Cackle hatchery's Hatchery Surprise- Anybody got this before?

[jc12551]

Yay for both of you!

I am having so much fun with mine. I still haven't figured them all out.

 

[dealfinder500]

My third surprise comes tomorrow! You'd think by now the excitement would wear off

 

[snuvy]

Just checking in to see if anyone else has received a shipment lately and what kind of birds you are receiving.

Also, I'm looking to buy a surprise for myself, but I want to raise them all as pets. Do you know if they're good about not giving broilers/meat birds (because it would be quite depressing to watch the chickens/turkeys grow only to have heart attacks).

Has anyone ordered the surprise in the later months (August/September/October), what kinds of birds are you getting during that period (since I think they stop hatching ducks/geese/turkeys by then). Don't know if it may be worth it for me to wait until later on to get an order, so I don't get water fowl/turkeys.

Finally, how does everyone house 40 grown chickens? I only have 3 dwarf chickens right now, and they live in a cute store bought/pre-made coop and run (which is perfect for them). However, I'm not sure how I would house 40 of them! I don't really want to spend $1,000 on a coop/run, but does anyone know of an alternative? I'm not too handy, but I was thinking a covered chain link fenced area? Do they need a coop to roost in? Or are they happy always living outside (but with some enclosed nesting boxes)? I live in California so it never gets below freezing (and I can always cover them with a tarp if it does get cold/rainy). Any suggestions would be great! Thanks for reading.

 

[dealfinder500]

Just checking in to see if anyone else has received a shipment lately and what kind of birds you are receiving.

Also, I'm looking to buy a surprise for myself, but I want to raise them all as pets. Do you know if they're good about not giving broilers/meat birds (because it would be quite depressing to watch the chickens/turkeys grow only to have heart attacks).

Has anyone ordered the surprise in the later months (August/September/October), what kinds of birds are you getting during that period (since I think they stop hatching ducks/geese/turkeys by then). Don't know if it may be worth it for me to wait until later on to get an order, so I don't get water fowl/turkeys.

Finally, how does everyone house 40 grown chickens? I only have 3 dwarf chickens right now, and they live in a cute store bought/pre-made coop and run (which is perfect for them). However, I'm not sure how I would house 40 of them! I don't really want to spend $1,000 on a coop/run, but does anyone know of an alternative? I'm not too handy, but I was thinking a covered chain link fenced area? Do they need a coop to roost in? Or are they happy always living outside (but with some enclosed nesting boxes)? I live in California so it never gets below freezing (and I can always cover them with a tarp if it does get cold/rainy). Any suggestions would be great! Thanks for reading.

When you check out, you can leave a comment that you don't want meat birds, and you shouldn't get any. You could also probably note that you'd prefer only chickens, though if you do get a turkey or something you could probably easily give it away on Craigslist, or even sell it for a few $.

You'll probably get more than 40. I got 57 my first time, and 50 my second.

If you live in a warm climate, you may be able to get away with a simply tarp. Setup up some fencing, put a tarp over it (make sure it's secure and won't blow away), and make sure there are some "walls" (large board, wall of straw, whatever) to let them get out of the wind. If you don't really have any predators, that should work fine.

 

[dealfinder500]

Got my surprise this morning! 53 healthy chicks! No ducks or turkeys, though :-(

Just a quick look showed no bantams, and two polish, some barred rocks and some rhode island reds. Quite a few chipmunks. More to come later!

____

Edit:

2 White Crested Black Polish
2 Rhode Island Reds
3 Light Brahmas
3 Partridge Cochins
4 Silver laced cochins
3 barred cochins
1 black cochin
1 golden laced cochin
2 not sure cochins
6 chipmunks which I think may be brown leghorns
6 yellow, plain legged chicks, one with a black spot on the back, the others all yellow
3 what I think are Easter Eggers
2 Wynadottes
And then there's 12 more I still have to figure out.

 

[Summertime7921]

Got mine! Looks like 54 chickens, 2 guineas.
Lots of Cochins, lots of EEs, lots of bantams. Lots I have no idea lol! Could not be happier!! Eek so excited! More pics later.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Just checking in to see if anyone else has received a shipment lately and what kind of birds you are receiving.

Also, I'm looking to buy a surprise for myself, but I want to raise them all as pets. Do you know if they're good about not giving broilers/meat birds (because it would be quite depressing to watch the chickens/turkeys grow only to have heart attacks).

Has anyone ordered the surprise in the later months (August/September/October), what kinds of birds are you getting during that period (since I think they stop hatching ducks/geese/turkeys by then). Don't know if it may be worth it for me to wait until later on to get an order, so I don't get water fowl/turkeys.

Finally, how does everyone house 40 grown chickens? I only have 3 dwarf chickens right now, and they live in a cute store bought/pre-made coop and run (which is perfect for them). However, I'm not sure how I would house 40 of them! I don't really want to spend $1,000 on a coop/run, but does anyone know of an alternative? I'm not too handy, but I was thinking a covered chain link fenced area? Do they need a coop to roost in? Or are they happy always living outside (but with some enclosed nesting boxes)? I live in California so it never gets below freezing (and I can always cover them with a tarp if it does get cold/rainy). Any suggestions would be great! Thanks for reading.

You might want to look into a "hoop coop" design using cattle panels - there are discussions on them here on BYC and tons of other posts, how-to's, etc on the internet in general. We used this approach to construct my run and I couldn't be happier with it. Plenty of folks use it for an all -in- one coop and run -- with that many birds you would maybe want to do a couple separate "units", and, yes, plenty of folks use the hoop coop with a tarp at one end (or over the entire thing) as housing for birds, even in climates that do get below freezing, etc. A healthy, adult bird can withstand some pretty extreme conditions provided they have a way to get out of the wet/wind if they want.

 

[snuvy]

@dealfinder500
How exciting! What a great assortment! All you asked for was "No Meat Birds" and they gave you such a good variety? This gives me a bit more confidence in buying the Cackle Surprise. Aside from no meat birds, I really want some Polish, Cochin, Easter Eggers (and a few Bantams/Silkies)--and it looks like you got 3 out of the 4 things I would want! I want to buy this so bad, I'm just on the edge (even my mom, who hates animals/nature/pets/things that smell, is really curious about this deal and has been egging me on). Do you you feel that the variety you've received in your Surprises have gotten better the later it got in the season (since, I believe this is your third order this year!)? Thank you again for sharing!

@Summertime7921
GUINEAS?!?! WHAT?!?! Oh Em Gee. Did you ask/request for Guineas? Did you make any other special requests (were they able to help you out with what you wanted)? I definitely want EEs, Bantams, Cochins, and Guineas (and a few Polish/Silkies). Definitely be sure to update us with pictures/list of what other types of chickies that you got! (The most important thing for me is not getting any Meat Birds, since all the chicks will be pets). The chicks look great in the photo, thanks for posting!

@Ol Grey Mare
Thank you for the recommendation of a Hoop Coop. Yes, this does seem to be a lot easier to build (and cheaper too). Do you have any pictures of your Hoop Coop you wouldn't mind sharing? Do you have any "I wish I knew about this before I built my Coop Hoop" tips, such as modifications you would have built in? Can the chickens live in the coop hoop for the duration of their lives (as long as I give them enough space). The scenario I face is that I want to put the coop hoop in my front yard, so aside from the coop hoop, there won't be any other fencing, so I can't let them out and then corral them back in.

 

[dealfinder500]

I don't know if they've gotten "better" but each one sure was different!

This time I was hoping for some geese or ducks or turkeys, but oh well. I was surprised that there were no bantams, but I got 50 of them from Ideal a few weeks ago, so I'm set!

 

[Summertime7921]

Snuvy- I did request guineas, Cochins, silkies, Easter eggers, bantams. So I'm very happy with what I got! I didn't get any silkies but that's pretty good.