California Hatchery?

[devora]

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.}

 

[gardener]

I orderd from http://www.belthatchery.com/price.htm.
For more of the rare breeds see http://www.darkeggs.com/public/index.php

 

[skeeter9]

My first birds were from Belt. They have decent birds for a large hatchery. They're also very nice.

Lori

 

[devora]

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.

 

[okto]

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

 

[AtRendeAcres]

Here is Feathersite Hatchery page goes by state & CA has a few!

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKHatcheries.html

 

[AtRendeAcres]

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!"

 

[gardener]

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.

 

[LoneCowboy]

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.

 

[devora]

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....