A Controversy: Breeders vs. Hatcheries

[rittert3]

I think for folks who just want birds they could go either way and tend to be happy, if you're a perfectionest and want to show or breed and sell show stock then go with a breeder. I know of alot of 4-H winners that have come from better hatchery stock which is maybe where some people get confused, theres a difference between showstock and 4-H grade show stock. As for my one personal experience with hatcheries, no I wasn't happy. I ordered Bobwhite from McMurry almost 10 years ago and lost them all in 3 days. Most of this was my fault but I wasn't happy with the sale terms either. I think from now on I will go with the local folks I know or BYCers as I like dealing with small quanities, if I wan't some birds that are locally hard to find, in a bit larger quanity... after researching I like Ideals sale terms, pricing, and variety better than most other hatcheries. Cackle also sells some hard to find birds but are higher priced, I might go with them if I couldn't find what I was looking for else where. I will also add that I tend to go for other birds than chickens and so hatcheries are deffinatly not a good route for me, for chickens I wouldn't want to pay much, depending on the breed, variety, and use I have in mind, so a top of the line exhibition breeder wouldn't be practical for me. I would also like to add that I served a very short while in a commercial layer hatchery and, after that, would much rather go through a small farmer for my birds. Just my opinions.

 

[cybercat]

If one does a search one can find many threads on this subject.

With that said and with what else has already been said here is an insiders view.

Hatcheries are no different than most hobby production breeders. They are in it for money not improving the breed. But hatcheries are usually better to buy from than the other for health reasons. Many times one can only buy the breed the want from a hatchery since there is no one local or even near state to buy from. But unless you wish to get into serious breeding and improving your breed of choice buying from a hatchery makes sense. Now if you one wants to work with just one or 2 breeds and work from the SOP then going to a breeder from the breeds club makes sense. I would not buy from just anyone saying they are a breeder if I was looking to show but I would go to breed club and buy from there. Here lies the differance in breeders. If one is serious they will join the breeds club to get help from the breeders there. Those that do not are winging it and mostly breeding for money. Memebership is never that high but the help is priceless.

 

[colby318]

Quote:

I love that last sentence.