Ok, folks, I need a bit of advice. I have a redneck brother who has been insisting he wants to order a huge amount of chickens from Murray McMurray. He cannot afford to do it on his own, so he wants me to help pay for them. His arrangement is that he will order them, pick them up, and raise them. He and I will then pick out what we want to keep (as if I need anymore chickens), and he will sell the rest. I do know that some guy who resells chickens comes by and tries to buy all the chickens my brother will sell him every now and then, so I do think he can sell the extras. He wants to order 100 pullets and have me order 50 straight run. I am hesitant because I am afraid I will end up having to bring them here and raise them in order for them to survive and because I don't want to get stuck with that many chickens that I do not have room for as adults. I am also really bothered by this seeing them as a commodity thing. These are live creatures to be treated like pets, not stocks and bonds to buy and resell at a profit. If I go along with this plan of his, does anyone have any recommendations for what to order from MMc? I would love to get my dad some black australorps and to get some cuckoo marans in the mix, but I understand that coming from a hatchery they may not lay dark eggs and may not even be purebred. Any thoughts or suggestions?
It sounds to me like you're only considering doing this to please your brother. It seems like this isn't really what you want and you know it, you just don't know how to tell him.
Hi! I can sympathize! I have a red-neck brother and he has a red-neck sister! If you are hesitant about the situation and don't think you want to deal it, then you should just say you're not interested. It is a matter of fact, that many many people who *like* raising chicks buy quantities of chicks just to resell them to people who don't 'want to wait or be bothered by raising chicks'. Just a few thoughts from here Good luck! Lisa
....Or you could simply help him financialy and make it clear that you do not have any more space. If he is ordering a 100 for himself, and you are paying for them you could also ask him to order a couple marans and autralorps for your dad. PS: For maran eggs you should contact mergmet in virginia, she has a very good variety and she'll ship you the eggs. I totally agree with you that chickens are not like "bonds" that you can sell later, no, so you should choose what you like instead of straight run. Posting here was a very good idea, I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice. Good luck!
If you DO decide to go that route and order chickens, be aware that just because they have them on the website doesn't mean that the chicks/sex you want are available. They are pretty good about listing the current availability, but even then, when you get to the checkout section, you find that the breed you want isn't available in the forseeable future. But I agree... if you have reservations about it, don't do it just to please him, even if he is your brother. Even if the birds are a "commodity", there is a responsibility that goes along with them, as I'm sure you're aware. Good luck... it's a tough decision...
He has supposedly called and verified that the assortments he wants are available. I keep telling him that our local feed stores can't get more chicks in, so don't count too hard on him being able to get them, either. I feel sure I will just give him part of the money so he can order whatever he wants, go pick out a few pullets to keep for myself, then let him pay me back when he sells them. My only real concerns are that predators will start getting them and I will have to bring them here to brood myself ,or that they might turn out not to be purebred, since I have read on here that some hatchery birds are not actually pure but just look like that breed. Can you count on Murray Mc's birds to be pure (although I know show quality can never be guaranteed, and I am not interested in showing, anyway).