Okay, so I've been tuning in on Halo's progress and KUDOS to you - you did everything you could to bring this guy safely into this world- and here she/he is
Bravo! I happen to really like splash silkies - if you do a google image search you can find some amazing looking splash silkies on there.
My first hens were supposed to be an Ameraucana (blue eggs) and a Welsummer (brown speckled eggs). I ordered them from a local pet store who special ordered them (with other chicks) from Privett Hatchery. The salespeople at the store were totally clueless but since I was even more clueless at the time I went off their word that the chicks they gave me were an Ameraucana and a Welsummer (like I had SPECIFICALLY ORDERED on paper and everything). Even though I had asked to know when they picked up the order they didn't call me and they had already put all the chicks together and thought that the birds they gave me were correct- based on that the Ameraucanas "were fluffier" or something... anyway, bottom line is both turned out to be hens (yay) but both turned out to be Easter Eggers that laid almost the same color greenish eggs. I was pretty disappointed. And a little angry. Because I knew when they were chicks that they weren't what they said they were because I posted pictures up on these boards and knowledgeable people let me know what the real deal was. I called Privett and they said they could send me new chicks, but at that point my kids were attached, and we didn't have room for more at the time.... anyway, long story is- they are GREAT BIRDS. And one lays an egg that is the exact color of my house LOL. I laughed I thought you were just trying to figure out what color egg to lay, you looked at the house and thought, ooh I like THAT COLOR
And of course the kids love that they can have "green eggs and ham"
Anyway, I finally got around to trying to hatch eggs for blue and brown layers, and I have a brooder of six BCM and one Ameraucana (hopefully its a she!) that are one week old but I don't regret my EEs, they have been lovely birds. I do know now that if I want to know what I'm getting I order from a reputable breeder who specializes in that breed- so believe me I understand your situation. I also like to support the breeders as most of them are doing it because they love it, and I assume chicken breeding is not done as a sole income thing- they sell eggs or birds to help support their desire to have chickens.
And I know you are not hot on MyPetChicken right now, but I think they are trying to fill a place in the market by allowing people to order less chicks (3 vs 25) and they are trying to do the right thing (although from your posts it sounds like their customer service could be improved). No breeder shipping eggs will guarantee fertility or hatching, its not possible. I ordered Ameraucana eggs from a very reputable breeder, they were packaged perfectly, but came from all the way across the country and I only got one hatch, although 4 went to lockdown and I had more develop then quit. After comparing eggs from local vs. shipped, I believe most of the problems are from shipping/air travel. Also this time of the year, fertility may be down, as springtime is when the roosters are more "active" shall we say. I have heard more sob stories about shipped eggs on these boards, and I also know some breeders that won't even ship eggs anymore, you have to do local pickup only. If all the breeders/egg suppliers stopped shipping eggs because of bad hatches (which are more common than not) I would not be able to get some of the breeds I want without flying there myself
I do think you could ask MPC to make the small print bigger on the "blue silkies may hatch out splash" small print, and ask them to make sure their packaging is robust enough to handle shipping in all its horrible-ness. This will help the next person in your situation.
Again, WELCOME HALO we were all waiting to meet you!
