Day-old chicks travel by keeping each
other warm, so hatcheries set a floor on how few they will send. That floor, not the price, is what
usually decides where a small flock can shop. 94 birds here can be bought six or
fewer at a time.
A started pullet is a part-grown bird,
not a chick. They ship in ones and twos because they no longer need a boxful of company to stay
warm, and they cost several times what a day-old does.
Reading a minimum
The minimum shown for a bird is the smallest number any
one hatchery will ship of it, not a number every hatchery will accept. Several set a lower minimum
in warm months than in winter, and some count the whole order rather than each breed, so six of one
bird may not be an order they will take on its own.
Sexed pullets often carry a higher minimum than straight
run, because the hatchery has to sex enough birds to fill it.
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