Do you like mcmurray hatchery?

[Kesha]

New to BYC. This is my first post. I ordered 25 day old Layers due to arive after Valentines day from Mcmurray.

I have read so many bad posts about them that I am almost in tears. We (my daughter, my boyfriend and I) are so excited. This is the first time we have had any chickens.

My boyfriend has been busy building a great coop and we have already bought the stuff for the chicks. I spend hours on the computer trying to educate myself on raising the babies.

Now, after reading these posts I am scared my chicks will die. Should I go to the post office and let them know the expected delivery date?

Also, what are packing peanuts? I mean, I know what they usually are but I think people are talking about extra chickens????

 

[Bullwinkle]

Quote:
Hi Kesha:
I also have an order with McMurray supposed to ship out on February 15th I believe. Some folks have had a bad experience with McMurray, but I think the vast majority have had positive experiences. Folks that have had negative experiences are more likely to post the negative experiences than those that have had positive. Whether my order turns out good or bad, I will be posting here at BYC with my experience. I also have an order placed with Ideal which is supposed to ship February 18th (so I'll give a review later of my 'Ideal Hatchery' experience too.

As far as being excited.... I haven't raised chickens since I was a young teenager (about 27 or so years ago). I'm so excited that I decided to take two days vacation the week of February 15th. (I'm afraid I might drive my co-workers crazy talking about chickens... plus a few days off will give me more time with my chicks too!).
Quote:
Yes, you should definitely let the post office know what day they are being shipped and what day your are expecting them (I'm also going to leave something with both my home and my cell number on it for them).

Packing peanuts are normally male chicks that they add to (smaller) orders to help keep the ones you paid for warm throught their shared body heat. Since you ordered 25 I don't know if they will include extras or not. (I ordered 72 from McMurray so I doubt if they will for me). They usually include male chicks because the female chicks sale easier/quicker than males (at least in most varietys of chicks). People like me cause in inbalance (altogether I ordered 104 hens/females, 3 males/roosters, and 4 female geese and 4 straight run geese).

Good luck with your orders, I hope everything arrives in great condition.

Bullwinkle

 

[Mrs MIA]

Please do not be worried, Kesha... your order should be fine. If something does happen during shipping, just keep good notes and be sure to CALL MMH within 24-48 hours. They will make it right. No one can guarantee they'll all make it, but chances are very good. Just have everything ready for them, and have the brooder warming up... and prepare to lose your hearts to little fuzzybutts!

 

[tenmilewv]

I have gotten all my chickens from McMurray and I love them! They all arrived alive, and they lay very nicely.

 

[ChickenToes]

Here is my number 1 rule of advice when ordering from any hatchery:

DO NOT RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCE!

Yes, McMurray has been trashed a lot on this web site. I just placed my third order with them last night. Until I have a bad experience with them, I will continue ordering from them. I would rather order from them and see what happens than listen to 40 people who say negative things.

And that goes for any hatchery, Ideal, MPC, whoever.

 

[farmgirlie1031]

I ordered from them in Nov. 35 chicks. My shipment was late arriving. They lied on the phone about the shipment. It was drop shipped from TX and not from IA the main reason I ordered so the birds did not have to travel far. Of the 35 ordered 13 were DOA. The rest slowly died off 1 by one leaving me with just 9 alive today. Those 9 are still sick today and have infested the rest of my flock

I will never order from them again. I thought they were a good hatchery but it appears they are not.

 

[AppleHen]

I've only ordered from McMurray once.
I ordered the rainbow egg layer special (25 pullets) + 1 free exotic chick.

When they arrived they were all alive and active. However there were only 25, so I don't know if they added the exotic chick or not. The worst thing was that one Barred Rocks chick was deformed-- it has a cross beak and only one eye! All of them have grown to be healthy pullets (all female!)

 

[wings]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=121739

I was curious, too!

 

[danschicks]

McMurray hasn't been around this long and grown so large due to a bad product or poor customer service. They do try to obtain the healthiest chicks they can. I order from them and have never had an issue. The times I have talked to them and changed orders days before shipping they were always courteous and did as I asked. Sometimes the bad experience is the result of the customer and not the supplier.

 

[Yardegg]

Kesha,

Since you say you ordered "layers" I don't think you have anything to worry about. I've ordered from them for eight years in a row, and have no problems with the company itself. Now that we are showing more, we will probably buy a few from breeders. My order of 26 birds came in on Feb 1. All were alive at the post office, but lost two in about 24 & 36 hours. The rest are fine. I'm really fond of their Black Stars and Production RIR's. They lay very well and are really tame. Just enjoy them when you get them and make your own decisions.

Yardegg