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CluckersCapriccio

CluckersCapriccio

Chirping
Jan 15, 2018
5
11
57
Bothell, Washington
My husband just finished building me a brooder and I have most of the supplies needed to start doing something I have always wanted to do. Now it's time to look into getting my chicks. We live in the Pacific Northwest above Seattle and there are several feed stores that will sell chicks but someone told me ordering online is a good way to go. Guidance is always welcome.
 
Welcome to BYC!
Good luck in your endeavours.

Ordering from a hatchery gives you more options, but it's usually more expensive. Also, if you have a small order, suppliers like Ideal will ship you excess roosters to keep your sexed pullets warm.

Buying from your local feed store gives you fewer options and a higher chance of wrongly-identified chicks (mostly breed-wise, sometimes gender-wise.) In most states, you have to buy at least six chicks. But it's cheaper, and there's a high chance you'll get to pick the peeps you want out of the box. Besides--you're going to the store to get feed anyway.
 
CluckersCapriccio said:
My husband just finished building me a brooder and I have most of the supplies needed to start doing something I have always wanted to do. Now it's time to look into getting my chicks. We live in the Pacific Northwest above Seattle and there are several feed stores that will sell chicks but someone told me ordering online is a good way to go. Guidance is always welcome.
Click to expand...

Decide what kind of flock you want or need then research breeds. Do you want to free range them on your property? What kind of predators will they be exposed to? Heritage breeds are the most predator proof ones, but you might want house pet chicken who knows... Please reflect on these questions before you order as it will benefit you in the long run by not ordering something that is doomed to failure in your area and setting you back a year or so in chicken keeping.
 
We ordered our first 3 flocks from Mcmurray Hatchery and they were awesome to work with. You can get a lot of information from them. We are ordering from Cackle Hatchery this year and I can only say they have a lot of cool videos on YouTube and their website if you want to see live action of the different breeds. Hope you enjoy your BYCs!
 
Buying from a distance - postal shipping can be quite rigorous for baby chicks and as mentioned some hatcheries add cockerel chicks as "heating pads," to keep the others warm. Which illustrates the value they put on male chicks. Then you are stuck with trying to rehome cockerels that most people don't want.

The feed stores are getting their birds from hatcheries, so no real way to avoid their particular type of stock unless you find a local breeder and can bring home the chicks, examine them first and probably be able to see the parents.
 
drumstick diva said:
Buying from a distance - postal shipping can be quite rigorous for baby chicks and as mentioned some hatcheries add cockerel chicks as "heating pads," to keep the others warm. Which illustrates the value they put on male chicks. Then you are stuck with trying to rehome cockerels that most people don't want.

The feed stores are getting their birds from hatcheries, so no real way to avoid their particular type of stock unless you find a local breeder and can bring home the chicks, examine them first and probably be able to see the parents.
Click to expand...
Not to mention their needs might be to have show quality stock that cannot be had from mail order breeders. It all goes back to evaluating their own priorities in chicken keeping and doing some research. Do they want eggs or what are their goals?
 

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