Hatcheries, Day Old Chicks

I might try ordering from them later this summer. Sound like a good place to order but what are the prices on there chicks?? I dont think the would kill there roosters because they send an extra chick with every order (almost alwase a rooster) but if you think they do you should call there office and ask.

My Pet Chicken does not send roosters as packing peanuts with your order. If you order 5 females, that is what you receive.

I have been dealing with MPC for several years, as well as a few other other hatcheries. I thoroughly agree that MPC is by far the best in customer service and quality of chicks. I have ordered as few as three chicks and as many as 20 from them, and they have always arrived healthy. I have never had a sick or dead chick. Their customer service is unsurpassed. I have made errors in my order, and needed to make changes or corrections at the last minute, and the customer service agents are always so nice and able to fix my problems. (And never make me feel like the idiot I am!) I have also ordered hatching eggs from them, and have excellent hatch rates and get good quality chicks. You won't be disappointed...

Sounds great, I just ordered with Ideal and it seems like they've got Buff Standard cornish right on the dot, they fit their description like crazy.

Dear, LareePQG
Sory for being unclear i was refering to Murry McMurry when i said that they send an extra chick with every order. There not packing peanuts because they only send one extra i have ordered from them five times and four out of the five extra birds i got a rooster as the extra they not only just send you a extra chick but they pull it out of there RARE BREED stock. I have never had any problems with them other the they don't send a heating pack with the chicks. I am refering to Murry McMurry Hatchery when i say "there" in my post this time and last.

My Pet Chicken chick prices vary depending on the breed and sex. The $10 chick I was referring to was a female bantam which is why it was so expensive. No other hatchery currently offers sexed bantams. Most female chicks I've ordered from MPC run between $2.00 and $4.00 not including shipping.
I did like that McMurray sends me a free chick upon request which is usually a male but even if every person opted to receive a free male chick it wouldn't make up for the average 50 percent male hatch rate. For example, if I ordered 25 female chicks from McMurray and opted to receive one free chick (likely male) than it wouldn't be enough to offset the 25 male chicks they hatched trying to get the 25 females I ordered. Many many people do not want to hassle with raising male chicks and that adds up to a lot of male chicks that McMurray or any other hatchery would have to find something to do with. I’m certainly not going to be naïve enough to think that they put these chicks up for adoption or some other humane thing because if they did they wouldn’t skip the chance to publicize it on their website. The fact that they don’t even address this issue on their website leads me to question what their practices are. I’m trying to pick on McMurray but only trying to emphasize that I appreciate MPC’s efforts to address this issue in a humane way. I did however just look up MPC’s policy on this issue and found that it has changed since the last time I looked. It now no longer says “no kill policy” and notes that some of their excess male chicks are “humanely euthanized.” This is disheartening but I still appreciate their efforts to handle it the best way possible. I challenge anyone to call Ideal, McMurray, or any other hatchery to find out what their practices are because it certainly isn’t a unique problem with MPC. To see MPC's policy visit http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyar...ur-hatchery-do-with-extra-males-and-H103.aspx?

Thanks i have never thought about that. Thanks
Summer

I have been using Ideal for 2 years now and can honestly say that most of the birds I receive have been better than the "breeders" I have bought from reputable "show stock". Birds have always arrived healthy and happy. I have taken my Blue Cochin pullet from Ideal to 2 different shows now and she won Best Variety at both.
As far as the extra roos...the breeds are usually Orpington or RIR and I am able to rehome them to people looking to raise their own for breeding or food.

I have to agree with this review. Cackle Hatchery got my order correct (16 birds) and sent 2 extras. One of the extras was DOA, but the other grew into my handsome roo Chunky.

so sorry to hear that i cnsidered ordering frm mcmurray but i wasnt completely comfrtable with chicks being shipped to the post ffice which forgets to call my house smetimes

That is appalling! They should be ashamed of themselves. Those poor birds. And my heart goes out to you for the loss. I know how attached you get when you care for them and try to save them. Best of luck and thanks for the 'heads up' on McMurry.

I used to order from them also. BUT you are right. There is no empathy and to me it's a step shy of murder in the first. I no longer order from them period. It's not worth it. I hope your next order goes better. I have never heard of them shipping on the weekend before.
Good luck
Been there, done that!

I have ordered from only MM. I never had one problem! I ordered 25 first time, received 28, all survived and thrived. Second time I ordered, I got 6, 17 week old pullets. My post office (I love them!) called me at 5:00AM & told me my chicks were in. Second batch, they drove them to my home! I would buy from them again, if I was going to order 25 chickens again. This year, I bought from my local feed store. So far so good, they are pullets, we shall see! If I were to order small amounts of chicks, I will try My Pet Chicken!

I have just started rising Chickens and got mine from efowl.com . I got a shipping date 1 week after i ordered the chicks. They come in one day and all lived but one. I have since bought 15 more and hope for the same success. I know you can lose a few chicks from shipping but one one i lost so im happy with efowl.com and its also free shipping on orders more then 15. Must see site if you have not looked yet.. Daniel

I love McMurray's Hatchery! My grandfather used to order from them, then my parents, and now me. They have always been extremely good to us. I had one bad batch come in March last year. I lost about half of them. They were very sympathetic with me and replaced the whole batch with a few extra too boot. I live in a northern climate, so am conscious to not order too early in the spring, but when I do get my chicks they are full of energy and vigor. I always get my chicks on Saturday, as they are shipped on Friday and reach the main shipping center in Madison then. They call me and I make the 35 to 40 mile one way trip to go get them. I couldn't wait until Monday at my post office! If I lived clear across the country I don't think I would be ordering from them, but being this close and with their remarkable service with my family over the years they are my hatchery of choice.

I wouldn't necessarily assume that it was the hatchery's fault if I got dead and dying chicks a day late. Sitting in a warehouse an extra day sounds more like the postal service was to blame to me. I, like some above, have several generations of satisfied customers with Murray McMurray. Both of my parents continued to order from Murray McMurray after their divorce, it seemed to be the only thing they agreed on.

I got my replacement shipment. I got a text again on a Saturday, but this time, I opened my door on Monday morning and found the box of chicks sitting there. The school was out for Spring break so I had no reason to go outside and we slept in that morning. I have no idea how long they had been siting there. I had 26 chicks alive, but shaky when I put them in the brooder. I lost 5 the first day, and by the following Friday, I have lost all of them except 6 chicks. I never said it was the hatcheries fault...I am just reporting the facts as they happen. My post office worker thought she was doing me a great service by leaving these chicks on my porch, but I guess didn't realize that we didn't have school that week. I guess she also didn't realize that IF they call me to come pick them up, I am able to do so very early in the morning before the post office even opens. I still do not understand the hatchery sending them on a Friday or Saturday, though.....

They send them out over the weekend so they can get through all the substations. They go out to a sorting center that puts them on a plane or truck to send them to the next sorting area in your area. That way you can get them on Monday or Tuesday. Otherwise you would be getting them on Thursday or Friday. They don't just sit in some warehouse during the weekend they are actually enroute to you.
Just a suggestion, but I always let the post office know that I am expecting some chicks and would prefer a call. The usually call me from the sorting center so I can drive there to pick them up. I don't mind the 45 minutes each way as then I have my chicks days earlier. When I lived in the city I did the same thing. It's smart to cultivate some friends at the post office.

I ordered from Cackle last year. We ordered Dominiques, Leghorns, and Ameraucana EEs. When we recvd our order there were no Leghorns, they didnt hatch. They sent 2-3 extra EEs. All chicks arrived in Louisiana in good condition and they refunded a portion of our $ due to not hatching any leghorns. However, after a week 4-5 of the EEs got a trembling disorder and died.

Oh, what a horrible experience! I have kids also and we had 2 chicks (out of 5) that we received from a different hatchery than yours. They arrived healthy and alert but one died 3 days after receiving them, and the other died on the 4th day. We had them vaccinated for Marek's, but I assume that the deaths were due to either an environmental issue, or maybe they were weak to begin with. This chicken stuff is harder than I thought it would be!