Bad Experience w/IDEAL Poultry Hatchery: Normal Occurrence?
- Thread starter Gresh
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Quote:
Well, I can see a good deal of what you're saying (esp. the part about why your hatchery has been in business for 74 years). I am starting to wonder if the reason my chicks died was because I chose some hot months for them to ship. Would hot weather weaken their immune systems so that they would not fight off normal diseases as well and therefore contract them? Also, please visit my "SOS: Dying Chicks" post for a complete description of the symptoms. I would like your professional opinion on what to do with them from here.
Thank you.
Well, I can see a good deal of what you're saying (esp. the part about why your hatchery has been in business for 74 years). I am starting to wonder if the reason my chicks died was because I chose some hot months for them to ship. Would hot weather weaken their immune systems so that they would not fight off normal diseases as well and therefore contract them? Also, please visit my "SOS: Dying Chicks" post for a complete description of the symptoms. I would like your professional opinion on what to do with them from here.
Thank you.
- Apr 14, 2011
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As a rule, Ideal is a great hatchery. You got to remember that the EXCEPTIONS prove the rule! The positive feedback for Ideal on this site is overwhelmingly more than those who have problems. And I don't doubt they had problems. But between long shipments, heat, THE POST OFFICE!, and other factors something has got to give once in a while. If I ordered and lost every chick that was sent I'd still get more from them because I know they reimburse for losses and because I know their hatchery has no diseases. Now when you start reading about the MAJORITY who orders chicks from them dying and/or making their home flocks sick, THEN I would be worried about it. One negative episode here and there isn't nothing to get too disturbed about even if it happened to me.
And since they have great, friendly customer service, that adds icing onto the cake.
And since they have great, friendly customer service, that adds icing onto the cake.
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July isn't the best time to ship chicks. Post office trucks are metal boxes with no ventilation. If the air temperatures are high and the sun is beating down on that truck, it is going to get very hot in there.
My experience with Ideal was good. The customer service is excellent and the birds arrived healthy. In my opinion, they are one of the better hatcheries.
As long as you understand that you will receive hatchery quality birds and not exhibition quality.
The complaints I've seen about Ideal mostly seem to be problems that are the fault of the post office. Then the rare person who unrealistically thought they would receive birds that meet the SOP.
My experience with Ideal was good. The customer service is excellent and the birds arrived healthy. In my opinion, they are one of the better hatcheries.
As long as you understand that you will receive hatchery quality birds and not exhibition quality.
The complaints I've seen about Ideal mostly seem to be problems that are the fault of the post office. Then the rare person who unrealistically thought they would receive birds that meet the SOP.
Sure I had my losses but certainly not from diseases. Mostly from shipping stresses but I really never lost more than 5 at the most out of 25 chicks.
Yes if you want show quality or chicks that may have BQ or SQ, buy them from a breeder that is showing up to standards, not a hatchery. It is a very very small number of chicks that would even be close to SQ.
Often hatcheries would buy out a breeder's flock when the breeder wants to get out of raising that specific breed OR retiring from poultry world. As soon as you know who and where the flock went to, better get down and get them in the first year they offer otherwise, in the second and third year, the chicks would not be of good quality anymore. They don't cull as hard as real breeders do, getting down to the nitty gritty of the standard, picking their birds apart and what they can work with such a very small flaw or fault that could be bred out.
I am sure many of them will be more than glad to help you out.
Yes if you want show quality or chicks that may have BQ or SQ, buy them from a breeder that is showing up to standards, not a hatchery. It is a very very small number of chicks that would even be close to SQ.
Often hatcheries would buy out a breeder's flock when the breeder wants to get out of raising that specific breed OR retiring from poultry world. As soon as you know who and where the flock went to, better get down and get them in the first year they offer otherwise, in the second and third year, the chicks would not be of good quality anymore. They don't cull as hard as real breeders do, getting down to the nitty gritty of the standard, picking their birds apart and what they can work with such a very small flaw or fault that could be bred out.
I am sure many of them will be more than glad to help you out.
Quote:
I got an order of chicks last week from Ideal.. I also live in Texas so since they hatched on the 6th I got them first thing on the morning of the 7th
NO extra chicks were included in my shipment.. which I thought was a bit odd since I have never had a hatchery ship chicks before and not include at least one to cover any losses.
I got my birds home and opened the box.. no dead ones in the box.. however they did seem to be a bit weak which I thought was odd since they were just shipped out the previous day and I picked them up before the post office even opened. One chick refused to eat or drink on it's own.. even after using an eyedropper to get fluids into it. I wrote it off as a "failure to thrive" chick when it died a few days ago.
Now I never bothered to call Ideal and complain.. I never asked for a credit (when in retrospect I probably should have since no extra chicks were included in my shipment).
Personally after much consideration I have to blame the heat here in Texas.. sure I only lost 1 bird.. but their over all condition looked like a bunch of very stressed babies. Having said that after getting fluids and food into them they did perk up.. but still didn't look like birds that I have gotten from other hatcheries which are further away.
I have gotten birds from my local feedstore (who orders from Ideal) and have been very happy with them.. but I don't think i will ever order any more to be shipped in the heat of summer regardless of the hatchery. It just gets way too hot here in Texas to do it safely in my opinion
I got an order of chicks last week from Ideal.. I also live in Texas so since they hatched on the 6th I got them first thing on the morning of the 7th
NO extra chicks were included in my shipment.. which I thought was a bit odd since I have never had a hatchery ship chicks before and not include at least one to cover any losses.
I got my birds home and opened the box.. no dead ones in the box.. however they did seem to be a bit weak which I thought was odd since they were just shipped out the previous day and I picked them up before the post office even opened. One chick refused to eat or drink on it's own.. even after using an eyedropper to get fluids into it. I wrote it off as a "failure to thrive" chick when it died a few days ago.
Now I never bothered to call Ideal and complain.. I never asked for a credit (when in retrospect I probably should have since no extra chicks were included in my shipment).
Personally after much consideration I have to blame the heat here in Texas.. sure I only lost 1 bird.. but their over all condition looked like a bunch of very stressed babies. Having said that after getting fluids and food into them they did perk up.. but still didn't look like birds that I have gotten from other hatcheries which are further away.
I have gotten birds from my local feedstore (who orders from Ideal) and have been very happy with them.. but I don't think i will ever order any more to be shipped in the heat of summer regardless of the hatchery. It just gets way too hot here in Texas to do it safely in my opinion
Quote:
I remember we did a "how hot can car get in sun vs shade" thing back in school. One car was in the sun, one was in the shade on a 70F day, with thermometers placed on the floor mats so the sun did not heat them directly.
The one in the sun went over 110 (our thermometers maxed at that) in one hour sitting outside. The one in the shade was somewhere in the 90's. This was Washington midday sun, which I hear is tame vs other parts of the country.
I remember we did a "how hot can car get in sun vs shade" thing back in school. One car was in the sun, one was in the shade on a 70F day, with thermometers placed on the floor mats so the sun did not heat them directly.
The one in the sun went over 110 (our thermometers maxed at that) in one hour sitting outside. The one in the shade was somewhere in the 90's. This was Washington midday sun, which I hear is tame vs other parts of the country.
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ALL:
Thank you for your thoughts, suggestions, and testimonials: I didn't expect such prompt responses! I have found them to be most helpful. Due to the fact that most of the opinions seem to be positive, and due to the fact that I ordered my chicks in relatively hot months, and due to the fact that I just talked with Ross Windham today on the phone about the basics of chicks and their relation to diseases and stress, I have decided to give IDEAL a second chance either this fall or next spring when the temps are cooler. On reviewing my brooding basics, I realize now that my temperature was too high and I might have given the chicks a bit too much water-soluble vitamin stuff in their water (I wondered if I should have just stuck with sugar water). Don't know if that would've made things worse: I assume it did. Next time I will be sure to have the temp at a steady 95 degrees for the first week and to only give them a little sugar in their water trough (no vitamins).
If I have another bad experience with IDEAL, I will probably switch to another hatchery; not because of a fault on IDEAL's part, but because of the hot Texan temps. It might be wiser to order from more northerly hatcheries like Purely Poultry or Meyer, if that's the case. However, due to the good experiences here expressed and the unbeatable prices, I hope all goes well with my second round with IDEAL.
Thanx again for your input!
Thank you for your thoughts, suggestions, and testimonials: I didn't expect such prompt responses! I have found them to be most helpful. Due to the fact that most of the opinions seem to be positive, and due to the fact that I ordered my chicks in relatively hot months, and due to the fact that I just talked with Ross Windham today on the phone about the basics of chicks and their relation to diseases and stress, I have decided to give IDEAL a second chance either this fall or next spring when the temps are cooler. On reviewing my brooding basics, I realize now that my temperature was too high and I might have given the chicks a bit too much water-soluble vitamin stuff in their water (I wondered if I should have just stuck with sugar water). Don't know if that would've made things worse: I assume it did. Next time I will be sure to have the temp at a steady 95 degrees for the first week and to only give them a little sugar in their water trough (no vitamins).
If I have another bad experience with IDEAL, I will probably switch to another hatchery; not because of a fault on IDEAL's part, but because of the hot Texan temps. It might be wiser to order from more northerly hatcheries like Purely Poultry or Meyer, if that's the case. However, due to the good experiences here expressed and the unbeatable prices, I hope all goes well with my second round with IDEAL.
Thanx again for your input!
I recently - in mid June - went in on an order with a friend for chicks from Ideal, and at the same time, ordered a sexed pair of goslings from Ideal as well. The chicks are great although a couple didn't make it. "My" chicks were Buckeyes, which I've wanted for a very long time. The goslings came with "packing peanuts." The drake gosling "failed to thrive" and died after about a week; Ideal refunded me the price of the gosling because that was the last hatch for geese of the year. I didn't call Ideal to get a refund, since the death wasn't within 48 hours; I called to order a replacement and mentioned why.
I REALLY like Ideal and will definitely order from that hatchery again.
I REALLY like Ideal and will definitely order from that hatchery again.
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