Are all hatchery birds pet quality?

[CHIC]

I do think that most people just get chickens for pets and eggs. I think that will just have to be my main focus to begin with. All of the other stuff is really starting to stress me out and I just want this to be a fun experience- not stressful. Thanks for the advise.

 

[Katy]

MPC gets their chicks from other hatcheries....so theirs are no different than if you go thru the hatchery.

 

[CHIC]

Wow, thats not how they advertise it. Are you sure? Then wouldn't this be an even worse idea?

 

[BarkerChickens]

All of my chickens are from a hatchery. We had a couple that we culled due to genetic issues (cross beak and wry tail), but other than that, we've had great success. Of course, they aren't show quality since they are smaller, etc, but we have been lucky in that they have good coloring and personality. I have seen some people post pics of their hatchery stock and the coloring is WAY off. We had only two that had semi-poor coloring, but they were aggressive roos anyway, so they were invited to dinner. As of yet, of 38 hens (28 of ours plus 10 that we gave to DHs best friend), none have been egg bound or internal layers. Of course, that can change, but we've had great luck. And only half the roos we got were aggressive. We got a few fairly docile roos as well. None of the hens are aggressive whatsoever. Our latest batch were all rare breeds. We narrowed it to five breeds that we were interested in and wanted to "test" so that in the future we can get 1 or 2 breeds from breeders. We chose hatchery stock for the initial go-around because A) we don't have a broody or an incubator (and we aren't gonna buy one) and B) it was a test round that is intended for egg production and pet stock only while we get a feel for their personalities. While the hatchery may not have the best representation for the breed, it is close enough for what we wanted. We intend to keep our hatchery stock for future mutt breeding to keep our egg layers (and extra roos for meat) on our property oppose to buying chicks every year from outside.

If you want SQ, go to a breeder. If you want to breed a rare or heritage breed, go to a breeder. If you are looking for egg production, etc. there is no reason that I can think of that a hatchery bird won't do you just fine.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
That's what I was told when I asked them. Looks to me like people pay more to be able to get a fewer number of chicks than what most hatcheries are willing to send.

Also if you ask if the pictures the hatcheries show are their birds they will tell you that the pictures are representative of the breed...which mean, no they aren't ours.

I have nothing against hatchery birds if all you want are some hens for the eggs. If you want a bird that most likely will be a good representation of the breed both in looks and personality go with a breeders birds or eggs.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure and be upfront with your buyers about where your breeding stock came from.

 

[Chris09]

Also if you ask if the pictures the hatcheries show are their birds they will tell you that the pictures are representative of the breed...which mean, no they aren't ours.

I believe that.. If you got MPC and look at the picture they are using of the Dominique it is the same picture that is at the dominigue club...
http://www.dominiqueclub.org/ then go to photo album than it is the pic. of the bantam dominigue
Here is MPC's pic of the dominigue..
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Day-Old-Baby-Chicks/Dominique-Standard-p237.aspx​

 

[Elite Silkies]

My personal opinion is there are so many wonderful breeders on BYC, why not buy from them?

Lets ask how many BYC members sell chicks? Or would be willing to sell chicks?

I have nice flock of Black Australorps, they haven't started laying yet but I do plan on hatching and selling chicks in the near future. Probably around the end of September or October.

I am hatching out 16 Silkies right now and fixing to put another 11 in the bator and have 5 under my broody hens.

I am also waiting on my Lavender Orpington eggs from Hinkjc, the waiting in driving me crazy! I can't wait to get those eggs. I am in the process of breeding for Lavender Australorps.....

 

[walkswithdog]

Buying hatching eggs and hatching your own, in a homemade incubator (lower cost), teaches you a lot, let's you bring in really good lines for lower cost and is really convenient if you ever do have laying hens who abandoned the eggs they're hatching - and they do that.

I didn't get an incubator til I had a hen abandon a nest. I was dead grateful for it after that. And once I got good at hatching... it is the cheapest way to bring in high quality stock.

Of all the "hatcheries" out there the best chicks I've gotten were from Sandhill Preservation Center, but they sell out early and quickly. Usually in fall for the coming year, that kind of early.

I went to two hatcheries (and culled their poor growing, low energy sad little things) before going to Ideal for my last batch of partridge rocks, I'd get more basic production birds from them and they DO have a small order option. Minimum order of 25.00$ but that's about 8 chicks or nine in most breeds and fewer in some.

And 8 or nine is a good group to sort down from really.

Other than that - get to building that bator and finding some good sources in the breeds you think you might just love.

I do however recommend learning to hatch with cheap or free fertile eggs and giving the chicks away... Learning to hatch on priceless shipped in eggs is really very hard on the soul.

 

[CHIC]

Ok, thanks everyone for the advise.

 

[Pathfinders]

I think there are several good reasons to order birds from a hatchery:

- You just want production layers, and get either White Leghorns (for white eggs) or a sex-link (for brown eggs.) Those birds are bred to produce, and if all you want is eggs, they do fine. I like the Golden Comets sold by Mt. Healthy, they are nicely tempered girls and they lay like crazy.

- You are just starting out in poultry and want to get a feel for what the different breeds look like/behave like. This I say with the caveats mentioned earlier that most hatchery birds will not meet the Standard very well for their respective breed, but they give you some idea anyway.

But if you really want to know what a given breed is like, order from a breeder. There are a number of big time breeders who sell a lot of different breeds of birds (Duane Urch comes to mind) from whom you can get better than hatchery quality (usually) birds.

And yes, you can occasionally get SQ birds from a hatchery, but I would venture to guess that's because at some point (sooner rather than later) the hatchery got their stock from breeders.

But I would never say that offspring from a hatchery would produce SQ birds. I won't even say that SQ birds will always produce SQ offspring. SQ is a very over-used term, what I like to say is (when selling birds for those who wish to show), is that the parents were SQ and the offspring are SQ potential.

But that's just me...