Best Hatcheries?

[kylie15]

Hi all!

I am looking into getting maybe 3 or 4 more chickens for my flock in the spring around April or May.
I want to get some new breeds instead of the more basic ones that I have now and I like variety. I checked out Ideal Poultry and they're definitely the best so far, they have a pretty good selection and variety of breeds but I can't find anything anywhere about shipping costs. I was wondering if anyone has ordered from them before and remembered about how much it was because on some other websites it was like $52 which is insane!

So I was wondering if anyone knows of any hatcheries that have a decent selection, reasonable shipping prices and would allow a small order of mixed breeds!

Thank you!

 

[junebuggena]

The only minimum that Ideal has is that you must order at least $25 worth of birds, which is definitely more than 3 or 4 chicks. Their small order fee is about $8, but they do use packing peanuts (extra males to fill the box for warmth).
Just about every hatchery that does small orders of only 3 to 5 chicks will charge an insane amount for it.
One way to get around the small order charges is to split your order with a few other people in your area.

 

[dekel18042]

So I was wondering if anyone knows of any hatcheries that have a decent selection, reasonable shipping prices and would allow a small order of mixed breeds!

Thank you!

www.mypetchicken,com has a good selection and depending on where you live they will ship as few as three chicks or your minimum order might be larger like four or five. I think my minimum order is four. A few other hatcheries have small selections. They give them names, but put a premium on the chicks.

 

[Chapel Hill Chicks]

In my experience, shipping live chicks is always expensive, since the post office has to make sure they don't get too cold or too hot and they have to arrive quickly to survive.

The only hatchery I know of that sells small orders, other than My Pet Chicken, is Meyer Hatchery, which I believe is a supplier for My Pet Chicken (I'd need to fact check that, but that's what I remember).

 

[dyorto]

I just looked into Meyer hatchery. It would be about $32 to ship 6 chicks to me in MIchigan.

 

[Chapel Hill Chicks]

Well, that's a small bit cheaper than MPC. It's also about the same as Greenfire Farms. I've not ordered from them, but I have some Cream Legbar hens whose parents came from Greenfire.

Edit: I should have said that Greenfire Farms isn't a hatchery, but they do specialize in hard-to-find breeds. The cost of many of their chicks is higher than the shipping fee, but if you're looking for gorgeous, rare birds, you should look there, too.

 

[junebuggena]

Have you seen Cackle's 3 pullet special?
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/city-town-pullet-special-3.html

 

[kylie15]

Have you seen Cackle's 3 pullet special?
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/city-town-pullet-special-3.html

Ooh I just looked at it quickly but that sounds like it would probably work out perfectly! Thanks