Reasons for choosing, changing, or avoiding a hatchery.

This thought came to mind because I recently changed my order from McMurray to Meyer. I was initially hesitant with McMurray because they ship over the weekend but it seems most people have had good experiences. So I decided to go with them. After a lot of thought I decided to change hatcheries based on their shipping. The horror stories from McMurray sound more or less avoidable. I know deaths can happen when shipping live animals but some things seem to leave more opportunity for disaster to happen. I also liked that Meyer at least has the option for an express ship. I even had to pay for overnight shipping on mealworms.

I've never ordered from Meyer (although you can find some horror stories on any hatcheries), but I have ordered on a number of occasions from Murray McMurray and have always been satisfied with their birds and service. I've lost a chick or two in shipping but since they have always put two or three extra in the boxes, I have gotten what I paid for. Other hatcheries that I have ordered from on multiple occasions that I've been happy with have been Dunlap Hatchery, Ideal Poultry, and Cackle Hatchery. I especially love Dunlap Hatchery. They are a family run hatchery that is smaller than the other two, but the folks at Dunlap are very friendly and helpful, and I have never lost a chick in shipping from Dunlap (I can't say that about the other hatcheries). What kind of chicks did you order?

I ordered faverolles, GLW, EEs, and barnevelders. Its true that there are horror stories with any hatchery. Or any business that ships live animals. I switched primarily for some peace of mind. I highly doubt I'll be less nervous come delivery time though.

ImNotYogi said:

I ordered faverolles, GLW, EEs, and barnevelders. Its true that there are horror stories with any hatchery. Or any business that ships live animals. I switched primarily for some peace of mind. I highly doubt I'll be less nervous come delivery time though.

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Ordering a mix like that usually requires a very large hatchery that carries all of those breeds, like Meyer, McMurray, or Ideal Poultry. Smaller hatcheries like Dunlap don't typically carry the more unusual breeds such as Barnevelders and Faverolles.

Id probably go with a smaller hatchery or something more local if/when I get more inthe future.

I ordered from Meyers have had no problems.I ordered the 15 brown egg layer assortment,and all 15 arrived safe and all ended up be pullets.

I'm a little concerned about Dunlap's statement that they have Araucanas, otherwise known as Easter Eggers. Am I misinformed? I thought EE's were mix and Araucanas were a specific type. I keep reading that Easter Eggers are often inaccurately sold as Ameracaunas and Araucanas.

Frem Dunlap's Website: "Araucanas, or the Easter Egg Chicken as they are commonly referred to, lay eggs in many shades of blue, green and pink. With the array of color these birds bring, in their feathering as well as their eggs, they make a favorite to add to any flock"

I dunno, I could be wrong...been known to happen.

Blooie said:

I'm a little concerned about Dunlap's statement that they have Araucanas, otherwise known as Easter Eggers. Am I misinformed? I thought EE's were mix and Araucanas were a specific type. I keep reading that Easter Eggers are often inaccurately sold as Ameracaunas and Araucanas.

Frem Dunlap's Website: "Araucanas, or the Easter Egg Chicken as they are commonly referred to, lay eggs in many shades of blue, green and pink. With the array of color these birds bring, in their feathering as well as their eggs, they make a favorite to add to any flock"

I dunno, I could be wrong...been known to happen.

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A true Araucana is a breed in itself, many sell EE or Americaunas because for whatever reason I guess. Aracaunas have no rump, and can have muff or no muff. You are right, EE are a mix and Aracaunas are an actual breed.

Areolyn said:

A true Araucana is a breed in itself, many sell EE or Americaunas because for whatever reason I guess. Aracaunas have no rump, and can have muff or no muff. You are right, EE are a mix and Aracaunas are an actual breed.

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And to further complicate things, EE's are not really Ameracaunas, despite many hatcheries calling them that. Very few general hatcheries sell real Ameracaunas, meaning you could enter them into a show and they would not be disqualified on color alone. It's particularly telling when a hatchery touts the "wide range" of colors, either of the eggs or birds. True Ameracaunas are very uniform and breed true, both in the color of the birds and the eggs.

Some specialist hatcheries do have true Ameracaunas, some of those breed for show and some more for egg production, but all should work toward the SOP in their breeding.

Areolyn said:

A true Araucana is a breed in itself, many sell EE or Americaunas because for whatever reason I guess. Aracaunas have no rump, and can have muff or no muff. You are right, EE are a mix and Aracaunas are an actual breed.

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Oh, whew! Thanks! I thought I was suffering from information overload manifesting itself as a relative newbie dispensing advice! The other thing that caught my eye about Dunlap's description was where it talked about the different colors of eggs from Aracaunas. Again, I may be wrong, but I thought they laid blue eggs. <sigh> So much to learn, so little time!

Anyway, I neglected to answer ImNotYogi's original question, and I apologize for that oversight. I have ordered from My Pet Chicken (who some folks tell me get their chicks from Meyers) and I've been very happy with the vigor of the chicks and the prompt answers to emails. Their customer service is very good......they refunded on a couple of chicks even though the deaths of those chicks wasn't their fault. The Post Office held them overnight in Casper, Wyoming when it was -19 below zero and they didn't deliver my package until the next day. Even though the PO's own tracking showed them "out for delivery" on a Wednesday I didn't get them until Thursday. Grrrr. Not MPC's fault, but they made it good. Also I ordered all pullets, and I got all pullets. I bought chicks from a local feed store to replace the ones I'd lost and out of 6 chicks I got 3 roos. Hmm.....