We are getting excited about ordering for spring. I've been in touch w/ MyPetChicken and they seemed very helpful. (Goodness knows I need help b/c I haven't a clue what I'm doing! "Uh...I want some weird lookin' chickens...") It would be great if we could order locally, but I can't seem to find a hatchery in CA. We live in Ukiah, Northern CA. Last year I just bought our birds from the local ag store, but I'd like to get some heritage breeds and they don't have those. Any suggestions for getting chicks a bit closer to home than the east coast? {Thanx Mod for moving this! I had never even noticed this section. Sorry for the inconvenience.}
I orderd from http://www.belthatchery.com/price.htm. For more of the rare breeds see http://www.darkeggs.com/public/index.php
My first birds were from Belt. They have decent birds for a large hatchery. They're also very nice. Lori
Thanx much. Those both look like good places. But now I remember the appeal of MyPetChicken: ya don't have to order 25 birds! I want about 5-7 chicks. *SIGH* I guess folks buy the 25 then eat the others or give 'em away.
i understand your pain, 25 chicks doesnt work for some of us. i ordered the birds i wanted and then supplemented the order with male rhode islands. packing peanuts is what we called them. mcmurray hatchery is in the midwest and you get the kids in a day. only one was squashed. after sorting out the chicks we wanted, we gave reds to a local feed store. chicken acquisition math: 19 x whatever the reds cost = getting the birds we wanted worked for me
Here is Feathersite Hatchery page goes by state & CA has a few! http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKHatcheries.html
If they don't sell a few http://www.ideal-poultry.com They are in Texas a bit closer! They sell small orders "I have gotten most of my chickens from there and they all seem to have great dispositions!"
It was less money to order the 25 from Belt than to order the 6 I wanted from MyPetChicken. So I ordered 25 pullets and raised them and sold the extras at about 6 weeks of age and that paid for my order.
Order the 25 several of the breeds you want. Brood them for 7-8 weeks. Pick out the best of the bunch for yourself, and put the rest on Craigslist and sell them for $7-8 each. They will already be brooded and save people that time and effort. That will more than pay for yours and the feed. I just did 50 that way, and I listed mine before they were ready to be picked up, and I had them all sold in a day. Of course, I did that will good layers, so you might want to order standard layers to sell and the weird one you want for yourself.
All great advice, thanx again y'all. I guess the idea of 25 chicks is a tad intimidating. We were freakin' out last spring w/ our 6 babies from the ag store. Well, I was freakin' out; DH was pretty mellow about it. But knowing I could sell 'em quickly is helpful. OK, time to gather all the info and figure out how to get a blue cochin frizzle for me and a leghorn to sell....
