Ideal Poultry - Shipping Wednesday *06/27/12* - Anyone Else??

[debir1966]

Dutch552: You know, when I was a kid my Mom never put marbles in the water or got special feed, she fed new chicks cornmeal LOL. I do believe that advancements can be a good thing, but I also think people have a tendency to over-think things... not going to worry about the marbles

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Arg, I have not received any updates on where my chicks are at.

I have checked like a bazillion times today LOL. I reaaaly want them to come tomorrow so we can do our shopping Saturday morning because the fireworks place is not open on Sunday! Which means if the chicks do not come until Saturday morning, we are going to be going down to the valley shopping Saturday afternoon in the heat ugh.

On a positive note, my temporary brooder is taped together LOL. I totally did it different than I was planning, made it alot bigger! I still have to put in everything (pine shavings, paper towels, feed and water and the EcoGlow) and put wire on the top to keep the cat out. Hopefully this will work until I can get a stove or fridge box the end of next week and by the time they have outgrown that they are headed out the door into an outside brooder we are setting up in the barn (made from an old tent trailer).

I will get pics as soon as I get all the stuff in and it is ready for the new fluff bottoms!

 

[debir1966]

So much for tracking info! I have not seen one new update other than they left Austin on the 27th. Well, I guess if the post office calls in an hour, then I will know where they are at. Just a little frustrated here.

 

[CandleGal]

I got the call at 730 this morning. No packing peanuts just my order and all but one seem to be healthy and happy. I have the one in with one other chick hoping she can get her strength back

 

[Adenium]

So much for tracking info!  I have not seen one new update other than they left Austin on the 27th.  Well, I guess if the post office calls in an hour, then I will know where they are at.  Just a little frustrated here. 

In my experience, the tracking will update after the chicks arrive. I don't think I've ever gotten useful tracking from the USPS, and in fact when my chicks hadn't arrived by their "guaranteed" Express Mail time and I was calling larger postal hubs and the airport and everything, they all had no better idea than the tracking. Yup, they plugged the tracking number in just like I did and so had exactly as poor an idea as I did.

It was helpful to find out whether my post office got one shipment a day or two for Express, so I knew whether I would just be waiting a whole other day or not. But even that took a couple phone calls.

Good luck! I hope they come soon.

 

[puglady]

Received mine this morning as well. I ordered the pullet "suprise special". It looks like BR's, RIR, NH & Austs for the most part but I had about a dozen or so Cochins! There were even barred and blue, not just buff! Really excited to watch them grow out!

 

[debir1966]

CandleGal: Yay! I can't wait to see them! Hope your little one perks up soon.

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Hello Adenium! I don't know why they are so bad with tracking chicks, I have tracked other packages and had alot better updates... but they are not as good as UPS or FedEx for sure.

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puglady: Woot! How can you tell which chick is which? LOL, Ohhhh I wants me some Cochins!

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Everyone has to post pics if you can

Welll, we got our this morning too! Got a call at 8:38 and my Dad ran up and got them for us and brought them out.


We opened the box and had one little black DOA, but all the rest seem healthy and full of ginger and spice so far.


I dipped each and every beak in the water at least twice. Made sure that they all swollowed some water, and most of them took to it right away and started drinking on their own. Then we put the in the box and they started pecking at the food, running around and flapping their wings LOL. It was sooo cute!


The went right under the EcoGlow and snuggled in, and then started hopping on top LOL. Fiesty little things!


I don't have a clue who is who other than the turkeys and the Rhode Island Reds. Going to look up some baby chick pictures and see if I can figure out some of them. I am thinking about getting some colored bands to put on their legs later... anyone else going to band their chicks?


I did a total newbie thing and DIDN'T COUNT the chicks, so when my hubby gets home from work this evening we will take a head count and see if we can figure out who is who a little LOL.



Now I just have to resist the urge to order more!

 

[Adenium]

Congrats on the mostly successful arrival! But yeah, I have to say I'm a little jealous of your 4-part megabox. I only got 7, in one little box. Clearly I need more.

Clearly, since we just plunked down mucho dollars for a coop, our budget doesn't need more. But still. Something about the sight of those little stick legs poking out of those round fluffy bodies....just gets me every time. Enjoy your bounty

 

[debir1966]

Adenium: I feel pretty good with only one shipping loss.. it was dinky looking (I didn't get to see it very long, my Dad whisked it off pretty quick because of my kids), but 1 out of 35 isn't too bad. I won't call Ideal until Monday to make sure we don't have any more losses.

I hear ya on plunkin' down bucks and I shouldn't anymore right now either LOL, I was going to order the Ornamental Layer Assortment from MM, but when I finally talked myself into it today, they were sold out

. Soooo, I am looking at a smaller order maybe from Ideal again or MPC. Just a few ornamentals/bantam types for my daughter to use for 4H... yeah, that is what I am telling her Dad anyway.

 

[Adenium]

How selfless of you to order more chickens for your daughter. Bravo!

We now have a limit, as we got a 5 x 6 coop. We're debating whether the silkies count as full shares, i.e. needing 4 square feet, or half shares who only need 2 feet. But really, we can't add much. We almost went with a bigger coop, but it might look a little dominant in our yard..and cost more money. And really getting more chickens means integrating more chickens, which means the risk of some being rejected or pecking order getting all screwy.

We'll see how this plays out in a year or two. We're just getting our feet wet. But I'd LOVE to have a bantam coop and free up more space for my standards.

 

[debir1966]

Adenium: Thanks LOL, I am trying not to let it go to my head.

We are in the process of building our new coop... and I can already tell we probably didn't build it big enough LOL. It will be 8 x 12. Winter is the only time I am worried about as they will be cooped up, as soon as there is ground showing they get to free range so they are only alltogether in the coup at night then. I will still have the original coup (about 5 x 6 or so) which I am planning on using as a broody and grow-out pen, but may have to utilize it if needed for overflow! LOL

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After being totally devistated

... ok, ok, very dissapointed, that I was too late to order the Ornamental Layer Assortment from MM, I did some pricing and checking and debating, and argueing with myself and finally placed another order with Ideal.

Ideal has pullet assortments, no order limits - soooo I ordered:
5 Asst Cochin Pullets
5 Rare Breed Special Pullets
2 Asst Long Tail Pullets
2 Asst Cornish Pullets
2 Surprise Special Pullets

I wanted some silkies (for my daughter!

) but they didn't have a pullet assortment for them and only sell them in straight run, so I got:
2 White Silkies
2 Partridge Silkies

Then I got bold and creative.. and reckless!

and ALSO ordered:
2 Hatchery Choice Guineas (though I may call up and change that to 3... for some reason it seems like you need to have at least 3 in a flock for guineas)

and... 2 forbidden ducks (Honestly honey, someone messed up the order - obviously needs glasses! - grabbed from the wrong box - must have been a new employee!)
1 Black and White Magpie Pullet
1 Crested Blue Swedish Pullet

I already had him semi-talked into another order of chicks, but man, he is going to flip over the ducks, for about 5 minutes anyway LOL.

But they won't be here until the July 25th hatch date, so I have some times to a) make sure it is copacetic with my husband or b) change my order LOL

Currently, all the chicks seem to be doing fine. They were sure noisy at first but once everyone got a drink and a bite to eat and found the warm spot, they quieted right down except for the occasional loud cheeper, which has the kids running into the other room to make sure it is not: lost (umm, honey, it's in a box, it can't get lost); hurt (nothing is going to hurt one of them); stuck (they can roll themselves over child, they are not turtles); or lonely (sweetheart, it has 33 other chickie friends, it is not lonely, I promise!).

I will try and get some good pics this evening when we do a head count. I can't tell the black australorps apart from the black broilers, nor the ameraucanas, welsummers, spangled russian orloffs and speckled sussex apart.

The easy ones are the turkeys LOL, the salmon faverolles (they have feathered feet), and the RIRs. The leghorns have black spots on them and the cornish rocks are all yellow. I think the one that was DOA was one of my silver laced wyandottes because I have only seen one and I ordered two (two of each of the layers just in case one of them didn't make it).

Really, I only want about 30 layers and I want a VERY mixed flock. I figure any extra pullets I can easily sell, and any extra roos I can eat.