Murray McMurray hatchery???????

[dandydoodle]

Murray McMurray hatchery what do you think of them and what is the quality of their birds like?

Thanks for the help,

 

[bwalden]

I've ordered from them several times and never had any big problems. It cracks me up all the people who say they "dont do hatcheries". Ok if you dont do hatcheries, I understand that you prob. purchase them from a breeder or such. But where do you think a breeder got their stock from and so on down the line. Stock had to be obtained from a hatchery or a breeder that supplies hatcheries at some point in your birds lineage. I understand that people who are breeding for show quality purposes probably aren't ordering birds from a hatchery. But what about the other 95% of people who are not raising show birds? Those raising for eggs, meats, or just enjoyment. I do enjoy seeing a bird in it's best possible form and condition, but I just don't get the whole " I dont do hatcheries" mentality. Maybe it's just me........

 

[bwalden]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/629086/second-order-from-mcmurray-dead#post_8405257


Found this interesting BYC thread about Murray Mcmurray. You cant always blame the hatchery. Postal handling can be a major factor as well.

 

[pioneerchick816]

This is my SLW I received from them at the same time as my PR. Her name is Mrs. Hughes & is doing well also. Although she's not done completely I think her lacing has turned out well so far?

 

[chickenhawk1982]

@denab, Once again deff not the hatcherys fault! I know it's easy for us to point the finger at someone else. (I Have Done The Same) But I can assure 100% it was not the heat infact the opisite they got chilled. Once a chick gets (Chilled) it dies it might be in the box before you get it and it might be 2-3 days later trust me I have ordered several times with the same problem. If you think about it chicks are suppose to be at 95-100 degrees for the first week of there life and then drop 5 degrees each week. Where the hatchery is it's still cold and even tho it's 80 degress where your at that still is not warm enough for a newborn chick! I know it get fustrating I don't even want to talk about all the baby's I have had die or had to put out of there pain and suffering. Most people don't know this but getting (Chilled) is 90% of the reason baby chicks DIE! I know you have heard peolpe say (don't be handleing those chicks) well it's not you or your hands thats killing them it's them getting chilled being out from under the heat lamp. For this reason I tell everyone that I sell chicks to don't handle or take them away from the heat lamp for atleast 2 weeks. Think about it when chicks are born normal (BY MOTHER HEN) they stay right with her and most of the time right under her. If they didn't they wouldn't make it. Also I di notice you said you had the chicks outside were they in a building in a brooder? You have to keep them in a brooder under a heat lamp with no drafts in the room. I hope this helps you for future ordering also next time ask them to put extra filler chicks in the box and extra cardboard and even hand warmers if needed.

 

[chickenhawk1982]

Murray Mcmurray Hatchery (Barred Rocks)

 

[dandydoodle]

I really wasn't questioning their handling of the chicks. I know being mailed there is a number of factors that can go wrong which is completely out of their control. Heck I hatched out about 16 babies last week and two died and everything possible was done right. Chicks sometimes have things wrong with them you can't see. One died in the middle of zipping. His nose was exposed and everything so he could breath. I went ahead and took him out and everything looked normal. No blood, the egg yolk was absorbed everything looked normal except he wasn't alive. Then I had one more pass right after putting them in the brooder. They had plenty of heat and no drafts in the brooder but, my cute little chickie passed anyway. Everyone else is doing fine. Sometimes you can't figure out the rhyme or reason for it and you have really done all you can do, its just a part of life.

If lots die when you get them, sounds like they might have got chilled on the way or after you got them. After a baby gets a chill doesn't take long for them to die and there is really no returning from a chill.

What I was really wanting was to see pics and know what ya'll thought about how they looked. The pics of the birds that are posted are beautiful. I would love to see more pics of different breeds. Especially Aracaunas and Mille Fluer D'uccles. I have a couple of these and I am just curious what they might look like in the future. Also I know that the Aracaunas are actually EEs that was obvious when they arrived. They are suppose to be rumpless and they are not. It really doesn't matter to me though because, I raise EEs and they are my favorite breed. I am just calling them Aracaunas so you know what my friend ordered and what he gave me.

MORE PICS PLEASE!!!!

KEEP EM COMING I LOVE SEEING THEM. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BRAHMA!!!!!!!!

 

[jessicaroo]

You can ask the hatchery to identify/mark the birds. With mine, they did different color marks on their heads and/or bottoms. Then they gave me a info sheet to let me know which color is what breed. But depending on the breeds you are ordering, they may be really easy to tell apart... look at the pics of the different breeds as chicks on the McMurray website. That was helpful to me as well, good luck!

 

[Bill Matthews]

To Chicken Keith: Sounds like you are an oldtimer chicken wise.....Maybe you will agree that some of the very best old hatcheries are by coincidence some of the very best hatcheries SURVIVING TODAY: Murray McMurray, Estes, Cackle, Ridgeway, Central, Mt Healthy, Eagle's Nest, Clearview Stock Farm, etc. I sincerely think that these people do the best they can and try to make amends when necessary..Good Wishes..

 

[kodster]

Got my order from McMurray today. They look gorgeous! The cornish roasters are so cute and round that it might be hard to butcher them. The mystery chick looks like it will be a Speckled Sussex. Not particularly rare but seems like a good pick with my cornish chicks. I also have some mille fleur from a chicken lady near here so that is a good match I suspect. Also got five assorted cochins as matches for cochins I ordered earlier in the year. They are my favorite so far.

Could not be happier.

Heres a few of them.

Are those the Cornish X Rocks (Cornish roasters) you're referring to? If so, keep an eye on them. We ordered 9 of them, and at 4 weeks of age, I started losing them to flip-over deaths (which they are prone to, when they have heart attacks because they grow so fast and their circulatory system can't handle the growth). I have 3 left, and they are 10 weeks old now... seem to be doing fine, I'll be butchering them for freezer camp and the smoker in 1-1/2 weeks, when my oldest grandson (who is 13 years old and not used to where food comes from) comes to visit for two weeks.

Flip-over deaths are identified when you find the bird on it's back, with its legs stuck straight out, stiff as a board... bird literally falls over backwards when it has a heart attack and dies.