Chicken Share

[VolailleAmant]

Good Morning,
Possibly this spring, I would like to order some Frizzles, Silkies and Cochins. There is a minimum order of about 15, that is quite a bit for me! 45 chicks. So, I was wondering if I would be able to order the min. order and then sell of the rest as chicks? Or would I need to wait till they are older?
Thank you!
-VA

 

[Ridgerunner]

Which hatchery are you looking at? For most, you can combine different breeds to get the minimum total number of chicks. There can be extra charges for this, but some hatcheries allow you to order individual chicks of a certain breed as long as the total adds up to their minimum. Some have a minimum of five per breed. Some don’t have minimums for the total, some have minimums of 15, some minimums of 25. For some the minimum can change based on time of year. I’m not aware of any that have a minimum of 15 per breed.

One thing to be aware of is that many hatcheries sometimes include packing peanuts with their order. The reason for the minimums is so there are enough chicks to keep each other warm during shipping. If cooler weather is expected during the shipping they might include some free extra chicks in your order. These free extra chicks are practically always excess males they have hatched and don’t have any use for. They always have a lot more males left over than females so they use them to help keep the others warm during shipping. If you don’t want packing peanuts you need to call and tell them.

If you do want to share an order with a neighbor, you might try posting in this thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/697050/michigan-thread-all-are-welcome

 

[lazy gardener]

Good Morning,
Possibly this spring, I would like to order some Frizzles, Silkies and Cochins. There is a minimum order of about 15, that is quite a bit for me! 45 chicks. So, I was wondering if I would be able to order the min. order and then sell of the rest as chicks? Or would I need to wait till they are older?
Thank you!
-VA

What hatchery are you looking at? Many of them have a minimum order of 15 after April 1, and minimum order of 25 before April 1 due to chicks being more vulnerable when transported in colder weather. But, most companies will let you order 5 of each breed to make up that total. Go back to the web site and see if that is so with the company you are looking at. If they do indeed require 15 of each breed, and there is not an other company that will let you order less (check out Cackle, My Pet Chicken), and you are set on those breeds, then you might go to your state thread and see if any one there would like to split an order with you. I am ordering extra chicks for myself this season, with the intent of selling some of them after they are off heat, but I am ordering popular LF breeds that typically sell very well.

 

[donrae]

Call your hatchery. The minimum is usually 15 total, not per breed. In fact, the frizzles and other less common breeds are usually limited in quantities.

But yes, if you order more than you need, you should not have any problem selling off the excess. I do this. Depending on what I ordered, I sometimes sell them as little chicks, as soon as I get them. More often, though, I wait until they're 5-6 weeks and ready to leave the brooder. I find that by then, I've lost all I'm going to, they're pretty sure to be healthy, and folks don't have to mess with brooding them. At that point I can pretty much tell gender also, so I don't sell someone a cockerel by mistake.

 

[VolailleAmant]

Which hatchery are you looking at? For most, you can combine different breeds to get the minimum total number of chicks. There can be extra charges for this, but some hatcheries allow you to order individual chicks of a certain breed as long as the total adds up to their minimum. Some have a minimum of five per breed. Some don’t have minimums for the total, some have minimums of 15, some minimums of 25. For some the minimum can change based on time of year. I’m not aware of any that have a minimum of 15 per breed.

One thing to be aware of is that many hatcheries sometimes include packing peanuts with their order. The reason for the minimums is so there are enough chicks to keep each other warm during shipping. If cooler weather is expected during the shipping they might include some free extra chicks in your order. These free extra chicks are practically always excess males they have hatched and don’t have any use for. They always have a lot more males left over than females so they use them to help keep the others warm during shipping. If you don’t want packing peanuts you need to call and tell them.

If you do want to share an order with a neighbor, you might try posting in this thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/697050/michigan-thread-all-are-welcome

What hatchery are you looking at? Many of them have a minimum order of 15 after April 1, and minimum order of 25 before April 1 due to chicks being more vulnerable when transported in colder weather. But, most companies will let you order 5 of each breed to make up that total. Go back to the web site and see if that is so with the company you are looking at. If they do indeed require 15 of each breed, and there is not an other company that will let you order less (check out Cackle, My Pet Chicken), and you are set on those breeds, then you might go to your state thread and see if any one there would like to split an order with you. I am ordering extra chicks for myself this season, with the intent of selling some of them after they are off heat, but I am ordering popular LF breeds that typically sell very well.

Call your hatchery. The minimum is usually 15 total, not per breed. In fact, the frizzles and other less common breeds are usually limited in quantities.

But yes, if you order more than you need, you should not have any problem selling off the excess. I do this. Depending on what I ordered, I sometimes sell them as little chicks, as soon as I get them. More often, though, I wait until they're 5-6 weeks and ready to leave the brooder. I find that by then, I've lost all I'm going to, they're pretty sure to be healthy, and folks don't have to mess with brooding them. At that point I can pretty much tell gender also, so I don't sell someone a cockerel by mistake.

Good Morning,
Possibly this spring, I would like to order some Frizzles, Silkies and Cochins. There is a minimum order of about 15, that is quite a bit for me! 45 chicks. So, I was wondering if I would be able to order the min. order and then sell of the rest as chicks? Or would I need to wait till they are older?
Thank you!
-VA

I usually use Townline Hatchery in Zealand Mich. , but I am looking into Murray McMurray....

 

[Ridgerunner]

Looking at their site it looks like the minimum I a total of 15 chicks, not 15 chicks per breed.

 

[VolailleAmant]

Looking at their site it looks like the minimum I a total of 15 chicks, not 15 chicks per breed.

Thank you!
Which Hatchery was that? McMurray or Townline.

 

[VolailleAmant]

Call your hatchery. The minimum is usually 15 total, not per breed. In fact, the frizzles and other less common breeds are usually limited in quantities.

But yes, if you order more than you need, you should not have any problem selling off the excess. I do this. Depending on what I ordered, I sometimes sell them as little chicks, as soon as I get them. More often, though, I wait until they're 5-6 weeks and ready to leave the brooder. I find that by then, I've lost all I'm going to, they're pretty sure to be healthy, and folks don't have to mess with brooding them. At that point I can pretty much tell gender also, so I don't sell someone a cockerel by mistake.

Frizzles are one of my favorites. I have a couple of Silkies that I would like to breed them with, thus equaling "Sizzles". I agree with you, keeping them till they are a bit older. You could probably, even get a bit more money as they are pullets, or started.....

Thank you for your help!
-VA

 

[donrae]

Dual purpose pullets, around 6 weeks, I get about $8 each. Fancy breeds like frizzles, etc would likely be more, but I've not sold any of them yet at that age.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Looking at their site it looks like the minimum I a total of 15 chicks, not 15 chicks per breed.

Thank you!
Which Hatchery was that? McMurray or Townline.

Townline