Hatchery Waiting List- Is this Normal?!

[gimmie birdies]

Try calling on shipping days, first thing, they may have extras.

 

[SamLockwood]

It depends on what you're ordering. Depending on the breed, hens or straight runs you may be looking at July or later before they can ship. I needed roosters, so Meyer had what I needed right away.

Not having ordered chicks online before last year I have no idea what "normal" is, but I got my straight-run guineas & assorted hens on the date desired last August. This year you've had the decimation from the bird flu epidemic, plus a whole bunch of new people are getting into backyard chickens that never did before (and I have mixed feelings about that). But in any case I'm not surprised that the hatcheries are having trouble meeting demand.

 

[winterwolf4]

I ordered from Cackle Hatchery 1 to 2 weeks ago and my chickens will be here March 6th.

 

[Predoggg]

I reached out to my local breeders for pullets and they all told me no and they may have some in Fall or next year. All the hatcheries online where sold out for pullets.
I did hear about the shortage of eggs and where the egg prizes are and some other rumors. We also have a lot of request for eggs and Meat Rabbits lately. Definitive a lot of people looking to add some chickens.
Our local TSC sell out within 1 hour of delivery of the baby chicks every week.

I decided to get some Bargain adopt me chicks from Meyer. I expected I may loose some in transport or with us raising baby chicks for the first time and so far we are very happy. I will do an extra post about our experience.
We are happy with the baby chicks we received and also the Bargain adopt experience.

 

[HennyPenny44]

I have a knock off for a hundred. It's called a kebbonix. It has a fan and egg turner. And an exterior way to add water. You might want to browse some knock offs. They're not all bad. The kebbonix is basically a knock off of nurture right.

I have this one and it’s amazing! I got it when it was $80. The hatch rate is great for such a little incubator. I actually have 6 duck eggs incubating in it as we speak.

 

[HennyPenny44]

It depends on what you're ordering. Depending on the breed, hens or straight runs you may be looking at July or later before they can ship. I needed roosters, so Meyer had what I needed right away.

Not having ordered chicks online before last year I have no idea what "normal" is, but I got my straight-run guineas & assorted hens on the date desired last August. This year you've had the decimation from the bird flu epidemic, plus a whole bunch of new people are getting into backyard chickens that never did before (and I have mixed feelings about that). But in any case I'm not surprised that the hatcheries are having trouble meeting demand.

I remember even in past years being told to order in November/December to get what you want but I still managed to find birds for May/June even in March. But if you wait until now, you might miss out for the full year or at least have to wait until mid summer. I lucked out this year and got 4 pullets at TSC on February 22nd on their first day of chick days. I ran home, got their brooder ready and ran back to get them. Going back weekly, I haven’t seen any since except Cornish Crosses. I accidentally got a rooster in my batch but I’m kind of glad I did because now I can reproduce them if the pullets get even harder to find.