Where to purchase chicks from?

[BriannaG]

Hi all,

This will be my first year with chickens. Planning to have a mixed flock with 1 of each breed of chicken (just trying to narrow down which breeds I'm going to go with!) Lol

Just debating where I should get my chicks from.. my local feed/grain/farm/pet store will be having new chicks every 2-3 weeks, so I wouldn't be getting the chicks all at once. The plus side is that they will all be vaccinated for mareks prior to coming home with me. But I'm concerned about staggering bringing them home, especially if I'm only bringing home 1 chick at a time (sometimes it would be 1 chick sometimes 2, depending on the breeds they have available that weekend and what I'm looking for).

My other thought was to order through My Pet Chicken or Murray McMurray, where it might be easier to have them sent at the same time, I just worry about how the chicks will fare in transport.

Open to other recommendations as well. Im located on Cape Cod, MA if that helps.

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[picklestheduck]

I would not stagger bringing them home. Plus most feed stores have a minimum of 4 chicks since they get very lonely. I would personally do the order through the hatchery. There are risks, but many people I know get chicks shipped and have had great success.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Most farm stores require 4-6 at a time, never less than 2.

Murray McMurray is where I would choose from out if what you've listed, but they have minimums too

 

[BriannaG]

I would not stagger bringing them home. Plus most feed stores have a minimum of 4 chicks since they get very lonely. I would personally do the order through the hatchery. There are risks, but many people I know get chicks shipped and have had great success.

Thank you! This confirms what I was thinking.

 

[3KillerBs]

Don't stagger them. Chicks of different ages have different needs for heat and space and no chicken ever does well alone.

While problems do occur, most hatcheries have an excellent record of successfully shipping chicks through the mail -- though some have minimum orders that are too large for the average backyard chicken owner to cope with.

I like Ideal Hatchery, though you might want to find a hatchery that's physically closer to reduce the time spent in transit.

 

[nuthatched]

My Pet chicken gets most of their birds from meyers, McMurray is good, ideal, cackle and Mt healthy are all good hatcheries. Most feed stores get their chicks from hoovers, which has lack luster birds.
You'll know what you're eally getting with a hatchery.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I got my first chicks from Meyer Hatchery and I was very happy. However, I did pick them up so I can't give a review on the shipping process. If you are hesitant about shipping, I would either go with the feed store chicks or find a hatchery near you that you can preorder from and pick up. Like others have said, staggering them isn't a good idea.


What breeds are you thinking of getting? That might help determine if it's better for you to rely on your feed store (common breeds like Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, etc) or a hatchery (wider variety).

 

[Percheron chick]

I would recommend getting your first chicks from either the feed store, CL or a FB group. Get to know who orders chicks at the feed store and if they do not have orders in for breeds you are interested in, see if you can piggyback on the shipment with birds just for you. Average feed stores order 4 different breeds 25 each, what is considered a full box with each shipment. Normally, the orders will lean heavily common high production breeds but you never know. They should be able to print up a list of what's on order. The big advantage of buying from the store is they assume most of the loss risk. Most chick mortality happens in the first 3 days.
If you're on FB, find a local chicken group and put out some feelers. Started pullets, ones that are 10-20 weeks, are an excellent way to start. Should eliminate the chance of bringing home a cockerel, can be cheaper even at $25/pullet because you don't need heat lamps and brooder, potential loss is close to zero and gets you in eggs sooner. You can also find others who would like to split an order with. 25 chicks is an ideal number to assure survival and spread out the small order shipping surcharge.

 

[Kimberlynn27]

I got my first chicks from Meyer Hatchery and I was very happy. However, I did pick them up so I can't give a review on the shipping process. If you are hesitant about shipping, I would either go with the feed store chicks or find a hatchery near you that you can preorder from and pick up. Like others have said, staggering them isn't a good idea.


What breeds are you thinking of getting? That might help determine if it's better for you to rely on your feed store (common breeds like Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, etc) or a hatchery (wider variety).

I ordered mine from Meyer Hatchery too! They shipped 8 baby chicks to me from Ohio all the way down to here to Florida on December 7th! They put a little warmer pack in there with a nest and some electrolyte type substance. They had soooo many breeds to choose from and I could pick all pullets so I didn't end up getting in trouble with my neigbors since I'm a city girl. They are all healthy and so stinking cute. 3 weeks and 2 days today! Good luck with your baby chickies! They are soooo much fun!

 

[LAYAM]

Hi all,

This will be my first year with chickens. Planning to have a mixed flock with 1 of each breed of chicken (just trying to narrow down which breeds I'm going to go with!) Lol

Just debating where I should get my chicks from.. my local feed/grain/farm/pet store will be having new chicks every 2-3 weeks, so I wouldn't be getting the chicks all at once. The plus side is that they will all be vaccinated for mareks prior to coming home with me. But I'm concerned about staggering bringing them home, especially if I'm only bringing home 1 chick at a time (sometimes it would be 1 chick sometimes 2, depending on the breeds they have available that weekend and what I'm looking for).

My other thought was to order through My Pet Chicken or Murray McMurray, where it might be easier to have them sent at the same time, I just worry about how the chicks will fare in transport.

Open to other recommendations as well. Im located on Cape Cod, MA if that helps.

Thanks for any feedback!

Ask the clerk at your local feed store where they get their chicks from and whether you could order chicks from that hatchery via your local feed store ... our local feed store charges a small fee on top of the price the hatchery charges - worth a try