Comparing hatcheries

[popsicle]

Yes and no.

A RIR is not necessarily a RIR. My "hatchery" RIR is a production red. If you get RIR from Horstman's Poultry or Urch, you will probably have a RIR.

I'm happy with my birds from Cackle and have ordered more. I'm also happy with my birds from Welp.

 

[rancher hicks]

A chicken is. a chicken is a chicken right or a I missing something

Yep,

Well you might think so but. Different breeds and even different birds within a breed have different personalities. Too, different lines of the same breed can be different in size, hardiness and utility.

I got three Dominiques. One was a runt, one got sick and died and one Was much larger, went broody and was a very protective mother. They were very bossy in that they'd be the first in the coop a night and squawk til the others came in. Not all hens or hens within a breed will brood eggs. Some make lousy mothers.

Just like people in a family they can be different. Some are friendly and some are not. Some like to forage and some aren't so good at it.

Some breeds are more hyper and others don't like to be confined. Buckeye's were developed for winter hardiness. I have friend in Israel who couldn't raise Brahmas cuz it was to hot.

I have Birchen Marans roosters father and son. Both raised from chicks, but the son has attacked me more than once. I now carry a stick when I have to go to his coop. His father nice as can be. Some hens lay dark eggs other spotted.

Hybrids while better layers, can be more susceptible to disease and problems. Lay lots of eggs in the first couple years and then drop off. Purebreds can lay the same amount of eggs but over a longer period time.


This is why I suggested "Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds." It not only covers chickens but Geese, Turkey's and Ducks. Even then you'll find the exception to the rule.

 

[rancher hicks]

Heres my question if you want a common dual purpose bird is there a difference in buying a. batch of 4$ Meyers bird or a 97 cent cackle special? Or as you say is it a crap shot? I dont get why the same chicken cost so much more except greed or poor management.

the reason some cost more is YOU get to pick which breed and in some cases the sex. Now if you buy a larger quantity of Mixed chicks you don't get to choose which you get. Unless you know your chickens you might have breeds you don't want and more or less of one sex.

If you order a specific breed they have to hatch JUST those. Any left over from the hatch are mixed and sold cheaper. They can't just stick in 4 eggs of this breed and 3 of that one cuz they might not all hatch. So they put in perhaps 15 of each and hope enough of the ones you've ordered hatch. If they get more than the 4 you want, what do they do with the others?

Some breeds are harder to come by too. My Birchen Marans aren't from a hatchery, but private breeder who most likely got them from Green Fire farms who imports from other countries.

 

[cockoftherock]

That why Im going to start off with a mixed breed cull the ones unfavorable an breed the traits I like . I think youre missing my point because you said you liked cackle amid all the stuff. If all that stuff matters then what hatchery has the best most consistant chickens?

 

[cockoftherock]

Let me put it another way If I want some large breed chickens to put in the pan then I want some decent egg layers and I buy The large breed bargain buy at cackle hatchery am I screwing myself in the ling run by not getting the same type birds from a superior hatchery. Does it matter in that sense. I think I was unclear before I just want a middle of the road utility bird and I dont believe Storeys is going to tell me that Ideals Buff Bramahs better than Mcmurrays Buff Bramahs?

 

[popsicle]

I think you'll find most of the bigger hatcheries similar enough that it won't matter much. If you look at reviews, people seem to prefer whichever hatchery their birds came from until they have a bad experience (which is usually the post office or brooding or what-have-you). The reviews are basically all the same for all the different hatcheries--mostly good with a few bad.

Some hatcheries do better with some breeds, other hatcheries do better with other breeds. If you are looking for chickens, and aren't committed to a certain breed you will probably be happy with an assortment from anywhere.

The price differences are probably dependent on many factors . Sometimes quality, sometimes the length of time the hatchery has been developing their strain/line/whatever, or who-knows-what other issues (fertility, demand, etc).

I appreciate that Cackle usually notes how long they've raised the breeds, have informative videos of the chicks, and show videos of their breeder flocks. I've never ordered from Meyer, but they answer questions here on BYC and I think that's great service.

 

[cockoftherock]

Good stuff. i was just trying to wrap my pea brain around why cackle offered so many different assortments at cheaper prices a nd wordered if there was a factor I was missing different chickens have different attributes. but the same kind of chicken in Iowa should be about the same in Mo. it stands to reason. Thx for clarifying

 

[RoboDuck]

FINALLY! I found two places that sell hatching eggs for Pilgrims. The aforementioned hatchery that never returned my email inquiry was California Hatchery. Maybe they're just too busy, I don't know. Anyhow, the two places I found that sell hatching eggs for Pilgrims is Brown Fox Farm in Illinois and Crooked Creek Poultry in West Virginia. I spoke to the lady at Brown Fox Farm just a little while ago. (I suck with remembering names) But she was the nicest lady. That deserves a plug so check them out. I haven't heard back from Crooked Creek yet but this week with all the winter storm crap may have them behind so I'm not upset with them. Anyhow this solves one of my dilemmas from the first post.

Continue to discuss amongst yourselves.

 

[RoboDuck]

Heard back from Crooked Creek just a few minutes ago. They have sold their stock (I don't know if it's ALL their stock or just their Pilgrims) to another person. However, they did not just blow me off because of that. They forwarded my email request to the new owners who will be able to fill my order. Crooked Creek and Brown Fox have been awesome. I love doing business with people that actually care about customer service!