Can You Get A "Mutt" From A Hatchery?

[catdaddyfro]

Fred's Hens :

Understand, getting fowl from a hatchery that didn't meet the standards of SOP by a country mile is one thing, and something that doesn't particularly upset the customer base of hatchery/re-sold hatchery chicks.

What I have seen this year, up close and personal, is the selling of a mix/mutt that in no way approximates anything known. Obviously, there are mix ups hatchery orders and mix ups in breeding at hatcheries. There also seems to be some selling of these obvious mutts by placing them in orders as body warmers and re-selling in bins with "creative labeling", shall we say.

Yeah I broke down and purchased some Brown Leghorn pullets from my local feed store last week, my brother had a request from one his egg customers for white eggs and just so he did'nt have to order a whole passle of them just for a few layers I told him that I knew the feed store was going to be getting some in April so I got them for him to pick up when he comes to visit. Anyhow back to the topic at hand, I think out of the ten I received one is deffinately not a brown leghorn for sure when I got them home and really got to examining them but WTH I'm game I like surprises, so we shall see.

Jeff​

 

[Crunchie]

I have a friend who has a "mutt" from a hatchery. Not a bird that simply misses the SOP mark by a mile, an outright cross. It's obviously a Brahma x Easter Egger. The bird has light Brahma coloring, yellow legs, feathered legs, but also has a beard/muff, is tall/upright, and too narrow to be a Brahma (even a poor quality one). I'm pretty sure it came from McMurray. It's a rooster and may have been an extra/packing peanut. He's just a pet in their backyard flock, so they don't care. He's an interesting looking bird.

 

[Chickndaddy]

I have purchased and raised hatchery birds as well as birds from breeders. Of course I also bred birds myself.

Hatcheries are in the business to make money. That's the definition of a business unfortunately. It doesn't do them much good to have a flock of exhibition birds that meet the Standard of Perfection if they don't lay well enough for them to hatch and sell enough chicks to make money. In my experience birds from breeders may look gorgeous but usually production falls off quite a bit. For example I had exhibition Bantam Black Australorps from a breeder in West Texas. They were gorgeous birds. Absolutely beautiful. Some of my favorite to look at. But the youngest pullet didn't start laying until she was nearly 10 months old. And then I was lucky to get two eggs a week from her.

Everyone has chickens for a different reason. My grandparents kept chickens for eggs and meet. They couldn't care less about a blue ribbon. They don't taste good after all...lol

Me on the other hand, I enjoy all of them. I had a flock of Production Rhode Island Reds. I worked with them to get them darker and closer to the SOP without losing their egg laying abilities. Pullets started laying at 20-22 weeks and layed well through hot and cold weather. I had Easter Eggers as well. Just for the childish glee I felt getting blue and green eggs. And to see all the pretty colors and patterns when I hatched chicks. And then I had "pretty" birds like Bantam Sumatras and the Australorps that were mostly for looks. Or Marans, Penedesencas, or Blue-laced Red Wyandottes for looks at the going price on eggbid...

But to answer the question, yes it is entirely possible to get a bird that is mixed. Several years ago on eggbid I believe one of the major hatcheries was selling mixes. A rooster got out and managed to get in with some hens. It was an odd cross like Blue Andalusian x Dorking or something really strange. Personally all of my hatchery birds were easily identified by color and breed. Never had any that kept me guessing. I did have one mallard hen that wasn't the standard dark brown color. She was more like a golden wheat or honey color.

You can see her here behind the drake:

Probably not pure. I got little Crested Mallards from that pen but never pulled her. I just didn't sell them and worked with her to produce a "pure" crested form.

I have seen some oddballs on here that have come from hatcheries though.

 

[spiritdance]

Quote:
'Tis what I said. No one is bashing hatcheries, just stating facts about their products. Some are better for certain breeds than others.

Funny, but it sure seems to be hatchery bashing on this end. Some of the posters here need to reread their own posts and "listen" for the undertones that come through loud and clear! I agree completely that it's become the same kind of canned response the word Americana invokes. After a while, it just gets trite and becomes very discouraging for anyone reading these posts who doesn't have SQ stock. It reminds me of my experiences with the AKC dog show circuit years ago. The talk was about the dogs, but it was really all about bragging rights for the owners ... so, if it's really about the birds on here, how about some of that two way respect ...

 

[Mofarmgirl]

Lots of very good points here! I wanted to mention a few things...for those who don't show of course. "Mutts" are often more vigorous and disease resistant than purebreds. Farm folks of the past seemed to always have mixed flocks, and they were healthy, long-lived birds who laid well into old age. Let's face it chicken mutts are still just as much a chicken as any other

On the Hatchery issue, while its true that they don't have an involved breeding plan such as pairing up similar roosters and hens for better standard, you could "accidentally" end up with a pretty typy bird from the random matings of 1 roo to 10 hens per 200, just as well as you could end up with hatchery quality. I'm glad that its been addressed that not every egg from top breeders produce top quality Chicks. Its a shame that over the years more breeders bred for looks rather than utility. That's precisely why it seems that for instance, LF Cochins are beautiful fluff balls but poor layers. Or why Silkies have such a huge crest that they can't possibly see well enough to eat or be a normal chicken.

 

[carolinagirl58]

I think it all depends on what you want. If you want to win shows, go to a breeder who has been working to perfect his strain for a long time. If you want some yard decorations or egg layers, there is nothing at all wrong with a hatchery. That doesn't mean all local breeders will give you high quality birds or that all hatchery birds are sub-standard. You just have to know what you want and do some homework to find your source.

 

[billfields]

Quote:

X2!

A little two way respect would go far around here both when it comes to where people get their chickens and what they call them

The dog comparison is a good one....show vs, pet quality is exactly the whole EE vs Ameraucana issue. I have two basset hounds. (but I guess the avatar kinda gives that away...

)Neither of them are show quality, they both have some "flaws" that judges at an AKC show would pick up on immediately. But if I walk them the down the street anyone looking at them would say "basset hound". That's still their breed----they certainly are not "mutts".

But again, a little Arethia playing in the backgound would be a good thing

Bill

 

[speckledhen]

As I stated previously, in case it was overlooked, and for those who haven't had this sad experience yet, I do have a bone to pick with the longevity/long-term health of hatchery stock, albeit from one hatchery in particular, completely aside from the looks of the birds. Yeah, yeah, some folks will have them live for years and maybe birds will die and the owner just doesn't have a clue why, but I've presided over death after death of hens who have had the best care in the world, the best food and supplements, who die sad deaths from internal laying where egg material builds up in the abdomen and oviducts and sometimes, the abdomens swell with fluid till the poor hen is dragging her belly on the ground and her legs almost give out.

It's a genetic/hormone based malfunction (not feed related, folks--I've consulted a PhD in Poultry Science, who said perhaps I need to get birds elsewhere after all this), almost a "kill-switch" built in, though surely not on purpose, which would be just too cruel; it's just lack of care for the longevity and long-term health of the "product". Even after all my experience in that area, I have never "bashed" a hatchery. They provide a service and for some, longevity and the long-term health of the flock isn't a big concern, but it is for me so I now get 99% of my birds from eggs hatched here from good breeders or from my own flock. I love mutts, have created them on purpose, too; I just prefer to get what I paid for from the provider of the chicks and most do, I think.

 

[Mervin]

Let's put this right out there... I have mostly mutts. Lovable, adorable, productive mutts.

Now some come from a feed store/hatchery, others came from a breeder. I knew full well what quality I was getting when I bought feed store chicks. I've got a "Rhode Island Red" that might weigh 4.5 lbs and has faint white lacing and white down. She's probably more accurately a Cinnamon Queen, but she started laying early last September and has missed only three days since.

On the other hand, I bought "Welsummers" from a breeder. Let's see, I had a rooster with white shanks and feather stubs, a hen that's more mahogany than brown/salmon and another hen the has willow shanks. They all have wonderful size and type though and other than the flaws mentioned are dead on. Only two hens and one rooster were even close (meaning that I didn't think they had any DQs). They're all fairly disagreeable in temperament too. There was obviously some outcrossing going on there. It doesn't just happen at hatcheries.

If you truly want the purest of pure, then look for what I like to call the "Holy Grail of Poultry." Find yourself a flock of whatever breed you like that's been closed for a couple of decades, that's been line bred and maintained for the simple pride of farmer that did so. Otherwise, the chicken game is very much "caveat emptor".

Myself I can't do that right now. My kids like the colors and variety too much. They've been pretty good when we've HAD to cull, but, at their age, they're not quite ready to see 40-50 chickens that they raised as peeps in the basement slaughtered. When they're a bit older and more settled on what they like, then maybe we go after the "Holy Grail". For now, mutts do fine by us.

 

[Chris09]

billfields, spiritdance,

How do you know that you are not getting cross bred poultry when you are ordering your birds from a hatchery?
Again I ask, have you been to the hatcheries you buy from, Have you seen the way they set up there breeding pens, Have you seen there breeders?


Chris