When I was considering ordering chicks most of the ship dates were in July, but not Ideal's. They were shipping within a month of order.So...a few weeks ago I did the unthinkable. I ordered 20 chicks from Hoover's Hatchery. I only wanted 6-8 chicks, but Hoover's is very dastardly and makes you buy 5 chicks per breed and minimum order of 15....sooooo naturally I had to get 20. The breeds are bielefelder, welsummer, barnvelder, and California whites (because I'd like some more white layers). I was kind of kicking myself for not picking silver-gray Dorkings as the white layer (I have one that I love and she is getting older), but then I realized Hoover's doesn't carry them, so I feel a little better. I won't have room for 20 more hens unless I sell off most of my current flock, so I'll probably sell half the new chicks once they're off the heat lamp.
The sad part----I was planning to just buy a few chicks at the local feed stores, but I just can't get interested in the breeds that I find locally. So I was late placing an order with the hatcheries. My chicks won't ship until July 28th!!!I guess I am just grateful I was able to find any availabilities at all--lots of places were sold out.
I'm consoling myself by hatching out some Blue/Black/Splash Ameraucanas, black copper marans, and olive eggers from my current flock.
I'm late to this thread, so I'm going to have to go back and read as much as I can. I'm looking forward to following along as all of you get your chicks since it will be so long before mine come!
Just a suggestion.
