Anyone have problems with ordering chicks from McMurrey Hatchery?

[reveriereptile]

We sent an order form in a few months back to them to have them sent for now. We ordered last time from Hoffman's Hatchery which was very good and had small amounts along with a few extra chicks. This time we wanted a variety of breeds so we went with McMurrey. We ordered the rarest of the rare variety group that has 25 chicks of at least 10 different breeds. Also stated in the issue is that if we order ahead of time that we would get an extra exotic chick along with the order. We got the chicks today and they all looked wore out with their eyes squinted and weak acting. We got them under a light with food/water and they are started diving in. We counted them and only had 25. I looked at the paper that was in the box and it said 25 ROTR variety (extras included) and 1 exotic chick on the invoice. It didn't make to much of a big deal for us. A few hours after getting them we kept checking on them and during one of the times one of the chicks was laying on its side almost dead and cold. I hurried up and hair dried it for warmth and put it in a seperate box with a light above it and then added another light to the box with the chicks. I checked the other chicks and noticed a lot of poop on their butts probably from stress of the trip and a lot of them had some wing feathers already growing. The chick that was almost dead started to get a little better but ended up dying. We've been keeping an even closer look at the chicks and some started looking weak (mostly the smaller ones) so we took them and put them in another box and they seem to be doing better. I know Hoffman's Hatchery the chicks/ducks/geese all came healthy/alert/and very active and no poop on their butts. I don't know if with McMurrey being a bigger breeder that their chicks aren't taken care of as well or if I just got an unlucky order of chicks.

 

[augiedranch]

hi.

i just got a batch of mcmurray chicks today infact.

they are jersey giants. i got two free chicks. a free male, that they marked so i'd know who was who. and a free rare exotic. which i think is a light brahma but i dont know yet.. maybe a top hatter of some sort.

well, the chicks were REALLY hungry and thirsty. they really acted alot older than a day or two old.. .. thats the only thing that worried me..

they are doing ok so far. but ive only had them for a day. i have one that just lays around all the time though..

did u add sugar to the water?? it really helps them.


i think i might order from them again,, maybe...

i m trying to find somewher that i can order twenty five chicks, but a variety of different breeds.

i hope this helps

also, i dont know if its normal, but it took FOREVER for me to get them. i waited almost two months

 

[reveriereptile]

We have sugar in our water. I don't know about the wait since we sent out our order form a few months back to be sent for this week. I'm guessing they probably sent them out on Saturday but due to Monday being a holiday we didn't get them that day. However the post office that is over an hour from here called up Monday afternoon (around 4pm) and said they had our chicks and we could pick them up there if we didn't want to wait till the next day. We didn't pick them up since it was a far drive especially with gas prices. We figured if they were sent out after they had hatched that they would be fine. I think I will order from a different place next time. We had ordered sooner to get the extra chick and expected a couple extras just incase something happens to some. Most of the chicks I've been hatching out didn't get wings till they were almost a week old. These almost all had wing feathers and some were skinny feeling.

 

[augiedranch]

yeah some of mine felt skinny too.

whats it mean about the feathers???

 

[jorgey]

I ordered mine in advance from McMurray a couple of months ago online but only had them delivered a couple of weeks ago. Mine were hatched, boxed and shipped on a Saturday and the Post Office called before 6am on Monday to tell me they were here. All of mine were in perfect condition and still are, I haven't lost one and they are all growing a looking great. (20 Delawares, 4 Black Minorcas, 2 Golden Polish, 1 Bonus EE I think)

I do not believe in using sugar water, it just does not seem natural or good to me, but I did use their Quick Chick (electrolytes) product and their Gel-Grow. I dipped all of their beaks in the water a couple of times to make sure that they knew what and were it was and after that they took after it and the food like crazy. I have had a great experience with McMurray and I probably will order from them again.

 

[ole-crone]

No problems here. In fact, we've never had a bad bunch of chicks when ordering from McMurray. They had their problems earlier this spring and I think they and many other hatcheries are suffering from the results - probably why baby chicks are harder to find this year when you want them.

Ordering early has nothing to do whether you get the extra chick or not. If you didn't get what you ordered, then give them a call. They might credit you for the next time you order.

We ordered a Rainbow Layer assortment. Our McMurray chicks are now 3 weeks old. We received 28. Two died but I don't blame them (one just never thrived or grew like the rest and the other one was weak when it got here and died the first day). The rest were and still are healthy and active.

Sorry you aren't happy with your order. But honestly, if the PO were concerned enough to call on a holiday to come pick up chicks - it wouldn't have mattered what hatchery they came from - the stress of an extra night without food or water (and who knows what temps) could be what made them look so bad.

 

[silkiechicken]

By any chance is McMurrary further than Hoffman to your place? Even an extra half day of transit time can be a big hit on the little guys. Best of luck.

 

[reveriereptile]

Yeah, Hoffman's is closer to here. I just checked on the chicks and the smaller ones are starting to look better and are eating and drinking more. The other group that has the larger ones were chasing a fly that was in the box. They look good. Chicks still have squinted eyes but are starting to settle down more and sleep some. After they get settled in more I'll have to get some pictures of them. They are cute and we did get 4 that I think are white crested polish that are either blue or black. I was looking through their catalog trying to figure out what might be what but it is hard. They were the only ones that I seen that looked like them.

 

[cjeanean]

I just got my McMurray order today....I'm so excited!!! I don't know if there are any problems that lie in the future (I'm praying there aren't any!!) but for now my chicks came in very fast and very active!!! I have a free rare chick, not sure what kind it is, and I also got an extra leghorn or white rock. All the chicks appear freshly hatched, they're tiny and active! No wing feathers, either. I had two problems: one chick was spraddle legged, but I put some shelf liner in the brooder and within a few hours it was all better. Also, one chick was very small (compared to the others) and couldn't hold its head up. I had to cull that one, I didn't want him to starve to death. Other than that they are ALL doing excellent, and I was very impressed by the fact that they hatched on Monday and got here at 10AM Tuesday. Sorry you didn't have a good experience, but I've been told that MM has awesome customer service, so you should try calling them. Hope it works out for you!!!

 

[antiquebuff]

I got 48 chicks from MM three weeks ago and all is well. We are very happy with them and they are growing like crazy!