Do you like mcmurray hatchery?

[NYREDS]

j.luetkemeyer :

My very first chicks were from McMurray. I got them in November of 2007. They all did well until 6 weeks. For some reason they started showing signs of paralysis in their legs and eventually died. I had emailed them about the problems and they wouldn't even give me an idea of what it could have been. Out of the 26 I received, I only have 4 to show for it. I never had them diagnosed since I really don't know where to go or who to call for that. I have never ordered from them since.

If they did well for 6 weeks whatever they died from wasn't the hatchery's fault. They delivered healthy chicks to you which was all they were responsible for. I don't know of any hatchery that guarantees anything beyond live delivery.​

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I've heard horrible things about Mcmurry recently. There was a user on here who ordered and one chick came with a deformed-leg, who became a house chicken because of it, and other people who ordered say at about 2 months, all of their birds started dying. We've talked to friends who've done business with the hatchary.

We got the nicest Sultan from Mcmurry and he had horrible, slightly mal-formed feet. He recently got sick and passed away, probably due to an infection through the feet from staying outside.

 

[GardeNerd]

I have not ordered from McMurray Hatchery, but I believe Mike Roe from "Dirty jobs" visited there a couple of years back. I went looking for the video two nights ago to get a better idea of the process of sexing the chicks. I just ordered my pullet chicks from Welp. Now I understand why the hatcheries all say there is a 90% accuracy rate with Vent sexing. They go so fast; they can make mistakes. They talk about both feather sexing and vent sexing on the show. You get a good look at the inside of part of the facility.

I also ordered the vaccine for Merek's disease. Ouch! They show that in the video too.

 

[Tailfeathers]

I saw that episode of "Dirty Jobs". It gives the viewer a pretty good idea as to just what a hatchery is like and the "mass production" emphasis of a hatchery. Just goes to prove the point that a hatchery's goal is money and it is a business where a breeder's goal is usually producing the best bird and very few, if any, are in it for the money. I certainly ain't as I, like most, don't make any money on my birds.

Btw Robbdogr, I sure hope you didn't order Welsummers from Welp. I was not able to get Welsummers from a breeder last year as we had discussed. She said she was having fertility problems so I got impatient and decided to try some Welsummers from three different hatcheries. I figured since all Welsummers came from Lowell Barber anyway, it should take much to get some good looking SQ birds. I couldn't have been more wrong! Out of over three dozen chicks, I am only going to breed 4 - maybe 5 - because I had and have to cull the rest. I got a bunch with stubs, at least one I remember had a half gray foot, several got white tipped feathers as they grew older, and I don't remember what else right now. All I know is that I will NEVER buy from a hatchery again. A breeder doesn't charge that much for for chicks and it doesn't cost anymore to feed a really good bird than it does a hatchery bird.

God Bless,

 

[Chickenaddict]

2 Years ago we ordered from Mcmurrays we got 52 chicks 2 DOA and lost another 27 over the course of 2 weeks, it was a nightmare!!! But i do have to say they refunded us for the chicks we lost with no problems but that didn't help with the loss. I fought tooth and nail to keep those babies alive and had several take their last breath in my hands. I haven't ordered any from them since. I also have to say that the ones that survived i still have today and they are beauties

 

[chickenbuddy0]

I have had great results from anything I've ordered from them. I've used them for years.

 

[RedTailRanch]

Quote:
If they did well for 6 weeks whatever they died from wasn't the hatchery's fault. They delivered healthy chicks to you which was all they were responsible for. I don't know of any hatchery that guarantees anything beyond live delivery.

It actually DOES sound like AE, although most of us had chicks that started exhibiting symptoms around two weeks. However, from what I remember, it can take longer to show up. I think I was told that my chicks that were NOT showing symptoms would not be out of the woods until around six or eight weeks.

The majority of my 25 chicks from my 2/29/08 MM hatch had AE. Of the infected chicks, only 8 survived past 12 weeks. Of those 8, all survived up until last week, when my most affected girl passed away. She was never able to walk for more than a few steps, but she had a good life anyway. She became more of a pet.

Of the 7 that are left, one has to be a house pet, but I love her and she is smart and sweet.

The other 6 recovered enough to remain with the rest of the flock. However, 4 of those still show obvious signs of AE.

In that same order, I also had two chicks that developed curled toes (my golden campine and my blue andalusian), and one ancona chick that developed into a rooster with it's tail bent to one side.

Would I order from MM again? Not likely (even though they do have great customer service). I think I will always prefer to hatch my own chicks at home. If I were to order chicks (or eggs) again, I would most likely only order them from other BYC members.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
Come on NYREDS, I'm very surprised and disappointed by you saying that. As an APA judge for 40+ years you must have more knowledge than I do about poultry and even I know that the incubation period for many diseases can be substantial.

Here is what the Merck Veterinary Manual says about AE: "Signs commonly appear at 7-10 days of age, although they may be present at hatching or delayed for several weeks." Notice while it says it is common to appear within 7-10 days that doesn't mean it can't be delayed for several weeks.

However, the main point I'd like to make is to disagree with your statement "whatever they died from wasn't the hatchery's fault". The fact is whether or not it was the hatcheries fault they should have stood behind their product if they want continued business. Frankly, I would make the case that MM was at fault because they chose to buy eggs from a source and then obviously hatch them without testing them for disease first. AE is transmitted both vertically and horizontally so it should have shown up in a test. However, for you to say that the hatchery has "done its job" by delivering a live chick to you is just plain wrong.

That is tantamount to saying that a car salesman who sells you a car that is working when it is driven off the lot has done their job if that car fails to quit working the next day.

And for all you folks, this is just one more reason why I emphasize that you must understand the goals of a hatchery and of a breeder. The goal of a hatchery is to make money. The goal of a breeder is to protect, preserve, and improve the breed amongst other things to the betterment of the breed.

I bought a Welsummer Trio from a breeder last year and less than two week after buying them the cockerel died of Lymphoid Leucosis (LL). I did a necropsy and consulted with the State Vet at the Extensioners Office. I don't recall what the incubation period is for LL but I think it is like 18 months to two years. The point is when I contacted the breeder and told him what happened, he immediately said he'd refund my money or replace the bird without any reluctance or hesitation on his part. That is the difference between someone who wants his reputation and his birds reputation to remain intact and someone who is just in it for the money based on mass volume sales.

Now having said that, I want to say that I have no idea whether MM was derelict or negligent. Everyone - and that includes businesses - can and do make mistakes and should be entitled to forgiveness when they do. MNKris got his money back. That says something about MM. As to the rudeness or "acting ignorant", I can't speak to. Unprofessionalism isn't ever justified but it is also subjective.

The key to this whole discussion is to know what each party does and why they do it. What does a hatchery do and why do they do it? What does a breeder do and why do they do it? Then ask yourself, what do I want and why do I want it? Then go with either the hatchery or breeder who will meet those needs and goals.

I just hope to God that this country would wake up and stop saying, "Well, I did my part so that's not my problem." If NYREDS is correct and hatcheries (or any other business) is not wrong by continuing to stand behind their product after it's delivered, then I shudder to think where this country will go.

I wonder, what would NYREDS and most of you do if you had a TV - refrigerator, stove, any major appliance, an animal of any kind or whatever - delivered to your house, then have it set up, turned on, proved to be working and operating correctly, and then have it just die on you two weeks later? How many of you would be contacting the seller to have them fix the problem, stand behind their product, and do the right thing?

God Bless,

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

I guess I have to say, I stand by NYReds on this one. How can a business possibly stay in business, or much less hope to make any profit, if they are willing to stand behind every chick for its entire life. By that standard, they would be responsible to every one who cried 'disease!' when it may have been neglect, poor diet, predators, or whatever! Any claim could be made, and couldnt be substantiated, and that would be the end of the business.

I believe that any time you purchase a living creature, or organism for that matter, you purchase a certain liability and responsibility, and acceptance, that something might be, or go wrong with that organism in the unforseeable future. You cant hold the seller responsible for every little germ or bacteria that it may have come in contact with.

Now I understand that a hatchery needs to be careful where they get thier stock from, and it sounds like they stood by there product. I personally as a seller of plants gaurantee my perennials for one year, but I require the dead plants brought back, because I can often tell what killed them, and help to keep it from happening again. Should I also be financially responsible for the hanger sold 6-8 weeks ago that is brought back dead from root rot cause its been raining for two weeks straight? not quite the same situation, true, but the same blanket.....

Gaurantees are a tricky thing in business, and buyers have to be willing to accept some accountability, and responsibility after a certain amount of time. In my humble opinion.

 

[Tailfeathers]

I don't know who is suggesting that a hatchery be responsible for a chick for its entire life. Certainly not me. I'm suggesting that they should be responsible for a disease that is transmitted through the egg - which AE is - and it's been proven - which it was.

Anytime a hatchery has a widespread, epidemic outbreak of a disease - such as AE - as far as I'm concerned they have a responsibility to inform the public of such and especially their customers - and a responsibility to stand behind their product.

And lest folks think I'm completely nuts, being from WA, maybe there are some who would like to have not have the government come in and pull all the milk off the shelves and all the meat off the shelves when one single cow in WA was discovered to have mad cow disease. Ok, so maybe that's a bad analogy because AE isn't known to kill or be transmitted to humans. But I think it makes my point nonetheless.

Like I said, I'm not saying the hatchery should stand behind there product forever but to me it's just plain common sense that they need to when you've got massive amounts of chicks dying all over the country from the same thing and they all came from you! I mean, hello? That doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out that you bear some responsibility.

Having said that, according to RTR, MM took responsibility (as they should) and reimbursed him. So, I guess MM proves my point.

God Bless,