Cackle Hatchery Delivery Friday July 13th!! Anyone else expecting?

[CAjerseychick]

I have 35 five-week olds, 45 four-week old Pharoah Coturnix quail and 25 more chicks arriving from Cackle next week.

O so you do not lack for chicken company. Is chicken part of your paleo diet.... ( I think you did post something on paleo chickens)....Good luck on your next delivery of little ones....

 

[trifecta]

Monster Clucker- I ordered from Ideal. Thankfully everything worked out but this is how my morning went:

I have called the post office twice this week to confirm that they WILL CALL ME when my chicks get there. So this morning at 9:45 when I hadn't heard anything yet, I gave them a call, as I was sure that they would arrive today. So I talk to the guy at the post office, who tells me that they havnen't had any chicks this morning, they're not here, but he'd be happy to help me track the package. He then proceeds to tell me that the chicks are still stuck in Texas and they likely will not arrive tomorrow either, hopefully Monday. At that point I was ready to cry, as that would be 5+ days in transit. I mean, its a group of broilers, so I'm not terribly emotionally attached to them, but I surely don't want them to suffer dying of dehydration/starvation!!!!

So, in the mean time I was trying to find Ideal's number to see what the hell went wrong. My computer was being very slow, as usual... when I get a text message from my receptionist at work with a picture of what appears to be a chicken crate with little cornish X's in it. Apparently the post office did receive them and just decided to drop them off at my office this morning!!! ARGH!!!! Long story short, I ran over and grabbed them and they are all doing fantastic.

As far as I can tell, nothing wrong on Ideal's end, just my post office!!!! However, Cackle may be within reasonable driving distance of me... I don't know if I want to ship chicks again after this fun- largely due to my experience with the post office.

 

[JoshU]

I would suggest that anyone ordering chicks in the mail make sure to have the hatchery place a note left on the package with a note saying "DO NOT DELIVER-CALL ***-***-****" It will save a lot of heartache. And there are high chances in the middle of the summer that you will have weak or dead chicks when you get them. Best to get them in the spring or fall.

 

[JoshU]

I got chicks from both Cackle and Meyer this year with one loss in each. They do ship extras and credit the losses. And just know that if you raise cornish crosses you should expect losses up to the time of butcher. Just not a natural bird and they dont thrive.

 

[MonsterClucker]

I have 35 five-week olds, 45 four-week old Pharoah Coturnix quail and 25 more chicks arriving from Cackle next week.

Nice!! Yea man that really sucks about Meyer. I'm Glad you still shopped with Cackle. They are pretty reliable from what I've heard. I think if I'm gonna place any more mail order chicks, they're gonna be from Cackle.
What do the pharoah coturnix quails look like? They sound real interesting.

 

[Ben Rogers]

O so you do not lack for chicken company. Is chicken part of your paleo diet.... ( I think you did post something on paleo chickens)....Good luck on your next delivery of little ones....

Yes, this is exactly why I got into raising chickens. I want high Omega-3 eggs and meat.

 

[Ben Rogers]

What do the pharoah coturnix quails look like? They sound real interesting.

The quail are smaller. 1/3 - 1/4 the size of a chicken. At least at this point. They're still lagging behind the chickens by a couple weeks of life, but they're about the size of week old chicks now.

They are more skittish than the chickens, but also more ... "stupid"? They're basically "wild game" and flitter quite a bit when they're approached, but will sometimes just sit completely still and let you pick them up.

I haven't tasted the meat, so I'm not sure what it's like, but everyone I talk to about it says it's quite tasty. The eggs, too, are very healthy, though only about 1/3 - 1/4 the size of a small chicken egg. They are supposed to be prolific layers and lay their eggs on the ground, and don't require a roost. A single rooster typically has a "harem" of 5-7 hens, so I'm anticipating having about 30 of them on an ongoing basis.

 

[trifecta]

Actually, my package was appropriately labeled in bold to call me. Both times I spoke to the PO they assured me that they would call when they arrived. Hence, my frustration.


I am totally bummed because I came home this evening to find one of the dark cornish had died. I guess this is to be expected with the stress of shipping, but she looked great this morning and had gained weight from yesterday. Her crop was totally empty when I got home, but I saw her eat this morning when I set fresh feed in. I guess this is part of the "joy" of raising chicks... its only my second batch but it was really sad... she was my favorite, of course, I had already named her Sage.

I am hoping that I don't loose any more. I spent an hour observing them tonight, as I am afraid that I haven't done this enough to see the early signs. I re-weighed them this evening and everyone had appeared to gain weight since this morning, which I took as a good sign.

 

[Ben Rogers]

Meyer gave me a credit for the entire order, including shipping. They were very nice and apologetic about the whole situation, so I'll try to reorder again in the Spring.

 

[MonsterClucker]

Thats really good to hear man. I know your still pretty bummed... I would be too. I have fertilized eggs I could ship to you if you have a bato

I have Golden sex link (mom) x Dorking/Americauna (Easter Egger?) (dad) and also RIR (mom) x w/ same Roo.

The chicks should all lay either green or blue eggs.