Hatcheries, Day Old Chicks

my pet chicken IS THE WORST SITE ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!!

All my chicks from both My Pet Chicken and Meyer were fine, alive and healthy. The ones I got from Cackle slowly died over their first few months alive. I got chicks again this year (2014) from MPC and Meyer and they were all fine. The one time I did receive a shipment with a couple dead chicks, was when the postal service took longer than usual to get the chicks to me. USPS had a delay and took longer than usual to get to me. The delay is what killed the chicks. I did call Meyer and they offered me replacement chicks or credit on next years order, if I wanted that instead. They were very polite, helpful, and nice to deal with.

Thank you for this post, I looked at their website and was concerned on shipping prices, however figuring out they are only a broker I will just move on to direct hatchery or local area.

bantams are too small to sex. you wont know until they are over a month old and then you can guess by seeing if they seem like roosters or not.

Can I ask how much was shipping cost for yours?

3-15 chicks was $35. I've seen better, I've seen worse!

I love cackle hatchery. Customer service is fantastic!!! They (cackle) also put a warning on their easter eggers that their maybe be some cross billed chicks. Which is more warning then most hatcheries give you.

I was wondering if you received a tracking number when your chicks shipped from chickensforbackyard? Mine are due to ship today and I'm just trying to see what to expect.

I received 50 from Myer's hatchery and they r all doing fine and they came usps the day the were born they shipped

I also ordered from Ideal this year. I was on a wait list for a particular breed and they notified me in Oct. that they would be availalbe for March shipment. I was able to add to the order without problems and they shipped on time, arrive healthy and chirping. All 19 are still alive and thriving, now 3 month old.

What breeds? They are cute!

Yes, what breeds are they? They are really adorable. I am a sucker for baby anything I think.

Ciao,
My first experience with mypetchicken.com was two years ago. I ordered 8 day old chicks in September 2013 and a week later I ordered 4 day old chicks. I was very happy with my dealings with mypetchicken.com.
Subsequently, I ordered six fertile hatching eggs to place under my broody hen; none of those eggs hatched. I contacted mypetchicken.com and they apologized and issued me a $10.00 credit towards a future order.
Last month I ordered three Bielefelder hatching eggs(not cheap) and three Buff Orpington hatching eggs from my pet chicken.com and redeemed my $10.00 credit. Mypetchicken.com teamed up with a new supplier and my eggs were shipped. Unfortunately, the shipping box was not marked "hold for pick up" and the eggs were placed on the postal carriers truck for delivery. I went to the post office after I had looked up the tracking information and was informed that the box was on the truck for delivery (my house is last on my postal carriers route). I ended up driving the route and found my postal carrier and she gave me the hatching eggs.
I advised mypetchicken.com of the above and informed them that part of the box was damaged but it looked like all the eggs were intact. The eggs were placed in a Brinsea mini advance with eggs turner. I followed all the instructions to a T and after three weeks, two eggs hatched.
I have read many threads online and have found that this is an unacceptable hatching rate. I contacted mypetchicken.com and they apologized and felt that the hatching rate was acceptable and I should look at the troubleshooting guidelines. I canceled the eggs after one and two weeks. Three looked viable and three did not.
I have two Bielefelder chicks and four unhatched eggs.
I have written once again to mypetchicken.com and I am waiting for a response.

I love backyard chickens hatchery! I always get the chicks that I order from backyard chickens. The only thing I don't like about them is the cost. We just ordered three babies last time so we can breed them in our current flock, and them plus shipping cost like fifty five dollars! More money than I ever intended on spending!

My experience with My Pet Chicken has been wonderful. Maybe their prices are a bit higher, but other hatcheries only sell in bulk (15 chick minimum) and My Pet Chicken allows as little as three for most orders, and that has to raise their costs. They also pack the chicks with special heating packs, etc, because of the small number, and that costs more, too. As a BACKYARD CHICKEN person, you know, a real one, with a fenced backyard in suburbia, I'm limited to 5 chickens and no roosters. I can't even buy 5 chicks at Tractor Supply Co! I'd tried to drive to a breeder (closest one over an hour drive away), and the last time I wasted gas doing that they refused to sell to me because they didn't like my newbiness and stuck their noses up at my small flock and setup. Chickens are not manufactured, they cannot predict supply of popular breeds. They do their best. I carefully choose my alternate breed choices and include them with my order. And I have a happy, healthy small Pet Backyard Chicken flock!

Better yet...don't order any poultry from Mcmurray. Years ago, they were fairly reputable but over the last decade, they have been having serious issues....far too many instances of crossed beak and many breeds are simply shrinking in size for one reason or another...I'm thinking one problem is inbred depression.

Inbreeding is fine if you know how to do it and when to STOP!!!

What about Ideal? Are they still reliable? We just ordered eight chicks from them of four different breeds. We specifically paid for a requested pullets. we know sexing is not entirely reliable, but, are they as bad as Mcmurray seems to have become?