Best Hatchery for Quality Birds?

[brucifer]

Not for driving, but at least it's the same state. All the other hatcheries I've looked at seem to be more on the east coast.

Due to your location and your feed-store's stock, you probably will need to connect with breeders and have chicks or hatching eggs shipped to your local post office if you want to have quality birds and don't want to travel far. That's the reality.

Losing chicks and hatching eggs is a part of chicken husbandry, so worrying over dead chicks in a shipment shouldn't be a deterrent for you. Plenty of folks right here on BYC have birds and hatching eggs for sale, and those breeders experts on shipping. They also want to see you succeed. I suggest you look at their stocks, ask a few questions, and then take the plunge. Best of luck!

BTW, has Modoc County succeeded from CA yet?

 

[Revan]

BTW, has Modoc County succeeded from CA yet?

Lol, nope. Probably never will either. We are totally outvoted.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Revan, there are quite a few good breeders in the northern half of the state... maybe not quite as far north as you, though! Ask on this thread. Someone will be able to point you in the right direction
California - Northern

Also, "quality" birds means different things to different people. What are you looking for- healthy, show quality, heritage, latest colors, eggs production? There are lots of what I think of as quality mixed breed birds, very healthy and productive. If you are looking for SOP stock for showing, make sure you ask for that. Good show birds will take a little more searching. Good luck!

 

[Revan]

Revan, there are quite a few good breeders in the northern half of the state... maybe not quite as far north as you, though! Ask on this thread. Someone will be able to point you in the right direction
California - Northern

Also, "quality" birds means different things to different people. What are you looking for- healthy, show quality, heritage, latest colors, eggs production? There are lots of what I think of as quality mixed breed birds, very healthy and productive. If you are looking for SOP stock for showing, make sure you ask for that. Good show birds will take a little more searching. Good luck!

Well, healthy for sure. And yes, purebred birds than I can use, or eventually their offspring at the least, for shows. At the very least, I want the birds to meet the standard for the most part and not have missing toes, or a club foot, or odd feathers that don't belong (like my brown 'silkie.').

 

[SunHwaKwon]

No, I have never had BR but I know how to be polite and you could of worded that differently. I know Jane, She is a teacher and well versed in genetics so if she says they are "pretty nice" I will take her word for it and not tell her , No their not without even looking.

I do apologize (though what is considered polite or rude is of course subjective and I don't consider my comment rude).

I consider myself well versed in genetics as well, more theoretical than experimentally I admit, but that doesn't mean I am an expert on SOP of all chicken breeds. As casual chicken owners we tend to judge them just by what we know, so if all we have ever seen is hatchery quality of a certain breed - and I do guarantee that the Ideal BRs are hatchery quality - then we may not recognize whether a bird is actually of "good quality" or not...Although, what characteristics one considers important for a bird to be "good quality" - whether it is conformation, egg laying consistency, friendly personality, etc - can vary so on that note I apologized to Jane because her definition probably just differs from mine.

 

[Fordyce1942]

I have had very good luck ordering from My Pet Chicken all three of my orders were exactly what I ordered, health chicks, sexed correctly, last order a sub had to be made they were on the phone with me for several min's until I decided which sub I wanted. If I ever want anymore baby chicks they will be ordered from MPC

 

[tigger19687]

Also, if you have a FEED STORE near by (where you will be getting your feed) they usually have a "Tack Board" Some people put up fliers of what is for sale.
Check it out and ask they people at the counter if they know anyone in the area.
They might know