Best large hatchery for true to type?

[pawtraitart]

Is there a difference amongst the big hatcheries when it comes to quality of birds? I don't need show quality, but I'd like to get chickens that look true to type.

 

[2mnypets]

For the most part pawtraitart they are all the same. Big ones anyway like Murrey McMurrey, Ideal, Stromberg etc. will have your typical birds. Smaller one like Sandhill Preservation work more on quality rather than quantity. Where are you in Idaho. I grew up in Nampa and I know that Caldwell has a hatchery although I don't know the name of it. I can tell you that unless you purchase an Ameraucana from an Ameraucana breeder, they won't be true. They will be the mutts everyone refers to EE's. Not that they are bad birds, but not a reflection of the true breed. If you want production, any hatchery will give you that. If you want specific breeding traits, then you need to go to a specific breeder. All the birds that I've seen on this forum look true to type whether they came from a large hatchery or small breeder. Hope this helps a little.

 

[peeps7]

The best hatchery I think is welp hatchery. Go to www.welphatchery.com and click on poultry catalog and they send you day olds.

 

[Kanchii]

Don't get any from Ideal, even though they usually have chicks available during the times the other hatcheries aren't breeding. I got some really unhealthy chicks from there, and almost all of them had the wrong amount of toes. Alot of them died, including all of the 6 mille fleur chicks we got the first time. After that I went online and found alot of similar stuff had happened to other people.

I think McMurray is your best bet, they seem to have the most pleased customers, I haven't even heard of any of theirs dying, and I hear alot of how theirs win at shows.

 

[WindyOaksYokes]

Personally I went threw CackleHatchery.com and all of mine came out true to the breed and all were extremely healthy even with their two day trip. I did loose one chick to we believe being squashed by the others and we did loose a turkey to being blind from the chicks pecking at his eye. I was reimbursed for both in a timely manner. They also were very helpful when I called which I did a couple of times since I was new to chicken owning and did not know this site excited... All in all, I will defiantly order again from them.

Kanchii - I am glad you posted that about Ideal... I was going to order some ducks from them... now... NOT!!! Apparently I have not been reading alot of the posts that I thought I was because I did not know this about "Ideal"

 

[SimplcitiyAltered]

I have to agree with windyoaksyokes I have ordered from cacklehatchery, all my birds arrived healthy with a few extras for the just in case I have not lost 1 single bird from them due to sickness and they are super freindly if you need advice. Though I did end up with 1 rooster after ordering all pullets but figure what the heck they did send me extras.

 

[blue90292]

i think ideal gets a bad break sometimes. i've ordered from them twice and all my birds survived fine and are still alive. my feed store orders 2000 birds from them during spring and they make it fine. i got ameraucanas several weeks ago from cackle and they are fine. i heard they had birds with alot of blue shading in them and so i ordered 50. they're really pretty. i've also ordered from xtreme game birds who sells year round. they had very vigorous and good looking young chicks. i've ordered from mcmurray 3 times. i know someone on the other site that all 25 came doa. but mine have been fine all three times.

i think the best bet is to order from someone close to where you live and if you're looking for a specific breed, ask about that breed and what hatchery sells better quality of that breed.

 

[EweSheep]

Sandhilll Preservation tries to be true to type of breeds. If you want something better than "run of the mill" hatchery like Ideal, then this preservation may be the thing for you.

Other than that, there are some of us in here do try to breed true to type.....

 

[chickenwoods]

To say someting good about ideal.I order from ideal,and have never lost a bird due to sickness.The birds i orderd in july(the ones that didnt get ate by owl,or coon!,are happy,easy going birds.healthy looking too.

 

[idealpoultry]

I think most people will find if they have problems with products they recieve from Ideal, if they will contact us directly the problem can be solved immediately. It is the problems that we don't know about or find out about on these boards that we can't solve. If you purchase poultry from Ideal and experience a problem, please contact me directly at [email protected] or give us a call at 254-697-6677 ext. 5406 is Carol Tucker and she is our expert problem solver. Ideal ships over 4 million chicks a year and by human nature there will be errors made, but we will correct the problem if given the chance.

Teri, Ideal Poultry