California-Southern

[Sylvester017]

I ordered my chicks from Ideal, so I'm aware they will be hatchery quality & I'm ok with that. Thank you for the added info on the Barred Hollands. I knew they were a breed that was 'endangered.' I ordered 2 of each in case I get a rooster or one of the chicks dies. I guess it's a little like Noah's Ark! Hopefully they will all survive. I will posts pics of the coop when we're done & I'll report to BYC the color of the eggs

Hatchery chicks are fine IMHO. I got a little Dom pullet from Privett Hatchery through our feed store because I couldn't find a private breeder willing enough to ship me one juvenile Dom. She was an adorable outgoing little breed but we lost her to a sudden violent seizure when she was 3 weeks old. Don't know why since her behavior, growth, and appetite were all normal. My farm Mom always said chicks were delicate and you never know why some survive and some don't. We also suffered the loss of a 2-1/2 month old APA Ameraucana pullet yet her sister grew up just fine.

I'm zoned for only 5 hens so ordering a lot of chicks through a hatchery doesn't work for me. I can't use 15-25 chick minimum orders

so that's why I order through private breeders willing to ship just one or two grown juveniles. It's prohibitively expensive to order from private breeders because of the exhorbitant USPS shipping costs -- more than the cost of a chicken -- but that way I don't have to feed and figure out what to do with 15-25 hatchery chicks when they grow up.

If I was zoned I would do it the way you did through a hatchery where you can pick and choose a variety of breeds. For the most part the hatcheries do a fairly decent job of sending correctly sexed chicks. It's just the bantam breeds that can't be safely sexed the way LF chicks are sexed because the banties are so tiny and have to be shipped "straight run". Chicks are delicate and it's always a gamble on mortality. Coccidiosis or pasty butt seems to be the common ailments with hatchery chicks not hatched under a hen so research those ailments in advance so you can monitor your little ones

and have the necessary medications on hand just in case. My feed store says they always have a certain number of casualties from shipped chick orders and especially from chicks injected for Mareck's - if there's just a little bit of blood from the injection the other chicks will peck the chick to death sometimes. I don't know - I never had day-old or shipped chicks and just going by what the feed store shared with me.

It is amazing you were able to find Barred Hollands and I really hope they do well for you!

 

[Sylvester017]

I checked with our local PO branch & I will have to drive to a specific branch. Before chicks ship, I will contact them. I would love it if they would deliver to my address! We live in a rural area & our mail carrier is a great gal. She would love delivering peeps

I've ordered juveniles (from 9 to 12 weeks of age) shipped through USPS and believe me you don't want them riding around in a bumpy mail truck to your address. I notify my mail carriers 3 days in advance to CALL ME FOR PICKUP which is USPS policy anyway but some carriers don't follow their own PO rules! Most postal workers love peeping chicks but don't have a CLUE how delicate the little chicks are! My PO sent my first order of juvenile birds on the mail truck for delivery after I specifically told them to CALL ME FOR PICKUP -- when I found out those poor birds were in a hot mail truck in the morning and weren't scheduled for delivery until late afternoon I hollered nicely at the clerk to have them delivered to me immediately before they died in the heat!!! I received them at the front door in less than 20 minutes. Most postal workers have a good brain but it only takes one lame-brain to mess up!

 

[Sylvester017]

It's ridiculous how much I've spent on this chicken house & run. After looking at some of the fancy coops on BYC, I've painted, bought egg signs, antique pictures, etc. I'm going through my 2nd childhood!

Our chickens are such a joy. We know why having chickens is a "hobby" and not-for-profit. We figured with all our one Silkie's vet bills, her eggs are costing us between $4 - $5 apiece and her eggs are only the size of a Cadbury Chocolate Easter Egg ! But I wouldn't trade our hens for the world !

 

[Sylvester017]

Thanks, Martha! I just hope they arrive safely! They r coming from Texas. That just seems crazy!

Both my teenage chick orders last year came from the East Coast (VT) all the way to me on the West Coast. When they are shipped across the country the USPS is contracted with FedEx Air to fly the orders for overnight deliveries.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes, here in the hot hot Central Valley, those enclosed coops would become baking ovens! I'm probably going to put a barn fan in the coop for those 100+ days we have

I don't get as hot as Bakersfield/Central Valley but sometimes we get 100+ and very humid weather which is hard on the hens. We have pop-up canopies, plywood plank shelters, doghouses, benches, an old wheelbarrow, etc for shade. During rising temps we have an Orbit Mister going all day under the canopy in the backyard and the hens will hang out under the mist in the shade most of the day. In the winter when it's cold, windy, or rainy, they'll hang out together in one of the large doghouses or remain in the coop but always together as a group.

 

[estamets]

Hey there!!

I'm super excited to add some Welsummers to my flock this Spring, so, I'm searching around for some hatching eggs. I live in SoCal & would love to receive them early March 2015.

Any suggestions on where to start looking would be MUCH appreciated - thanks!!

If all else fails, mypetchicken.com sells hatching eggs. My Wellie from them is very nice, and I think she does well by the standard.

 

[Marthab1953]

I am looking for a good home for this Bantam Polish Trio, I have a lot of Bantam Polish and need to let some go. I want them to go together and they are free.

Southern California Inland Empire Riverside area.

 

[perchie.girl]

for what its worth most of the hatcheries will sell hatching eggs. With hatching eggs there is a 50/50 chance of male or female.

Also Most of the large hatcheries these days will sell small orders like three or four.... it costs more for shipping because they put in a heating pack to keep em warm in transit. Unless you dont mind packing peanuts.... usually males from what ever is on hand.

I bought 40 Keets from a breeder in around Grass Valley CA. She was nervous because it was her first ever shipping. But I loved her colors and how well she cared for her birds... so we just did it. She zip tied watermellon on the inside of the compartments for them to eat on because in order to fill the order she had to have enough keets. So some were about three days old and some were just hatched.

All made it they were hale and hearty and smelling of watermellon... even their poops were red and smelled of watermelon. What a loud set of peeps they were making the post office echo....

The other time I ever ordered chicks was through the feed store. During chick season you can place an order through My feed store of onesies and twosies because they normally buy a full box any way. Your chicks will have a daub of color on top of their heads to identifiy them.

I bought Wellsummers through my feed store I ordered 25... 20 girls and 5 boys. we lost one girl in transit. I didnt have to pay for it or have to get a refund... I figured Id get two really oustanding males out of the five and sell the other three. and I did. All the hens were good conformation for want of another expression.... I havent a clue as to if they fit the Standard Of Perfection... as to color of legs or feathers... but they had stout legs and clean lines and OMYGOONESS egg production... I had never had real egg layers before so was used to getting an egg evry other day or so .... These girls were making a good fifteen eggs per day.... Not as dark as breeder eggs but pretty teracotta none the less and some had darker brown speckles...

The roos were pleasant to each other. and deferred to the Alpha. But did their job guarding the flock just as roos should do.

Next time I order chicks I will do Sandhill preservation... for Sumatras chicks if I cant get Sumatra eggs shipped from the breeder I want from. And As far as Guineas I want to order for Ralph Winter at Guineafarm.com. Because he has Jumbos. As well as hatching eggs. I may just get enough eggs to fill my bator. It doesnt matter with guineas if there are any males. In fact they tend to pair off naturally so a 50/50 ratio is just fine. The jumbos are about a pound or two larger.

My goal is to have Sumatras because I love them... and use those hens to hatch Guinea keets. They are fierce mothers and very very good broodies. They are good foragers and very good fliers which is needed to keep up with Guineas and to avoid predators... an issue at my house.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Oh and I forgot to say.... If you have a hatchery that only sells in 25 minimums you have a couple of options. Split the order with someone else. Sell off the ones you dont need on Craigslist.

With regard to zoning you have time to disperse those extra chicks elsewhere.


deb

 

[rides2far]

I ordered mine from Ideal. No idea what they will look like. They r coming early March. Ideal has a $25 limit, not a chick limit. U can also ask for no packing peanuts. It's a small fee. I ordered 20 chicks. By the time I paid for Mareks, no peanuts, & shipping it was way over $25 dollars. U could probably order under 10 chicks, depending on breed & reach the $25 order minimum easily.