Hatcheries, Day Old Chicks

My experience with cackle hatchery was not good at all. There were many problems and misscomunications. So heres what all happened, I found cackles website and read about it and it seemed like a good place to get birds from based on what i had read. Also on their home page it said minimum of 15 chicks (the picture below was taken straight from their website). 15 chicks was a good number because my friend was going to order 5 chicks so i would end up with 10, a nice manageable number.






The order was 5 silkies (my friend was ordering those), 5 quail belgain d'anvers, and 5 delaware pullets. That all equals 15 right? Well a few days later i got a call from the hatchery saying they were out of silkies for the year (on their site they did not have any notification of this). At the time i was at subway eating so i told the lady very politely that i would call her back, but before i hung up she said "oh also, we can not ship 10 bantams and 5 standards together so you will have to order 10 standards and 15 bantams". This mad me very unhappy and was quite a hastle. First of all i do not have nearly enough room for that many chickens! and second i did not want to pay that much!. I got home and called my friend to let her know that she will have to get something else (she didn't really care to much as she is fine with almost anything) after a while of thinking and priceing things out i got the new order together. the new order was 10 old english games (those are going to my friend), 5 quail belgain d'anvers, and 10 delawares. i sent the order in and a few days later another call... this time they called me and said they will not be able to ship 10 delaware pullets as they were out of stock (once again, this was not stated on their site) so i substituted them for 10 golden laced wyandottes. My friend was very nice and would take 5. today i got a call from the post office saying that the chicks arrived! the only thing was that there was only the 10 wyandotte pullets......umm there should be 15 more. i figured they would be shipped later today (hopefully!) but anyway i got home and opened the box, 9 healthy chicks and one dead one. hopefully the rest will arrive today and will all be healthy. so all in all not a good experience.

Above is what the invoice looked like, were it says delaware pullets is actually wyandotte pullets. All i have gotten from them so far is the wyandottes...and come to find out that is all i will be getting. i looked through the papers sent with the chicks and i found this little pink paper saying "you are reciveing this slip because your order was shorted....you may find 0 marked on your invouice this is because we are short on that breed....we try really hard but sometime it dosent work (uh huh is that so)....We will be processing a refund or credit...please feel free to reorder or or call"
I DEFINATELY did not have a good experience with cackle hatchery, i would never order from this hatchery again, ever again!

I ordered around 20 baby chicks from Meyer Hatchery in April and everything went really well. None of the chicks had pasty butt, they all arrived alive and healthy, the prices were cheaper than other places and most importantly, they arrived 2 days sooner. They were very helpful on getting my chicks here quickly because it was already hot where I live so I was highly impressed. None of them were sick or dead so it was a really good experience. They also were very helpful if I had any questions and would respond within a few hours. I would recommend them to anyone.

Earlier in June, I got some chicks. They told me one was a barred rock, one was a leghorn, one was a rhode island red, one was a new hampshire red, and one was a japanese bantam. They were all right, except the "leghorn" grew up to be a buff orpington, and the "japanese bantam" grew up to be a red pyle old english! They were all very well raised by them though, and preferably my favorites in the flock (except my old english [my favorite] died yesterday ) I would go there again, but this time I will not look for specific chicks!

Several years ago I ordered 15 chicks from Cackle. They all were healthy, and thrived after being shipped all the way to NNY. Their Dominiques are from an old successful show line and I got 2 show worthy hens in my order. I also had their Buff Orps, SL Wyandottes, GL Wyandottes. I was extremely pleased. The only thing I didn't like was that they didn't used to offer Marck's vaccinations of chicks, but they do now.

I just placed a second order with Cackle, which should arrive in a few days. I'll update then.

My first time ordering with Cackle, I lost one chick a few days after arrival. The rest are still going strong. Good quality Barred Rocks, EEs, both of which I got show quality roosters. Beautiful.

I also ordered cayugas from them. They only offer straight run on rare breeds, and I got 5 drakes and 1 hen. They haven't had any health problems. They do have a large selection of breeds and many are available sexed.

Good prices and they ship to ALASKA!

I've been a fan of Glenn Drowns at Sandhill Preservation for some years. He is in the "business" for the purpose of preserving, and improving, a large number of rare (and not so rare) breeds and varieties. You can be sure you are getting genetically pure birds. I've always had great luck with their chicks being healthy at delivery.

Very fast service I ordered 6/1 and received my order 6/5. 50 ISA, 50 BSL, & 2 roos
PROS
The hatchery is in my home state and it is the ONLY hatchery that you can get ISA birds from in the US. Your average RSL hens can't even compare to the production of ISA hens. The staff is real friendly and will take the time to answer your questions. When ordering 100 chicks, you get everything (no matter the # breeds) for the 100 chick price, pullets $1.80 and cockerals $0.85. They are shipped really fast, only lost 2 chicks, and had 2 ISA pullet extras in the shipment.
CONS
Unfortunately, my order was missing 2 BSL pullets and 1 other was a male.I was really hoping for extra BSL pullets. Townline was quick to give a refund for the dead/missing chicks. Townline does need to update their website to the 21st century though, I would like to be able to see real pictures of their available breeds and have a "shopping cart" system for easy online ordering.

i ordered 20 chicks speckled sussex, Buff orpington, EE, and silver laced Wayndottes (five of each) i orded them through a feed store shipment and i came home with 21 (gave an extra) healthy lively chicks i have seen no defects or lame chicks they are now almost 4 weeks and havent lost a single one!
loved it!!!!

I have ordered 3 boxes from McMurray now, 2 have arrived, other is set to arrive in June. They have a 48 hour live guarantee, and replace ANY chicks that fail to thrive without hassle or questions.

There's always a free rare chick with every order! One box they sent us 2 free extras, on top of the free rare!

I would not hesitate to order again and again and again!

This year was the first time I've ordered from eFowl.com. In the years past, if I couldn't get the breed I wanted from my local feed store, I ordered from Stombergs.

eFowl website has abundant information. The pullets were $3.93 for the Welsummers & Cuckoo Marans which are not considered "Standard Breeds" so they were priced a bit higher. Cockerels were $2.49, and I paid an extra $4.99 for "small order charge" (13 pullets/2 cockerels).

I also had to wait until May for them to be hatched & shipped, but I was given an approximate date, and 2 days after that date, I got an email saying they had shipped. They arrived the next day. It's been a week now and all have survived. The cockerels were marked with purple under their beaks.

It was a good first experience with this company.

Very nice experience. I ordered a brown egg layer assortment and requested broody breeds. I have a broody now All my chicks lived and are still thriving. I did have one accidental rooster, but that was no big deal. The customer service is very pleasant.

I ordered from McMurray, from the Meat N Egg Combo Special. My first chicks, ever! They were shipped on a Saturday, and Sunday morning my local post office called me. We thought they weren't coming until Monday or Tuesday, which was a surprise. We got 3 Rhode Island Reds, a golden Polish, 15 meat birds, Buff Cochin, an Australorp, possibly 3 Blue Andalusians, a white chick (unidentified) and two what I think are Columbian Wyandottes. We are having the best time with our babies!

I ordered 3/each of five different breeds of chickens. They threw in an extra too my shipment arrived within three days and the post office called my as soon as the chicks arrived. I was very happy with this order and will order from them again. Thank you Mt.Healthy!!!

We received an order of 35 chicks from Murray McMurray on Monday, April 30. Our four children were so excited! The White Crested Black Polish chick was dead on arrival, but the rest seemed healthy. We are first time chicken owners, so we had all the chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease and coccidiosis as we thought that would ensure our chicks would be as healthy as possible. We followed the instructions for brooding chicks to the letter, having two red heat lamps, corn cob litter inside an 18" cardboard draft shield, two thermometers -- one under the lamps and one to the side for room temperature. We have two waterers and two 18" feed trays. The chicks received Gro Gel during their first day, and Quik Chik electrolytes in the water until we used up the packet. All went well until Saturday morning, five days after the chicks arrived, when we found the Silver Laced Polish chick dead. One of our two White Langshans died later that morning, while the second died the next day. We have been losing one to two a day ever since, with the blessed occasional day without a death. My children are devastated; it seems all their favorites with the most personality are the ones we lose. McMurray said they would refund our losses, which is nice; I haven't asked for refunds for the latest three, but we really wanted chickens, not death on a daily basis. After a week of deaths, McMurray finally recommended that we give the chicks Duramycin, "to help the chicks recover from the stress of shipping." Being new chick owners, we aren't positive what is going on, but we feel that the live coccidiosis vaccination has infected our flock, and at this rate, we'll be lucky to have any grow to maturity. The deaths continue even now. We found our Buff Laced Polish chick suddenly dead in the brooder yesterday; it seemed strong and healthy just that morning. Then today, the White-Faced Black Spanish chick was dead; she was a favorite, because any time the kids put a hand in the brooder she hopped on wanting to be held and hand fed. It's been a very depressing experience so far!

In addition to the ones I mentioned, we have lost our Silver Laced Wyandotte pullet, Partridge Cochin pullet, White Polish pullet, Buff Cochin pullet and Blue Andalusian pullet. The Lakenvelder and the Silver Laced Dorking pullets are hunched under the lamp with their eyes closed now. That's the way most have looked the day before they die, except for those we just suddenly found dead with no apparent symptoms. Such a different experience than we hoped to have!!

My first chicks by mail - what a great experience. I did have to call the order in because it wouldn't go thru on their website. The chicks I wanted (frizzle cochins) were to be shipped out within a week. I received an email on the day they shipped (Monday) and the post office was calling me at 6:30 Wednesday morning! I only ordered 8 chicks but paid the insurance and they packed extra material in to keep them warm. All chicks were doing great! I dipped their beaks and they started drinking immediately. I put them under a light and put out some food - they starting pecking the food right away. They all seem to be doing fine despite their trip. I am very happy and will definitely order again!

I liked the website: ease of use, lots of information, pictures and details. I used the breed selector to pick the right birds for my needs and ordered 16 pullet chicks in January for April delivery. (Australorp, Speckled Sussex, EEs, Silver and Gold laced Wyandottes, Welsummer). They arrived yesterday, only one dead. Several looked a little weak, but perked right up when beak-dipped a few times into tepid water containing Sav-A-Chick solution and placed under the heat lamp. This morning all birds are healthy and active. I will do business with MPC again, their site is friendly and their service very good. I expect to pay well for good birds and good shipping, I did not find the prices too high at all.

We placed our order several months ahead and all five chicks arrived when they were supposed to, in fantastic condition, and were all the breeds and genders that we wanted. We had no problems and all of our birds are still thriving and laying well!

This was the first time I've ordered by mail, and I had no idea what to expect. I chose "Ideal" because I didn't want a lot of chicks, but I wanted a variety. Most hatcheries require a minimum of 5 for any breed ordered. I ordered 25 straight run bantams the end of February with 10 different breeds. They shipped 3/27/12 late in the day, and I received them 3/29/12 at 8:00 am. (it was an unusually warm week for March) They were all alive and well. Ten days later, they are thriving and healthy. I read the reviews for numerous hatcheries and it seems that there are fantastic and horrible reviews for every one. I highly recommend Ideal, although I have nothing to compare it to.

I have been ordering from Murray McMurray since 1991. Usually I have great success with their chicks, however this past time, I ordered 25 chicks of various breeds, I got a text saying my order had been shipped on a Saturday (?) and I got the order on Tuesday. 13 were DOA, and the rest were on their last leg. I spent the entire next day and a half feeding them and watering them from a syringe. I was able to keep them alive for that long, but they just kept dying one after the other until by the next afternoon, all had died. I called McMurray crying my eyes out, not looking for sympathy (but certainly got none)and they simply said that they would re-ship them. I told them I wanted to wait until April this time...so I should have my replacement order by tomorrow (April 2nd) or the next day. I only hope that it doesn't happen again. They seemed to treat the chicks like just another box. Granted, I have NEVER had anything like this happen before. I might have lost 1 or 2 from an order of 100 over the years. But never have I ever lost the entire shipment. When I get ready to order again, I think I will try a different hatchery, though.

I got my Chicks last easter break, we ordered 15 from eFowl (thats why my username is Chick15) and they threw in an extra. We ordered 5 SLW, 5 Speckled Sussex and 5 RIR (the extra was a RIR) All the chicks lived and were healthy, nad have been healthy. This was my first time having chickens and we were very pleased. I would definatly reccommend them, they did a terrific job, and none of my chickens died from disease, so they are all perfectly healthy.