What are some good reputable hatcheries?

[pathakipathak11]

Hello all,


I was wondering if any of you could recommend some good reputable hatcheries. It is my first time getting chickens. I not very sure which are good and which are bad. A lot of people say that Meyer hatchery is a good one. Is this true? Any information will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Pathakipathak11

 

[Cowgirl71]

I've ordered from Murray McMurray, Ideal Poultry, Welp, and Country Hatchery. And IMHO....

McMurray is an excellent hatchery with good quality stock (for a hatchery, their Australorps in particular are awesome birds, IMO!), good customer service, always send extra chicks, and excellent sexing accuracy (only one was mis-sexed out of well over 100 chicks I've ordered from them).

Ideal Poultry has excellent prices, a huge selection of breeds, with very good customer service and in both of my orders totaling about 35 chicks, 100% sexing accuracy. Quality of the birds? Eh. I loved the Barred Rocks, but was very disappointed with the Buff Orps and Australorps, I liked McMurray's a lot more.

My experience with Welp Hatchery was ordering 50 male Cornish meat birds a few years ago. No complaints, great prices. Placed the order online, so didn't speak with anyone over the phone. They sent 53, and 2 ended up being pullets. They grew well and were yummy!

My last two orders have been from Country Hatchery in Oklahoma. Great customer service, great prices, and so far I'm very happy with the quality of the birds. My first order was in September, second order arrived this last Friday. First order of 15 pullets, 4 turned out to be roosters (edited to add: actually only 2 were roosters, the rest were pullets), which was definitely disappointing, but Dennis kindly credited me for them. I was very impressed though with the quality of the birds, and so went ahead and ordered another 19 chicks, and they sent 20. Looking forward to seeing how they all grow, and fingers crossed for a better sexing accuracy this go round. I like supporting a small family-owned hatchery, so if the sexing accuracy is at or near 100% this time this will likely become my new go-to hatchery, instead of McMurray.

I haven't ordered from Cackle personally, but I have had birds from them and haven't been impressed. Buff Orps that won't go broody, Wyandottes with single combs, etc. And their sexing accuracy isn't as high as McMurray's.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Just wanted to say that I recently learned that my 2 "late-developing roosters" from Country Hatchery are in fact pullets. So just two out of the fifteen were roosters, not four out of fifteen. (the two are definitely roosters, saddle feathers, crowing, mating, etc.). I'll be calling Dennis to reverse the credit on these two birds. Very happy with Country Hatchery's birds, prices, customer service, etc. They are also not near as booked up as the larger hatcheries, so if someone is wanting some spring chicks you may want to try giving them a call!

 

[Vickie 51]

Murray McMurray is fantastic! The people you speak to are knowledgeable and willing to talk you through decisions, ideas and helpful hints. Their stock is excellent; healthy, happy chicks and/or pullets. They communicate beautifully so you know what's shipping, when, how and even how to work with your local post office to facilitate picking up the birds. The do not debeak their birds (some hatcheries do) which impacts on eating and grooming. I won't ever use anyone else.

 

[HTChick]

I have ordered from McMurray several times and had good luck. Very healthy chicks. Got lucky with my mixed assortment and have a lovely little flock ordered 10/13/15 that has just begun laying a rainbow of beautiful eggs!

 

[realsis]

Meyer has excellent customer service. They have answered EVERY email I've sent them Quickly and did not charge like other hatcheries to add on (several times) to my order. They have a excellent choice of breeds with a minimum of only three chicks and you can mix any breed! other hatcheries have breed minimums and charge extra for small orders! Meyer does not. other hatcheries also add male chicks to orders for warmth, Meyer does not. Meyer gives away a free chick and let's you pick the sex. also because I paid 50 cents to vaccinate each bird they vaccinate the free chick at no cost to me. Meyer also sends chicks with a heat pack when needed most hatcheries dont. Meyer also ships Express for longer journeys while others send priority. They have been very accommodating to my needs.I pre ordered and was able to pick my month and hatch/ship date. Other hatcheries don't let you pick. On Meyer's website each breed has actual pictures of the breed as a chick, adult, and egg. They have the breeds characteristics and reviews of each breed available to look at. it's very nice. Shipping cost is a bit higher than other places but the cost of the chicks are comparable or even less in most cases than other places. I was extremely impressed with so many breeds available and sexed females available as well. They also have many rare or unusual breeds with several pictures showing that breed. some specific rare or different breeds have limits.That's to be expected for a unusual breed. it's best to place a early order. I ordered in January for April hatch. This is when many females are available. There are still females left depending on breed for may and June hatches. Hope this helps.

 

[junebuggena]

Meyer is one of the best. Their birds better meet the breed standards than most hatcheries. And if you order their Ameraucana, you can be sure that they are the real thing, unlike several other big hatcheries.

 

[junebuggena]

Hoover Hatchery, just by looking at their website I see a few red flags.
They purposefully misspell Ameraucana. They have it as Americana, a sure sign of Easter Eggers.
Their stock photo for their Cuckoo Marans shows a hen with yellow legs.
Their Wyandottes have some funky combs.
Their breed list is also pretty heavy on cross breeds...

 

[Cowgirl71]

Just wanted to give an update on my recent Country Hatchery order. I'm very happy!

They will be 4 weeks old Tuesday. Here's what I ordered, and what I received:

Ordered 4 Rhode Island Red pullets - received 4 - All look to be pullets (I'm very experienced with RIRs, I don't get this breed wrong!)
Ordered 4 Barred Rock pullets - received 4 - They're feathered in now, and Barred Rocks can be sexed by color. So definitely 3 black pullets and 1 big silver roo.
Ordered 3 Brown Leghorn pullets - received 3 - I have never raised Leghorns before, but all look to be feathering in as pullets and comb size is uniform.
Ordered 8 "Kelso Hatch Old English Games" straight run - received 9 - They're feathered in now, and there are 7 with light brown chests (pullets) and 2 with black chests (roos). I'm beyond thrilled with that ratio!!! I ordered 8 chicks hoping for at least 3 pullets to use as broody hens. I would have ordered these as sexed pullets, but they were only offered as straight run. I am super happy to have ordered 8 straight run and receive 7 pullets!

So in summary, I ordered 11 pullets and 8 straight run, and received 17 pullets and 3 roos. All are very healthy and growing like weeds.

Another thing I missed mentioning earlier was there was a mix-up at the Post Office before ours, resulting in these chicks spending over 3 days in the mail, instead of 2 days. As I was driving to the Post Office that morning, I was dreading opening the box, I didn't know what I'd find. But they were all in very good shape, considering. Definitely dehydrated, but overall in very good condition for 3+ days without food or water or heat. I think that's a strong testament to having a good start at the hatchery, so I'm impressed

Also, for anyone wondering, I am not affiliated with Country Hatchery in anyway. I just love supporting small family owned businesses when I can, and wanted to give them a shout out for an excellent order of chicks!

 

[pathakipathak11]

Cool thanks