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I have never had a problem with the health of chicks that I received from a hatchery. Hatcherys produce thousands of birds each year. They do not have the time to do the selective breeding and culling that SOME of the breeders do that are interested in Show Quality chickens. If you are going to have only 6 chickens and can not have roosters, then show quality should not be your goal.
In reality May 9 is NOT that far away - - -2 months. You could have the birds vaccinated at the hatchery and you would not have to worry about ordering and storing them in the meantime. Plus, you could get all the variety you want from one place.
You are correct - - - you will lose some quality in ordering from hatcheries. However, if you are not breeding or showing birds then it is a mute issue. For instance, It doesn't matter if your marans lays the darkest egg if you are not showing or selling hatching eggs. ALL my hatchery birds have been healthy. My leghorns are not show quality, but they don't miss a beat when it comes to delivering an egg a day. Hatcheries breed for production. This is not a bad thing when you are only going to have 6 hens - -- at the most. Depending on what breeds you pick, that means you might be collecting only 3 eggs a day.
FOWL POX is spread from infected chicken to uninfected chicken through MOSQUITOS. Now you see why this is more of a concern to you in Florida than some of these other diseases.
A lot of the college web sites recommend getting vaccinations only for viruses that are an issue in your area.
You would need to contact your local poultry rep at the dept of Arg. to find out what issues your area has.
Hope this was helpful to you.
Thank you for the info, it was very helpful.
I'd order from a hatchery but for one thing. I really want some Black copper marans, but MPC is sold out.
They also don't have any BLRW and they don't sell olive eggers.
I have never had a problem with the health of chicks that I received from a hatchery. Hatcherys produce thousands of birds each year. They do not have the time to do the selective breeding and culling that SOME of the breeders do that are interested in Show Quality chickens. If you are going to have only 6 chickens and can not have roosters, then show quality should not be your goal.
In reality May 9 is NOT that far away - - -2 months. You could have the birds vaccinated at the hatchery and you would not have to worry about ordering and storing them in the meantime. Plus, you could get all the variety you want from one place.
You are correct - - - you will lose some quality in ordering from hatcheries. However, if you are not breeding or showing birds then it is a mute issue. For instance, It doesn't matter if your marans lays the darkest egg if you are not showing or selling hatching eggs. ALL my hatchery birds have been healthy. My leghorns are not show quality, but they don't miss a beat when it comes to delivering an egg a day. Hatcheries breed for production. This is not a bad thing when you are only going to have 6 hens - -- at the most. Depending on what breeds you pick, that means you might be collecting only 3 eggs a day.
FOWL POX is spread from infected chicken to uninfected chicken through MOSQUITOS. Now you see why this is more of a concern to you in Florida than some of these other diseases.
A lot of the college web sites recommend getting vaccinations only for viruses that are an issue in your area.
You would need to contact your local poultry rep at the dept of Arg. to find out what issues your area has.
Hope this was helpful to you.
Thank you for the info, it was very helpful.
I'd order from a hatchery but for one thing. I really want some Black copper marans, but MPC is sold out.
