Experiences with McMurray hatchery?

[gitlost80]

I am a first time chicken owner and ordered from McMurray hatchery. My Chicks will be here in 1 week. I have looked through the forums on here and alot of the experiences are bad ones I know opinions are like a@!#oles, everyones got one, but now Im scared they will be deformed, sick, or die when they are 2 weeks old or even be a super low grade chicken. All the forums I read were pretty old though. Im hoping to get some more recent experiences.....Im very excited to get my babies,even if some people have had a bad time. I have my fingers crossed!! my chicks will be pets and hopefully some eggs

 

[morninggloryhatchery]

I am going to be ordering from McMurray soon. A range of breeds. So I also hope that they will arrive alive. I am not purchasing them for breeding though. I just love the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte's and the Golds.

 

[lotzahenz]

Here is my take, for what it is worth. I have been ordering chicks from MM for about 13 years and have NEVER had a bunch I was not happy with. I have even won some ribbons and trophys at our State Fair with them. I always let them know I will be showing the birds, so NO substitutes. If ever I had chicks to die they would immediatly credit my account. Once my dim-witted substitute postal carrier packed my babies around with him all day in January and the results were very very bad. They replaced every lost chick, every single one and gave me a bit of much needed sympathy as well. I also have ordered a few times from other, cheaper hatcheries. All well known. I was NOT happy with any of the three orders, though the service was great. The quality of birds just was not the same. I am guessing that luck has played a big part in it though, as I usually order several different breeds and it seems that some are better quality than others. I have gotten orders where all of one breed had bad tempers, or were especially flighty but the rest of the order was fine. I know that MM has had some disease difficulties at times, but I think they are one of the better hatcheries. Other hatcheries have had their share of diseases as well. I think you will be pleased with your order, I wouldn't worry a bit. If you get bad or sick birds, call them up and explain your concerns. I feel sure they will work with you. And NO, I have no connections with MM, or any other hatchery. I just have liked them for so long. They seem dedicated to keeping a good rep. AND, Martha Stewart orders from them too. HenZ

 

[ChookHappy]

Quote:
Well hell! You should have just mentioned that to start with and you'd have had my vote!! jk but seriously thanks for posting with your long term experience. Great info to know. We have 12 very cute 5 week old chicks from them. We bought them from a local feed store that orders through them at 3 weeks and we have had a great experience so far. We have 8 EE's, 2 Barred Rocks and, 2 RIR's. Their feathers are coming in nicely, they are alert, they have been adapting well to the things I put in their brooder. They are eating and drinking well. They have been getting along pretty well too. A few have been flighty and they like to flap around at each other and that's pretty amusing to watch. Our experience has been nothing but positive with them. Can't wait to see how they look once fully feathered.

 

[Illia]

Well, being one of those people who gave MM a bad review, I would admit that it is different for everyone, especially when you get yours. A lot of people say that MM seems to just go through certain epidemics, which I can understand. Also, about genetics - Almost all hatcheries have bad quality birds in comparison to APA standard birds, so, don't worry if you're really not bent on getting from a breeder.

If I were honestly going to get birds from a hatchery again though (which I wouln't) I would probably go with someone else. There are other hatcheries around with newer stock, which is a little more reliable. Plus, they tend to show photos of their stock, not illustrations.

 

[Mahonri]

I lost 11 within 2 days. Just got sick and died.

Now I have an incubator, I doubt I'll ever order chicks again. More likely than not, hatching eggs.

 

[Sc00ter4900]

Hi My order should be here today sometime .Not sure when. Ordering the birds went well the lady was pleasant and helpful .I tried calling this weekend and there not there or dont work on Sat and Sun. The birds are due This Mon today. Its not there fault that im so impatient LOL Im like a kid at X-Mass time. Its so cold I hope all goes well. Thanks Scotty

 

[smarsh]

I will give MM the thumps up; no problems for me.

 

[chickn]

i also ordered during the time they had something running threw their incubators causing the chicks to die or slow grow, it was horrible. and there should be some old threads to search out that you can read about it.

i think the point is, they have taken care of it and i had ordered from them before that time and was happy with the chicks, i have however moved on to other hatcheries.

 

[scgamecock]

I've ordered from them one time and I lost 4 out of 27 but they took 3 full days to get to me so that was the problem.I have been pleased with the chickens so far and it's been 3 years this April.