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Member Reviews: Hatcheries, Day Old Chicks

Positive Reviews

tommysgirl

Privett Hatchery privetthatchery.com

Posted
By tommysgirl

Pros: Warmer Climate Makes Shipping Early Spring Chicks to West Coast Safer, Robust Healthy Chicks, Great Customer Service they have California Greys

Cons: The website isn't the best but you can figure it out pretty easily. Not as extensive a selection as some.

I had placed an order with another hatchery but then I learned that that hatchery shipped on Fridays and chicks sat in postal distributions all weekend and many here on BYC were experiencing high death rates amongst their chicks I cancelled it and looked elsewhere.  I found that Privett had the breeds I wanted including a new desire,  California Greys, which are only available in two hatcheries.  I changed my order twice during the time between placing it and receiving it.  The customer service people were polite and friendly and promptly took care of the changes I requested.   The chicks hatched on the 24th and arrived as scheduled on the 26th. I was...
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lolita117

Murray McMurray

Posted
By lolita117

Pros: Great Birds

I ordered the Brown Egg Layers Special from Murray McMurray last summer and all I can say is wow. The order comes with 25 of various breeds and they throw in a free exotic chick. They gave me 26 girls plus a Buff Laced Polish roo as my bonus. They all grew up strong and healthy and the mix was wonderful. I got some red colored breeds, some white, some barred rocks, 1 black one. I did lose some but it was to dogs and had nothing to do with the health of these birds. I just ordered from a different hatchery this year because when you start order different breeds from Murray they charge a significant amount more plus shipping is a little expensive with Murray. But I got all strong healthy...
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Popcorn

Destiny Farm (Brighton, MI)

Posted
By Popcorn

Pros: Friendly, knowledgeable, will give flock care advice and exchange males brought back for females if they were supposed to be female.

Cons: Small breed selection

Almost every bird I have has come from these guys. Family run farm, they have chickens, pheasants, turkeys, geese, and ducks. If they sex a chick wrong you can bring it back and they will replace it with the correct sex. You can reserve chicks or they ship hatching eggs. They only have a few permanent breeds but often hatch varieties form outside sources. Will even incubate eggs for locals (a guy needed peacocks incubated and they helped out.) They know chickens and have very healthy birds. They helped me when one of my birds got sick and when I returned three cockerels and there weren't pullets to replace them, (someone had sabotaged the incubators by turning them off, killing...
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Negative Reviews

FuzzyMugz

MY PET CHICKEN Nightmare

Posted
By FuzzyMugz

Pros: There are some devoted staff, who unfortunately have no power to undo the mistakes of the others.

Cons: Unhealthy stock, endless clerical errors, rudeness & outright dishonesty -- Also, misleadingly, they are a brokerage for Meyer, not a hatchery,

Our first order was in June of 2012 -- and like many who've reviewed, we had problems getting the breeds we wanted -- all on the same date.  The shipping cost is steep with My Pet Chicken, and being a beginner, I really didn't relish the idea of integrating different age groups of hens.  We settled on substitutes and made arrangements with our post mistress to call us immediately on the big day. Our order arrived with only 2 of the 7 alive.  Those 2 died within 2 days. I was pretty shaken, and would have really liked to have had a more sympathetic person to speak with regarding their condition, and the ensuing process. The insensitivity and rudeness was later defended in...
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jbenson

Meyer Hatchery

Posted
By jbenson

Pros: low prices, good selection of rare bantams, online availability views

Cons: whole order DOA and had to work to get good customer service

Ordered 25 bantam EEs and 2 bantam Welsummers and unfortunately, they froze in shipping.  Not enough bedding and no heat pack and then it appears weather caused a delay or something in shipping which caused the demise of my whole order.  Called to report them DOA and wouldn't be able to get whole exact order until end of May or partial re-order in 3 weeks. Was pretty bummed and ended up not re-ordering from them cause I was paranoid it would happen again and I couldn't get everything I wanted anyways.  Original phone call to customer service did not garner a whole lot of sympathy from the lady on the other end.  Sent an email to the company via their website and got...
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Tammy N

Farwest hatchery

Posted
By Tammy N

Pros: Nice web site cheap birds and Local in oregon

Cons: Never got the chicks ordered we ordered 100 for the shop i work at Now owner switch and still waiting for chicks

we ordered 100 chicks for the shop i work at mr harrison sent in the money and we have been waiting since Nothing arrived and we are still in hopes they said they sent them we have copies of order and check that they cashed ,.  Posted for new owner of the feed store In florence oregon
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More Reviews

Chickenfan4life

IDEAL is ideal

Posted
By Chickenfan4life

Pros: Lots of breeds, lots of varieties, small minimum

Cons: Can send the wrong order

Ideal Poultry, a hatchery started in 1937, is a family owned and operated business. They claim that their business is built on customer service and quality poultry, and from what I've seen, they stay true to that.   They are the biggest supplier of backyard poultry, having a wide range of bantams, brown egg layers, white egg layers, rare breeds, ducks, and geese, they ship their poultry all over the United States of America, and sell close to 5 million chicks annually.   While you can get quality chicks from them, there's always the chance that you wont get any quality poultry from them. Their poultry often fits what they say, with the red sex links laying brown eggs...
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rbaker0345

Paul and Angela Smith

Posted
By rbaker0345

Pros: Great Customer Service, Very Healthy Chicks

Cons: Can't think of any

I ordered 15 ameraucana chicks from them in December and they told me that there was a waiting list, I probably wouldn't get them until May.  This was fine with me.  He got back to me last month and said that it would probably be sooner.  I got an email the other day that they had been shipped out.  I went and picked them up at the P.O.  There was one DOA which I contacted him about and he said that he would send me a refund check.  He even punches their toes in unique patterns so that he can tell you which chick is which.     Really friendly, cordial people.  Great customer service.  Here is their email:  sw_psmith@swmail.net
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SD Bird Lady

Cackle Hatchery

Posted
By SD Bird Lady

Pros: can mix different poultry....15 bird minimum

Cons: rare breeds of chickens and ducks only sold straight run

I ordered 5 LF light brahma pullets 5 LF buff brahma s/r and 5 s/r cayuga ducks.  They sent and extra LB as well. We lost 2 chicks the first day but the rest thrived and did well.  I cannot say for certain if we recieved the exact sexes as a raccoon took care of culling for us and cut the flock down to our current flock of  2 light and 2 buff pullets and 1 buff rooster and 1 cayuga drake.  The light brahmas are excellent quality and are laying well the buffs aren't quite as impressive but my Cayuga Drake is very close to the standard with the exception of a little extra green on his bill.  Overall very satisfied!!
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cluckitall

Sunnyside Up Micro-farm

Posted
By cluckitall

Pros: Nice looking birds, good variety

Cons: major fertility issues

I've purchased from Sunnyside Up twice. Their breeding stock is quite lovely, but the first time around none of the BLRW eggs I purchased were fertilized. Jill apologized and replaced them, but the second set wasn't fertilized either, nor were the lavender orpingtons I purchased at the same time. Of 26 eggs on my second purchase from them, zero have developed. In contrast, on this same hatch, of 68 shipped eggs, 57 are developing nicely. It's not an incubation issue.   I should add that I drove an hour to go pick up eggs from them -- they weren't shipped. My shipped eggs are doing fabulously in comparison.
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propagata

Little Birdie Chicken Farm and Hatchery

Posted
By propagata

Pros: Pullet Guarantee, Nice Price

Cons: None

I LOVE Little Birdie Chicken Farm and Hatchery! We got our little cuties from them last week and had such a great experience. They are friendly, knowledgeable and professional, not to mention very reasonably priced. They are located in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and are a small family run operation. They sell locally sourced feed and bedding, and have recently implemented a program called Charity Chicks. The hatchery has partnered with Interfaith Food Shuttle to give chickens to at risk teens and families who live at or below the poverty level. If you donate a chick, LBH will match your gift with another chick. To donate a chick (two with the LBH match) send $5 to Little Birdie...
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mjelse

Murray MacMurray

Posted
By mjelse

Pros: The RIRs I purchased from MM have been fabulous birds.

Cons: They almost always manage to include a roo or two.

Every single chick shipped survived. Helpful on the phone. They have a huge variety of birds, plus mixes that may appeal to some. 
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mg15

I am very pleased with My Pet Chicken

Posted
By mg15

Pros: Always respond to my questions they take an interest and I feel they want the best for the chicks.

My Pet Chicken responds to my calls about chicks or chickens. I don't feel like I am talking to a corporation but somebody who cares about chickens like I do. Thanks, Mary Grace.
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WRVgirl

Mypetchicken.com Day Old Chicks

Posted
By WRVgirl

Pros: Fast Shipping, Heathly Chicks, Good Quality Birds, Fair Prices, Vaccinations Offered

Cons: ALWAYS limited availability, Can't always get what you want

Love, Love, Love Mypetchicken.com. I ordered 2 cochins and a White Crested Black Polish from them in June. The chicks arrived in good shape and in a timely fashion, though I was waiting on pins and needles for the post office to call.   I really liked that I was able to have the chicks vaccinated when I purchased them, it's just one less thing to worry about.   All of my chicks turned out beautifully. They are great looking birds and we are very happy with the quality we received.   My only grumble is that it's near impossible to get all the chicks you want in the same shipment, and in most places the minimum order is 6 chicks...if i ordered 6 chicks every...
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CochinBrahmaLover

McMurray

Posted
By CochinBrahmaLover

Pros: Great customer service, healthy chicks, Fast delivery

Cons: Needs to hatch more chicks more often, some breeds expensive

McMurray (MM) is absolutely great. They have good customer service, and healthy chicks. During winter though they hatch less chicks then most hatcheries so ordering certain breeds can be a pain if you plan for spring eggs. Also some breeds can be expensive or hard to order, for example ,  guineas you need 35 or something like that to order, and you cannot add them to your chick order. Overall though their a great hatchery whom we're going to order from again (not that we've only ordered once so far! :D )
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Cheyenne D

Cackle Hatchery

Posted
By Cheyenne D

Pros: none!

Cons: there was so many....

My experience with cackle hatchery was not good at all. There were many problems and misscomunications. So heres what all happened, I found cackles website and read about it and it seemed like a good place to get birds from based on what i had read. Also on their home page it said minimum of 15 chicks (the picture below was taken straight from their website). 15 chicks was a good number because my friend was going to order 5 chicks so i would end up with 10, a nice manageable number.           The order was 5 silkies (my friend was ordering those), 5 quail belgain d'anvers, and 5 delaware pullets. That all equals 15 right? Well a few days later i...
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