Our first order was in June of 2012 -- and like many who've reviewed, we had problems getting the breeds we wanted -- all on the same date. The shipping cost is steep with My Pet Chicken, and being a beginner, I really didn't relish the idea of integrating different age groups of hens. We settled on substitutes and made arrangements with our post mistress to call us immediately on the big day. Our order arrived with only 2 of the 7 alive. Those 2 died within 2 days. I was pretty shaken, and would have really liked to have had a more sympathetic person to speak with regarding their condition, and the ensuing process. The insensitivity and rudeness was later defended in the name of "efficiency" -- as in "I'm sure she was just trying to get you the birds you want . . . " and I might have bought that somewhat, if they hadn't called back to tell me that they " couldn't process my order with the birds selected" yet again . . . and then again . . . and yep -- AGAIN.
So, I selected birds that I was less and less familiar with, trusting that they knew what they were advising me about. Of the 7 I had REALLY wanted: at least 1 Austrolorp, at least 1 Speckled Sussex, and a couple of Salmon Faverolles (pref. 1 of each gender). and hopefully a Brahma and/or an Orpington -- Suffice to say I ended up, finally, with none of those -- except the Faverolles. And they were deformed (as was a female ordered on the same date by another buyer - from Meyer Hatchery.
I hadn't known it at the time, but "My Pet Chicken" is not a Hatchery. They are merely brokers who get their birds from Meyer Hatchery. (And Re-sell them with inflated prices and for absurd shipping charges.) They answer phones and emails from all over the country, but cannot affect the orders of a Hatchery that has their own huge orders to fill. So if someone fails to enter your phone order -- which happened to me REPEATEDLY . . . well suddenly you become a very low priority, and are out of choices -- behind Meyer customers and any MPC internet sales that may have come in while you assumed your order was all set. And, instead of being honest about the situation they make a lot of excuses and creatively falsify what's transpired, and what's been ordered -- and especially what they've promised. If, like me, this whole nightmare took you right through to August, well you aren't likely to find many of the choices that you paid to reserve 8 weeks ago. I gave up and found some of the breeds I'd wanted through breeders in my local (Northern CA) area and awaited the "re-shipment" --a very different bunch of birds, which they were finally able to ship 3 weeks later. Unfortunately, I had purchased 2 baby Austrolorps (at the suggestion of one of the My Pet Chicken customer service staff) to keep the last remaining Faverolles baby company. When he died, I still had healthy (but older) babies to integrate. We'd been given some EE's (as MPC had none) and when the last of the (first shipment) Faverolles left the Austrolorps lonely, we got a Crested Polish and an RIR so they'd have playmates.
My second MPC shipment arrived with some healthier birds. Only one, a Cinnamon Buff, looked truly sickly, but again, the Faverolles had problems. The females had very twisted toes, which I tried very hard to help along. One, named Gidget, improved pretty well, and one, Binky-Rae didn't. Still she gets around fairly well and is much loved and enjoyed by all of us. She is also well protected by her Barred Rock sister "Miss Weezah". Sadly, the male, "Fargo" had this weird soggy, almost pendulous belly that we hoped was merely a hernia -- I didn't know that such a tiny chick could have such a problem, but it seems to be cardiac related. At 8 months he had to be re-homed, and now has a flatter backyard to roam. As the Cochin pullet they sent turned out to be a rooster, and the Cinnamon Buff had died within a couple of days of arrival, we were looking at a flock without many stellar layers.
We finally purchased a few SLW's with a Buff Orpington and one more RIR. to round out the mix. In all I had 5 separate age groups to integrate, which as a beginner, I found challenging. I had chosen to go with My Pet Chicken because I felt they could offer the best customer support and probably healthier stock. I also wanted too support certain policies I believe in: -- Not de-beaking, not "peanut-packing" baby males, and so on. But since they merely broker their birds, I'm actually supporting another hatchery about whom I know nothing -- except that they had some major problems with their Faverolles that season. I feel sorry for the 2 very nice people I spoke spoke with who understood why I so wanted to have chickens, who shared my initial excitement, and my eventual frustration. They were totally devoted to chickens, yet devoid of any power to help when things when wrong, over, and over again. That said, I would absolutely NOT recommend My Pet Chicken based on my experiences. Too many people were simply too unprofessional. Rather than try to deal with it, they simply made excuses and made up fiction. They should be ashamed. Perhaps someday they'll pull together a viable company, but they made a miserably frustrating, horribly disappointing and overly expensive experience out of something I had very much wanted to enjoy. We love our birds very much, but they deserved a better and less stressful start.
So, I selected birds that I was less and less familiar with, trusting that they knew what they were advising me about. Of the 7 I had REALLY wanted: at least 1 Austrolorp, at least 1 Speckled Sussex, and a couple of Salmon Faverolles (pref. 1 of each gender). and hopefully a Brahma and/or an Orpington -- Suffice to say I ended up, finally, with none of those -- except the Faverolles. And they were deformed (as was a female ordered on the same date by another buyer - from Meyer Hatchery.
I hadn't known it at the time, but "My Pet Chicken" is not a Hatchery. They are merely brokers who get their birds from Meyer Hatchery. (And Re-sell them with inflated prices and for absurd shipping charges.) They answer phones and emails from all over the country, but cannot affect the orders of a Hatchery that has their own huge orders to fill. So if someone fails to enter your phone order -- which happened to me REPEATEDLY . . . well suddenly you become a very low priority, and are out of choices -- behind Meyer customers and any MPC internet sales that may have come in while you assumed your order was all set. And, instead of being honest about the situation they make a lot of excuses and creatively falsify what's transpired, and what's been ordered -- and especially what they've promised. If, like me, this whole nightmare took you right through to August, well you aren't likely to find many of the choices that you paid to reserve 8 weeks ago. I gave up and found some of the breeds I'd wanted through breeders in my local (Northern CA) area and awaited the "re-shipment" --a very different bunch of birds, which they were finally able to ship 3 weeks later. Unfortunately, I had purchased 2 baby Austrolorps (at the suggestion of one of the My Pet Chicken customer service staff) to keep the last remaining Faverolles baby company. When he died, I still had healthy (but older) babies to integrate. We'd been given some EE's (as MPC had none) and when the last of the (first shipment) Faverolles left the Austrolorps lonely, we got a Crested Polish and an RIR so they'd have playmates.
My second MPC shipment arrived with some healthier birds. Only one, a Cinnamon Buff, looked truly sickly, but again, the Faverolles had problems. The females had very twisted toes, which I tried very hard to help along. One, named Gidget, improved pretty well, and one, Binky-Rae didn't. Still she gets around fairly well and is much loved and enjoyed by all of us. She is also well protected by her Barred Rock sister "Miss Weezah". Sadly, the male, "Fargo" had this weird soggy, almost pendulous belly that we hoped was merely a hernia -- I didn't know that such a tiny chick could have such a problem, but it seems to be cardiac related. At 8 months he had to be re-homed, and now has a flatter backyard to roam. As the Cochin pullet they sent turned out to be a rooster, and the Cinnamon Buff had died within a couple of days of arrival, we were looking at a flock without many stellar layers.
We finally purchased a few SLW's with a Buff Orpington and one more RIR. to round out the mix. In all I had 5 separate age groups to integrate, which as a beginner, I found challenging. I had chosen to go with My Pet Chicken because I felt they could offer the best customer support and probably healthier stock. I also wanted too support certain policies I believe in: -- Not de-beaking, not "peanut-packing" baby males, and so on. But since they merely broker their birds, I'm actually supporting another hatchery about whom I know nothing -- except that they had some major problems with their Faverolles that season. I feel sorry for the 2 very nice people I spoke spoke with who understood why I so wanted to have chickens, who shared my initial excitement, and my eventual frustration. They were totally devoted to chickens, yet devoid of any power to help when things when wrong, over, and over again. That said, I would absolutely NOT recommend My Pet Chicken based on my experiences. Too many people were simply too unprofessional. Rather than try to deal with it, they simply made excuses and made up fiction. They should be ashamed. Perhaps someday they'll pull together a viable company, but they made a miserably frustrating, horribly disappointing and overly expensive experience out of something I had very much wanted to enjoy. We love our birds very much, but they deserved a better and less stressful start.