chicks this way, you can make the right decision for you and your homestead.  A lot of people see straight-run chicks as a good thing, while others see it as a bad thing. Every homestead is different.

Happy Homesteading & Chicken Keeping,

Jenny @ The GrahamStead Family Farm

Jenny and her family have been homesteading for more than two decades. They currently live on a 10-acre farm in Northeast Florida, which they built from the ground up, nine years ago.

On their farm, they grow 100% of their meat and most of their vegetables. With a small herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, pastured poultry, sheep, and seasonal pigs, they not only meet their family’s meat needs but also sell their surplus to the local community. They are dedicated to sustainable practices like making compost, seed saving, and processing much of their garden and animal harvests at home. You can find Jenny wandering through her garden, making herbal tinctures, preserving food, making bone broth, and one of Jenny’s favorite hobbies, tanning all types of hides.