Where can i order show quality chicks?

[nuthatched]

Cacklehatchery has show lines, McMurray has Apa certified lines, which a bred to sop. Breeders groups, you can find online. Google ___whatever breed you want______breeders club.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

No and yes.

From any hatchery, most of the chickens will NOT be good show prospects.
From any hatchery, there is a chance of some chickens being show quality (meaning, not disqualified, and may have a chance of winning something.)

Most hatcheries have a few photos on their website of people who won prizes at the local fair, with birds bought as chicks from the hatchery. They do not say how common such birds are.

If you don't find any better source, you could order a large number of chicks from a hatchery, and plan to make a lot of chicken soup with the rejects. This works better if you are good at recognizing the right traits in the breeds you want. Some you can recognize pretty early (wrong number of toes on a Silkie) and some you may not be sure until the bird is completely grown up (body shape.)

Ok thanks, I would order lots but 1: I don't have room for that many and 2: I'm not ok with slaughtering my chickens. I would just sell but back to 1 I don't have room

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Cacklehatchery has show lines, McMurray has Apa certified lines, which a bred to sop. Breeders groups, you can find online. Google ___whatever breed you want______breeders club.

Ok thanks

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Ok thanks so if I buy eggs from show quality parents it doesn't mean they will be show quality? I was thinking of buying the show quality silkie eggs from mpc but I don't need that many and I really want bbs colors

Rule of 10s is generally out of 100 chicks hatched, 10 might be breeding quality and 1 might be show quality, after they have grown, but at least 90 will have something that makes it not worth keeping for serious show breeding

You can tell how good a chicken might be as a chick the same way you can tell how attractive a human infant might grow to be

 

[sdm111]

Ok thanks, I would order lots but 1: I don't have room for that many and 2: I'm not ok with slaughtering my chickens. I would just sell but back to 1 I don't have room

It's not that simple. You're not ready for the responsibility

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

It's not that simple. You're not ready for the responsibility

The responsibility of owning that many chickens or slaughtering or owning a show chicken?!?!

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

So as for shows I meant more like small town and county shows and 4-h shows so not like Ohio national.

 

[NatJ]

Ok thanks, I would order lots but 1: I don't have room for that many and 2: I'm not ok with slaughtering my chickens. I would just sell but back to 1 I don't have room

If you can only deal with a few at a time, you will probably not get GOOD show quality chickens, from any source, unless you buy them as adults so you can already see their quality.

You could buy just a few and hope for the best. You might get lucky or you might not. The downside of that idea is the time you spend raising them, and that you would be fond of those chickens before they are old enough to judge quality very well. You could probably sell some of the worst at an early age (like Silkies with the wrong number of toes.)

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

If you can only deal with a few at a time, you will probably not get GOOD show quality chickens, from any source, unless you buy them as adults so you can already see their quality.

You could buy just a few and hope for the best. You might get lucky or you might not. The downside of that idea is the time you spend raising them, and that you would be fond of those chickens before they are old enough to judge quality very well. You could probably sell some of the worst at an early age (like Silkies with the wrong number of toes.)

Ok thanks I am probably just gonna hope and see and if not oh well not my time lol but suggestions are still appreciated

 

[pinewoodacres]

I would highly suggest doing A LOT more research on what show quality is and the work it takes to get there. You don’t just buy a baby animal and expect that you can show it successfully. It’s like having a child and expecting she will grow up to be a runway model. People put tons of work and money and time into show birds and typically, they cull hard. You need to know your breed inside and out. Judges expect this from you.