Mypetchicken? Worth buying? Quality show stock?

[CoopAndFeathers]

Hey guys! I was looking at the mypetchicken site and I was wondering if any of their day old Polish, or any of their chicks for that matter, turned out well or were quality. I've never ordered from mypetchicken or ordered any chicks at all. What are ya'll's experiences and thoughts about mypetchicken and their chick sales? Good idea or bad? Thanks!

 

[Pyxis]

They're a hatchery, so no, you will never get show quality chicks from them. For show quality, you're going to need to go to a breeder.

That said, I've ordered from Meyer before, which is where they source a lot of their chicks (they say they own incubator space there, or something like that, and some of the breeds they offer the do source on their own, but I think for a lot of breeds they all come from the same stock) and the chicks I've gotten from Meyer have been healthy and happy. Meyer's facilities will be shipping your chicks if you order from MPC, so your chicks will come from Ohio, not New Jersey, if that makes a difference to you.

 

[CoopAndFeathers]

They're a hatchery, so no, you will never get show quality chicks from them. For show quality, you're going to need to go to a breeder.

That said, I've ordered from Meyer before, which is where they source a lot of their chicks (they say they own incubator space there, or something like that, and some of the breeds they offer the do source on their own, but I think for a lot of breeds they all come from the same stock) and the chicks I've gotten from Meyer have been healthy and happy. Meyer's facilities will be shipping your chicks if you order from MPC, so your chicks will come from Ohio, not New Jersey, if that makes a difference to you.

I'd also like to ask this: Do most of the chicks you order from MPC survive the trip because it would be quite a trip down here and I'm afraid it would be too rough on them.

 

[Pyxis]

Generally yes - again, I've only ordered from Meyer, but since they are the ones that would be shipping your chicks, it would probably be the same experience as the ones I have had. My orders from them all arrived fine, aside from one shipment of marans chicks in summer. I ordered three chicks and they all arrived DOA. Other than that, the orders I got from them were fine.

 

[CoopAndFeathers]

Generally yes - again, I've only ordered from Meyer, but since they are the ones that would be shipping your chicks, it would probably be the same experience as the ones I have had. My orders from them all arrived fine, aside from one shipment of marans chicks in summer. I ordered three chicks and they all arrived DOA. Other than that, the orders I got from them were fine.

Thank you for your answers! This was helpful. If I do end up ordering I will order soon since it's fall and it's not too hot and not too cold. Thank you again!

 

[MaryZoe]

I have ordered day old chicks from mypetchicken.com and did not lose one. They all arrived healthy and hearty and they all survived into adulthood (unless they were snatched by an owl or hawk). I live in south Florida, so it's a hike from anywhere. But it is true that you cannot expect show quality birds from a hatchery. If you just want backyard chickens and pretty eggs, though, they are fine.

 

[Birdinhand]

my impression of mypetchicken is that they charge an arm and a leg for what they offer, but I have not ordered through them. Ideally I find local coops and granges and such that I can go to and hand pick what I want.

 

[Herdcutter]

I've ordered from mypetchicken for my backyard girls. I've ordered twice now. Prices are normal. But when you order 3 or 4 chickens, the shipping kills ya. With that said, I ordered duckling from Murray McMurray and I love the quality! I have ducks from TSC, but those are definitely inferior to McMurray's. My boys won Grand & Reserve Duck in Market at our fair. The others were not as nice. I would order for what I want...most mail order want a larger number than my township allows. Mypetchicken fills that need. But they don't have ducks. (but I'm not suppose to either.) So get what you want from where you chose. All of my mail orders have lived and thrived and are a delight!

Best of luck!!

 

[Micaelasaintlaurent]

A few blue moons ago, we started our backyard chicken experience using mypetchicken. We had no idea how to raise chickens and mypetchicken has such a low shipping amount, the first batch we got was only 5, that we decided with them. Now, we have ordered several hundred from them and other places. This of course was back when they werent so popular, so they were rarely sold out of breeds and we became such good customers that we got first alert for "rare" breeds. They ship pretty good for the fact that we live in California and they have to ship across the US to us. We lost 1 chick in shipment our first order, she got smashed and one silkie was just too weak to make it. Our next order we placed was for 60 of different breeds. we lost 2 in shipping and none to sickness.
The pros to mypetchicken is that the amount needed is low, so if you live in an area where you can only have x amount of chickens, it works. They tend to be hearty and some of my best layers. They have went through hell with our dogs and stuck it out. They have some of the best sexing of birds and I believe we only had 1 rooster ever from them, which they refund. Our EE from them was one of the most beautiful EE I have ever seen after she molted! They have a bunch of different breeds and are constantly adding more.
The cons is that it is pretty expensive. I have found other places that though they have a 15 min shipping requirement doesnt have that crazy shipping cost as mypetchicken does. They also tend to be somewhat overpriced. They are constantly sold-out of the more popular designer breeds for the year. They also dont offer any real discount if you buy an x amount of the same breeds as other places do.

We branched out this last order of 30 and went to Hoovery. Hoovery is the partner with TSC and had a min shipping of 15. The bonus is that the price you see per chick is the total amount so no additional shipping fee. Ours are currently 2 months old and we didnt lose any in shipping and only 1 to simply nature. They are hearty and healthy and some of the best looking chicks that we had. I cant say how they are doing laying wise since they are too young. Ours from mypetchicken are extremely good layers, but all of our chickens are happy and healthy so that could be the reason.

We also tried Kahoots, which was a total bust. We got 50 percent rooster and 50 percent hens each time and out of the last 5 we got, 2 had cross beak. So, we are never doing that again.

Anyways, we use multiple different companies depending on what breed we want and the amount. For example, we are now branching to meatbirds so we are going with purely poultry.

I think it really depends on what breeds you want. McMurray is also an awesome place and we were going to order, but Hoovery won us over with the best prices.


Best of luck to you!

 

[Monkeysmom5018]

5 of my 7 are from mypetchicken. I had ordered 2 bantams and 4 large fowl and one of the bantams was DOA but I think the other crushed her. They were hatched in May and are all healthy and happy!