Hi, hope you are enjoying BYC!
I have ordered from ideal... not perfect birds regarding the standard of perfection... but equally as healthy as those from My Pet Chicken.
Yes, some doa... my route is tough on chicks. I have YET to receive shipped chicks with 100% survival rate. But after hatching hundreds of my own... it's interesting to see that even chicks who hatch and fluff up all on their own, sometimes don't survive even though they weren't shipped but you can't tell it's going to happen right away. They look perfect on the outside until their yolk is gone and they are trying to eat and digest on their own. What I mean to say is that hatching has given me a better understanding of what the hatcheries face and just how intricate and delicate life is.
My local feed store won't let their chicks go for several days after arrival as they don't want their customers taking home chicks that still may pass. They make sure to absorb the chick loss (and get reimbursed). It's a good way to go if the deceased or dying chicks are going to bother you or your kids.
I liked Meyer's birds best from the few hatcheries I have used. Do you guys have feed stores? They may have them available for local pick up.
From hatchery, bantam survival has been low to none. From breeders, my bantam survival is about 50%. Large fowl is higher.
Most hatcheries are NPIP certified.. and THAT IS the requirement for them to import/export across state lines in the US.. out of country requirement are much more. But every state in the US does have rules and it varies state to state... but NPIP on the shippers part should be good enough for Connecticut or anywhere in the US barring vND quarantine zones!
Sounds like your mom will get a nice variety of eye candy!
