Is buying from hatcheries a no-no?

[wamtazlady]

Murray McMurray is already taking orders for next spring. Since I wanted a few of those Whiting True Blues to see what they are like, I already put in my order for the week of April 3, 2017. Those WTB sold out fast last year. Have read good and bad things about them and want to check them out for myself.

 

[Jack Speese]

I've likewise had good luck with hatchery chicks (Murray MacMurray, Hoffmann, Ideal, Metzer Farms). The comments about these birds not necessarily being show quality may be true, but that doesn't interest me either. What I am concerned about is getting healthy birds, and most major hatcheries are members of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) and therefore routinely test their breeding flocks for diseases like pullorum and typhoid, in many cases offer to vaccinate for Marek's, and maintain strict hygiene in their breeder flocks to prevent other diseases. Sure, nothing in biology is 100% and it's possible to get inferior stock occasionally, but your chances of not doing so are in my opinion a lot better if you order chicks from hatchery versus getting them from unknown sources.

 

[ragschickens]

I love my girls I got this Spring from My Pet Chicken. I wasn't wanting birds to show or breed, just cold hearty, pretty, good layers. I also wanted just girls, so I went with hatchery birds. They all arrived healthy, and have flourished. And I'm pretty sure they are all pullets!

 

[Creole Lady]

I'm a first-time, urban, BackYardChix-er and, in April, bought ten chicks of four different breeds from a nearby Double-M feed store. They're beautiful, been laying for months now and appear to be healthy. We average 9 -10 eggs per day and are gifting eggs regularly to neighbors and both sides of our family. We're delighted with our little wanna-be homesteading adventure!

 

[Trish1974]

I love my girls I got this Spring from My Pet Chicken. I wasn't wanting birds to show or breed, just cold hearty, pretty, good layers. I also wanted just girls, so I went with hatchery birds. They all arrived healthy, and have flourished. And I'm pretty sure they are all pullets!

That's good hear, as I've wondered about My Pet Chicken for awhile now but there aren't very many reviews compared to the more popular hatcheries.

 

[pv46sd]

Hi Mrs. K,

You are the first person I have run across that is from South Dakota on this site. I am in the eastern part of the state & currently only have 3 hens and a rooster, thanks to hawks! I started with 5 hens and two roos but the one roo had to go.. just too much fighting over the ladies.
Next Spring I am planning on getting about a dozen hen chicks. I don't know if one can order just hens from a Runnings store or not. I'm thinking it is straight run & if so will order thru a hatchery. There will definitely be a chicken run built that is covered!

Happy Egg Gathering!

 

[Mrs. K]

Hello fellow Dakotan!

Any feed store in SD, will let you order what you want. So go in and order some pullets!

I have been in chickens for years, and really I found out the hard way, you need a totally enclosed run and coop. EVERYTHING likes to eat chickens!

good luck,

Mrs K

 

[Blooie]

I have had extremely good luck with My Pet Chicken. Except for those I've hatched in an incubator, all of my chickens come from there and I've always received just what I ordered. The one time I picked up chicks from a feed store, I carefully selected from the "pullet bin". Out of 6 chicks, I got 3 roosters anyway. <sigh> I suggest that no matter which hatchery you choose, you order early. The particular chickens you mentioned that you want are usually pretty available, but ordering early (as soon as they start taking orders) and specifying your chosen ship date is always smart. Chickens are living animals, not Egg Pez Dispensers, so if for any unforeseen reason they don't have a hatch as good as anticipated, they'll most likely fill older orders first and then list the breed as "limited availability" on their websites.

Oh, by the way, I live in northwestern Wyoming, but I'm an Eastern South Dakota kid myself and we go back to Sioux Falls to visit family often!


Some of My Pet Chicken chickens browsing outside their coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are those young black and tan ones? I can’t figure them out. The colors are too consistent to be EE’s aren't they?

 

[Blooie]

Those are juvenile Buff Brahmas. I integrate my chicks with the adults by about 3-4 weeks old, so that's why there's such a size discrepancy. But except for the black and white rooster, hatched here, those are all My Pet Chicken orders. There are more that are out of the photo.

Our My Pet Chicken Easter Eggers are here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-easter-eggers-of-oleo-acres