Has anyone ever been disappointed by the look of thier chickens that were purchased from Mypetchicke

[I Heart Chicks]

Mypetchicken.com claims to sell pure bred chickens from Amish farms in Ohio. The photos they show of thier chickens on the website are NOT what you get, AT ALL!!!

I bought 4 chickens from them about 10 weeks ago, the Buff pilish is pretty in color, but unfortunately turned out to be a severe crossbeak and has to be tube fed 2 times a day to survive and is about a quarter the size of the others she came with.

The Partridge Cochin is quality, but the Silver laced wyandotte and the light brahma are the muddiest chickens I have ever seen! The light brahma is so mossy, she looks like salt & pepper, like a moddled something! She is beautiful, but NOTHING like a light brahma. I asked about the chick when I got it cause it was so dark and they stated that light brahmas are supposed to be dark as chicks....hmmmm.....

The SLW is almost all black a few flecks of white around the neck, but NOTHING like the they claim there chickens are supposed to look like.

I did receive 1 very nice one, the Partridge Cochin, her looks are very similar to the breed standard.

I am very unhappy with the quality of chickens they breed there and dont think that they should claim that they are selling well bred specimens when they are pretty much just selling EE with whatever you order.

Dont get me wrong, I love all my hens and I think these different ones make a wonderful addition and add a lot of variety to my flock, I just think they are false advertising all over their website and answering questions falsely.

Has anyone else had this happen to them??? Just curious.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've never ordered from my pet chicken, but I have ordered from ideal and McMurray. There were lots of variances in the breeds I ordered. In my opinion, that's the biggest drawback of ordering from a hatchery, you never get a chance to see their breeders or chicks before they come to you (my pet chicken probably never sees the chicks they are selling either). I did notice on both ideal and McMurrays websites that they state that the chickens are representations of the breed, but may not conform to breed standards. I would probably send them an email and let them know about the crossbeak though. Its one thing to receive chickens that don't look too much like what they are supposed to, its another to receive them with genetic defects. Good luck, its the chance you take with hatchery birds....:/

 

[theoldchick]

My hubby gifted me my flock from Cackle Hatchery. While they are very uniform in appearance (black with yellow feet) they are lacking some attributes of well-bred birds. Stan the Man, while very handsome to look at, is nowhere near the SOP in body type. Neither are the pullets. They are lacking in size and feather quality. However they arrived healthy and with robust appetites. No one had obvious physical problems as cross beak, nor did they develop any health problems.

 

[Intetdreamer]

It's a crap shoot whether you get from a breeder with SQ lines or get from a big hatchery. I buy all my chicks from a local breeder whose stock is from greenfire, south of time etc.

I even saw the mother of my Coronation Sussex, she was beautiful, SQ, SOP, all that...
...yet I ended up with a pullet with yellow legs(Sussex are supposed to have white), and hackle and tail feathers that are speckled with black/grey(Coronations are supposed to have pigeon blue in the hackle and tail)
so yeah, it's a crap shoot. But other birds I have gotten from him are what they are supposed to be which is SQ. Just got unlucky this time.

 

[coffeenutdesign]

The chicks I got from ideal were not ideal. I had emailed in advance, and was assured about the breed I was getting. I could not tell until they were full grown that these were NOT the chickens I was wanting when I ordered. I had better luck just picking some out from the feed store from an unknown chicken supplier. Had no idea what I was getting at the time (golden sex link) but I have been very happy with them.

 

[Back on the Farm]

I got my first flock of 8 hens from Southern States... I've been very happy with them, they've been healthy, are great layers, and very friendly. One did have an issue at the beginning with wry neck, but has been resolved.

My 2nd flock of 4 came from a local farm - I ended up with 2 hens and 2 roos... I treated them the same as my first flock and they are healthy, but not as friendly as my first flock and more skittish - even with holding, treats, etc... Not sure of their breed as well - told EE, but who knows, I'm not convinced.

I then got 2 'silkies' at a chicken swap - I have no idea their age, although the seller told me that they were laying (I have yet to see an egg) they are my first silkies, I've since gathered more information. I believe them to be cross with something as they only have a slight silkie look. I also believe that they were only a few months old - so I'm on egg watch with them. They have gotten bigger and their combs and wattles have gotten bigger since I brought them home. They were also covered in lice/mites when I got them home - two weeks of quaratine and lice/mite treatment - and all was well. I did notify the swap coordinator but got a flipant response about how all chickens have lice & mites and that they can't be treated and that as a chicken owner I should get used to it.... Didn't make me happy and has turned me off on getting chickens at a swap in the future - plus you can't guarantee age, vaccinations, exposure to other diseases, breeding, and care conditions.

My next additions will come from Southern States again... I thought about mail order but I want to see my chicks before I bring them home. At Southern States I can watch them for a bit and see which ones are active, eating, etc... and pick out exactly what chicks I want to take home. They have a huge variety, post approximate delivery dates for different breeds, won't let you just buy and walk out - even if you are an experienced chicken owner - they go over the chicks care with you, make sure you understand, and send home chick/chicken care flyers. (Not sure if all Southern States does this, but the lady who takes care of these chicks cares about their care). Granted I don't know the breeding, breeders, etc... behind these chicks, but I do know that they take great care of them and word has gotten out because they get chicks on a Monday during chick season and are usually sold out before the weekend. Looking forward to spring chick season!

 

[whipittire]

we just picked ours up at the post office 10 mins ago. ordered from my pet chicken. ill keep u posted

 

[Fred's Hens]

Mypetchicken.com claims to sell pure bred chickens from Amish farms in Ohio. The photos they show of thier chickens on the website are NOT what you get, AT ALL!!!

Frankly, unless you purchase hatching eggs or chicks from a reputable breeder who maintains lines of top, top quality and who has read and faithfully breeds up to the SOP for the breed you seek, who's reputation in the breeding community for that breed is well known, the likelihood of getting pure bred, SOP quality birds from any mail order, feed store, or hatchery is worse than the odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery.

Paying $2.50 to $4.00 a chick is one's first clue. Such prices reflect mass production birds, bred in volume and not for the quality standards you appear to desire.

 

[Nicole01]

I buy my hens from the farm store that orders them from several hatcheries. 3 times now I've gotten pullets with 2 different colors in them. My light brahma has ivory feathers instead of white. I love her, but I'm highly disappointed. I bought an incubator and I'm now hatching myself. I don't know if I'll get the same results, but I love to hatch. The chicks seem to be friendlier anyways by hatching and seeing me and the kids immediately after hatching.

 

[BeulahBreezes]

I bought my chicks from our local feed store, who purchased the peeps from Privette Hatchery, out of New Mexico. The RIR's are right on, and the cuckoo marans are also...except that one CM has gold on her neck feathers. Though it is beautiful...I don't believe it is the correct coloring for a CM. I luv and enjoy my chickies......glad I purchased each and every one!!!! ~Beulah