Best Hatchery?

[wren]

Rare duck brings up a good point. Some hatcheries do not disclose the point of origin of the chicks. So the hatchery in Utah where you ordered birds from actually ships chicks from a different state. Just an example of how things might be done.

Everyone bases their opinions on knowledge and experience.

Is it more likely to incur delays on a longer or shorter trip?

 

[AprilWC]

I have experience ordering chicks from Ideal in TX (I live in GA). Out of several shipments in the past 4 years (totaling close to 300 birds), I have always had good luck. I believe only 3 chicks were DOA and after contacting Ideal they refunded me the purchase price on the deceased. One chick out of all had deformed toes which I also received a refund for. I really like Ideal's breed selection, prices, and customer service.

 

[Ariana]

I just received an order from Ideal. They shipped to me in Florida and got here on the early morning of the second day, all 29 alive. They did short me 1 bird but immediately refunded me when I called to let them know. One died within the first 48 hours from no visible cause, but all the rest are happy, healthy and getting along just fine. They are my only hatchery experience as I've gotten all of my other birds as started pullets locally.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

I've only used McMurry and have never had a bad experience. Ideally, if you can find someone that sells in your area, I'd get them instead of online.

 

[popsicle]

I think it greatly depends on which breeds you want. Not all hatcheries have all breeds one might be interested in, and some hatcheries have better breeder flocks for certain breeds.

I'm in the middle of nowhere Montana, and birds have gotten to me from MO and MI just fine. This year I'm ordering from Cackle again and Ideal.

 

[trapperred]

ackle hands down

I am considering ordering chicks from an online hatchery and was wondering which one was best. I have looked at Ideal Poultry and Efowl. Are there better ones? Which would be the best for shipping and service? Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

c

 

[trapperred]

Cackle hands down check em out Ive heard many that were happy with there srrvice as well

 

[LPeaslee]

What was it like ordering from Ideal? How many did you order? Did they send extras?

I just received an order from Ideal. I ordered 12 chicks, they were delivered with 8 extras for warmth. All seem to be doing good. They shipped Monday and I received them 2 days later in Utah.

 

[KlassAct]

I ordered 25 chicks from Ideal last year. They all arrived safely to South Florida in August. 24 out of 25 are still alive and healthy. Six of the girls are all ready laying (GL Wyandottes, FL Maran, and one of the EE). They were right on the 90% for roos.

 

[RoboDuck]

Oh come on!! I can't believe the "postman went crazy and killed my chickens because the box made noise" comment just slipped by without comment. You can't post stuff like that without telling us what happened. The suspense is killing me.... what happened to the mail dude that did that? Don't leave me hanging.


BTW, I live in Georgia and just got started in the ordering of eggs/chicks. My first shipment was from efowl for 20 cayuga duck eggs. 2 arrived broken and they promptly gave me a credit. (my choice between that or refund) I have since used that credit toward a shipment of 15 Light Brahma chicks that should be here next week so we'll see how their chicks do in shipment. And the lady that handles customer service, Jocelyn I think was her name, was super nice.

Back to the cayugas for a minute.... I called my local post office and requested they call me when the eggs arrived. The lady was really nice and promised they would. However, despite her best efforts, the guys in the back sorting mail put my eggs on the truck. The carrier delivered my eggs by just leaving them on the front porch without any attempt to let us know they were here. Luckily my wife heard the mail truck and got them off the porch and out of the cold quickly. They are due to hatch next week and out of the 18 that survived the journey, 13 are still alive and developing.