Hacheries in Southern California

[Chicken Cretin]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good hachery in Southern California? I live in the LA area and we’ve only used Dare 2Dream before. Their prices are getting really high and some of the birds we’ve gotten from them haven’t lasted very long. We’re looking for pullets. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi welcome to BYC!

The place you mention is NO hatchery at all... they are just a middle man that orders ALL their chicks from another hatchery. For me personally I would never get birds from them... as last time I checked seems like they ordered all theirs Marek's vaccinated... which just hides the disease by diminishing symptoms allowing it to continue spreading unknowingly. No Marek's vaccinated birds welcome in my flock.

But lots of people do seem to appreciate the niche Dare to Dream is carving out for themselves with personal delivery of started birds and such.

I would talk to some local feed stores.. even tractor supply company and see what they have coming in... most feed stores will start getting chicks in February... but maybe a little sooner in warm locations like So Cal. They can usually tell you what they have ordered for what upcoming dates... or even allow you to add what you want into their order.

Also, there are a couple of Ca hatcheries... honestly I'm not impressed with the quality.. and would order from Meyer's if they had the birds I wanted... finding others to go in on an order with me if needed to meet the minimum for shipping... or just ordering and selling off the extras on Craigslist.

Another option to get pullets... finding a local source, preferably NPIP certified with autosexing birds like crested cream Legbar or Bilefelder (sp?).

Good luck!

 

[Kelliejanine]

I use chickens galore in norco ca

 

[feather13]

We purchased 24 chicks from Chickens Galore in Norco and all have died of confirmed Marek's. Others who have posted on Yelp have had similar issues with Marek's infected chicks from here. I would be wary of even stepping foot on this property.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We purchased 24 chicks from Chickens Galore in Norco and all have died of confirmed Marek's. Others who have posted on Yelp have had similar issues with Marek's infected chicks from here. I would be wary of even stepping foot on this property.

Curious... 24 is a whole lot to lose... at what age did they die?

Many parts of So Cal are currently under New Castle quarantine... Don't think I would be buying down there right now.

 

[feather13]

They died horrible deaths at different ages. Some as chicks (not tested for Marek's, but very symptomatic and the vet who examined them was sure it was Marek's), some at 6-8 months (tested positive for Marek's), others a bit older (tested positive for Marek's), and some more recently as adults (one died of Marek's two weeks ago; not tested, but symptomatic). Oddly enough, the chickens I had purchased from Chickens Galore 4-5 years ago are still healthy, although they've been exposed to Marek's. We were told by the CG owner that they vaccinated against Marek's, but vaccination isn't a guarantee against the disease.

Our local feed store is selling chicks again, so it looks like the Newcastle's quarantine has been lifted. Still, I wouldn't buy any chicks right now and with Marek's in our soil, I don't think I'll be buying chicks for years to come