These are the two hatcheries that appear to be the closest to me. Belt hatchery carries the Hubbard strain and I have no clue what Lazy 54 carries. Has anyone had any dealings with either of these hatcheries? And if so, what are your opinions?
I'm in your neck of the woods, McCleary. We used McMurray (feed store source) and Welp without issues.
I have bought several chicks and some turkeys from Lazy 54 and had no problems I picked them up though. They grew very well and the turkeys were great.
I bought and picked up 50 cornish X from Lazy 54 Farm Hatchery and also some White Leghorns late last winter. All did well....... Also check out Far West Hatchery, they are in Canby, Oregon I believe. Met the owner at the Oregon State Fair last fall. He seemed extremely knowledgeable/helpfull, they sell many breeds and have a great website. I am going to try them out when I need new egglayers.
I got my hens from Lazy 54 and had a great experience. But when I lost one, I tried to call the farm again to get some new ones and I called for a few days and never got an answer. Same thing went for email. So I assumed that they went out of business and was pretty sad to think that. I don't have any evidence though. I'd like to think that if you drove down to Hubbard, they'd still be there. It's a bit of a long drive for me to just make without knowing there's going to be a farm at the end of the drive.
I should add that I got three chicks from them and they were all healthy and thriving. They grew up to be beautiful, chunky ladies that all laid well.