Murray McMurray hatchery???????

[applebutter14]

good idea, this year i ordered from murray mcmurray, and i want to try other hatcheries out, too

 

[jaide]

They have excellent customer service. We ordered 26 chicks from them. I got 28. They're big and fat and happy. I love MM

 

[Tiller]

My order came in today. All 16 are fat, happy, and situated in my brooder. Very happy with McMurray again, Original order date was to be shipped Monday. I received and update email reminding me that due to the Holiday they would be shipped Tuesday. Had even better luck with my post office, I was intending on driving the 16 miles to it to pick up the chicks but a postal worker doing a post office transfer was passing by our road on her way through and said she'd be happy to drop them off on her way through fist thing this morning.
Looking forward to figuring out what my mystery chick is.

 

[keesmom]

I ordered from McMurray for the first time this year. They arrived 3 weeks ago. All 22 are still thriving.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

Wow, I'm glad I read this. I will boycott MM for animal cruelty bc they ship on Friday. Cackle only ships on Mon and Wed. My local farm supply has only ever received two DOA chicks from Cackle over the years.

As somebody else said,, that really is just plain silly. The day shipped really does not matter, whether it be a Mon, Wed, or Fri. Not many people may know this, but the US postal service trucks and planes still run 7 days a week,, even on Sundays. And there are people working in the sorting facilities on those same 7 days. So your order from Murreys is going to arrive at your local post office within the same 3 days as your order from Meyers, or Cackle, or whatever hatchery you use. Even if they did arrive at your local post office on Sunday,, I would put the problem more on traveling in a cold postal truck than sitting in a warm postal building overnight. Also,, just so people know,, if you are worried about arriving on Sunday,,, you can contact your local sorting facility to have them intercept them and have them call you,, even on a Sunday. In fact, my local sorting facility has gotten so used to me bugging them about getting birds that if they do come thru on a Sunday,, they just automatically call me if I forget to let them know.

Now on to a cppl other points,,,, as far as quality goes,,, sometimes you absolutely can not tell quality at first feathering. You have to wait until after first molt to truely see what the bird is going to look like,, especially with the more detailed pattered types like wyandotes and and others that have things like penciling and lacing. I have gotten birds from several hatcheries, Murreys, Meyers, Cackle and others where I would have sworn they were the worst quality birds I had ever seen,,, however,, given time, they turned out to be some really beautiful birds,,, perhaps not show quality for every single one,,, but still some very fine looking birds. Also,, something many people don't know,, many of your larger hatcheries like Murreys, are simply just that,,, hatcheries. Murrey contracts out to several different farmers for their eggs, and then hatches them. Many of these farmers will probably not be breeding for SOP, but rather just keeping a purebreed line. Plus, If the farmer was a bit shady or unscrupulous and one of his Rhode Island roosters had himself an escape and a little midnight rondevouse with the NewHamp hens next door,, he may just shrug it off and place the errant bad boy back where he belongs and ship the eggs anyway. We hope as buyers that this sort of thing doesn't happen,, but you never know.

Now, customer service,,, I personally have never had a problem with Murreys,, Their customer service has always been stupendous. One year I had to have them reship 3 times because of sudden weather changes. I do have to say tho that they have gotten much better at packaging and checking with local weather than they had in the past,, thank you technology

I have ordered from Murreys for about 30?ish years now and continue to do so. And also, just so everyone knows that I am not partial to just Murreys,, I also regularly purchase from Meyers and Cackle,,, I like them both alot as well.

 

[kargo]

My mom and I had chickens in the past, but there were a few years where we were unable to keep them and had to get rid of them. This year, I got two ducklings from TSC. Afterward I decided that I wanted chicks. So I bought four straight run GLW off Craigslist. (Probably not the best idea). Two of my GLW died, I think because they may have gotten chilled on the way home. So mom and I replaced those with 2 RIR and 2 Brahmas (pullets) from the Co Op. Now they are all 8 Weeks old and I've been told that my GLW and a RIR are Roos. So I will again have to get rid of two, which I want to replace.

So that long story short, I've almost convinced my mom to order the Murray"a Choice Layer special, and I have some questions.

1) I want to order 15. Does this still come with the extra chick that everyone gets with the 25?
2) how do I find out how much shipping will be?
3) has anyone else ordered this before? How did it turn out?
4) we only want 8 to keep. Should we be able to sell the rest on Craigslist or elsewhere this time of year? I'm a bit worried about this part because I'm afraid I will end up keeping an accidental roo, or selling a breed I wanted but couldn't identify. Can I ask them to tag the breeds, or will they not do it with the assortment?
5) should I call and request a heat pack?
And
6) after reading this entire thread, I'm a little concerned about the date that the shipment will come. The shipping dates I'm interested in are June 22, a Monday, and June 24, a Wednesday. Which would be better for the chicks? Thanks!

 

[keesmom]

My mom and I had chickens in the past, but there were a few years where we were unable to keep them and had to get rid of them. This year, I got two ducklings from TSC. Afterward I decided that I wanted chicks. So I bought four straight run GLW off Craigslist. (Probably not the best idea). Two of my GLW died, I think because they may have gotten chilled on the way home. So mom and I replaced those with 2 RIR and 2 Brahmas (pullets) from the Co Op. Now they are all 8 Weeks old and I've been told that my GLW and a RIR are Roos. So I will again have to get rid of two, which I want to replace.

So that long story short, I've almost convinced my mom to order the Murray"a Choice Layer special, and I have some questions.

1) I want to order 15. Does this still come with the extra chick that everyone gets with the 25?
2) how do I find out how much shipping will be?
3) has anyone else ordered this before? How did it turn out?
4) we only want 8 to keep. Should we be able to sell the rest on Craigslist or elsewhere this time of year? I'm a bit worried about this part because I'm afraid I will end up keeping an accidental roo, or selling a breed I wanted but couldn't identify. Can I ask them to tag the breeds, or will they not do it with the assortment?
5) should I call and request a heat pack?
And
6) after reading this entire thread, I'm a little concerned about the date that the shipment will come. The shipping dates I'm interested in are June 22, a Monday, and June 29, a Wednesday. Which would be better for the chicks? Thanks!

1. The extra chick is most often a cockerel. If you do not want a male then select no on the extra chick.
2. Call them. Or enter an "order" , plug in your address and see what the shipping will be. Probably $20 on average.
3. Can't help you there.
4. I would suggest you keep all of them for at least a month. Figure out which breeds you have and keep your favorites. That way you have extras in case you lose some.
5. At this time of year, No.
6. Either date is fine as long as you are around to get them. I believe those dates are approximate, and actual delivery will depend on your location.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

Murray's Choice collection used to be called Rainbow Layers collection,,, not sure why they changed the name because I thought it sounded catchier before.... it is what I usually order unless I order the Ornamental Layers which costs much more.. you will usually get a nice assortment of the more common breeds but ocasionally you can get some nice rares as well

 

[ConPollos]

Good hatcheries wouldnt be shipping chicks on a weekend.

I agree. A business either has compassion and empathy for animals, or they don't.

 

[ConPollos]

As somebody else said,, that really is just plain silly.   The day shipped really does not matter, whether it be a Mon, Wed, or Fri. Not many people may know this, but the US postal service trucks and planes still run 7 days a week,, even on Sundays. And there are people working in the sorting facilities on those same 7 days. So your order from Murreys is going to arrive at your local post office within the same 3 days as your order from Meyers, or Cackle, or whatever hatchery you use. Even if they did arrive at your local post office on Sunday,, I would put the problem more on traveling in a cold postal truck than sitting in a warm postal building overnight.  Also,, just so people know,, if you are worried about arriving on Sunday,,, you can contact your local sorting facility to have them intercept them and have them call you,, even on a Sunday.  In fact, my local sorting facility has gotten so used to me bugging them about getting birds that if they do come thru on a Sunday,, they just automatically call me if I forget to let them know.

Now on to a cppl other points,,,, as far as quality goes,,, sometimes you absolutely can not tell quality at first feathering. You have to wait until after first molt to truely see what the bird is going to look like,, especially with the more detailed pattered types like wyandotes and and others that have things like penciling and lacing.  I have gotten birds from several hatcheries, Murreys, Meyers, Cackle and others where I would have sworn they were the worst quality birds I had ever seen,,, however,, given time, they turned out to be some really beautiful birds,,, perhaps not show quality for every single one,,, but still some very fine looking birds. Also,, something many people don't know,, many of your larger hatcheries like Murreys, are simply just that,,, hatcheries. Murrey contracts out to several different farmers for their eggs, and then hatches them. Many of these farmers will probably not be breeding for SOP, but rather just keeping a purebreed line. Plus, If the farmer was a bit shady or unscrupulous and one of his Rhode Island roosters had himself an escape and a little midnight rondevouse with the NewHamp hens next door,, he may just shrug it off and place the errant bad boy back where he belongs and ship the eggs anyway. We hope as buyers that this sort of thing doesn't happen,, but you never know.

Now, customer service,,, I personally have never had a problem with Murreys,, Their customer service has always been stupendous. One year I had to have them reship 3 times because of sudden weather changes. I do have to say tho that they have gotten much better at packaging and checking with local weather than they had in the past,, thank you technology

I have ordered from Murreys for  about 30?ish years now and continue to do so. And also, just so everyone knows that I am not partial to just Murreys,, I also regularly purchase from Meyers and Cackle,,, I like them both alot as well.

I think the shipping date matters because I make candles, so I interact a lot with candle makers who sell and ship their candles nationwide. They all report problems with their candles getting ruined/melted in warm weather if they ship on the weekend. From trial and error they know to ship early in the week so their candles won't sit in a truck overnight or over the weekend. I couldn't put little souls in a box knowing they might roast or freeze to death; I would have to be 100% sure they'll be comfortable and safe.