Has anyone had any experience with Chicken Scratch Poultry in McLeansboro, IL?

[flowerchild59]

I am within driving distance from Chicken scratch and I drove up there a a couple of years ago and they had a nice setup and they had nice birds. I don't think breeder quality (but who am I to judge), but they are very nice and better than the hatchery birds I have gotten in the past. And it was nice to pick out the chicks you wanted and I didn't have to pay postage.
The marans I purchased from them are laying about a 4 on the egg chart. They seem to have nice conformation and they are very docile and not flighty.
The owners were extremely nice and I plan to visit them again someday. I do recommend them without hesitation.

 

[gg706]

The Marans may be fine, I did not get any marans. But I do not recommend any Araucana. Yes they are nice people, but I paid a hefty price financially and emotionally for their haphazard breeding of their Araucana. If I remember correctly it cost me $160.00 and my kids screaming and crying that I was going to kill their pet 10 months later.....It was HORRIBLE! I will not go back. None of my chickens have been close to the standards or good layers. Not worth the money or heartache.

 

[Chikenbutwut]

You're so welcome!! the pic is of my partridge chantectler her rooster is next in line the one after is my ee hen if i can find some ill post a pic of her fuzzy face she lays a nice blue egg too!! Faverolles also have the fuzzy face and are the sweetest birds very docile at least the ones i have i think they lay a pinkish egg but mine are'nt laying yet so not for sure? Just for future reference all my birds are very freindly but i handled them all from very young and spend a ton of time with them it makes abig difference some breeds are eisier to handle than others but if you take your time they'll learn to trust you it's their instinct to stay away from everything they dont trust!! Go slow let them get used to your hand and work slowly from there in no time they'll be sitting in your lap!! And always remember to teach the kids about safety especially around the face/eyes i never let the kids hold them any higher than waist high good luck!! Pete

Ah, it's a partridge Chantecler. I thought she was a bit wide to be a Rock, lol! She is gorgeous!

Oh yeah that's right, the Favorelles do have fuzzy faces, are purportedly sweet and I heard they lay a pinkish egg too.

I thought about getting all fuzzy faces, as I adore them too. Ameraucanas, Olive Eggers, EEs, Favorelles and d'Uccles all sound cool. They're all purported to be nice birds that lay fairly well. I realize the d'Ucccles would just lay small eggs, but though they wouldn't be practical in an egg size sense, it's only the three of us and so I won't need a whole lot of eggs to keep us happy. Thing is, I've been hung up on that breed for a while. They're so stinkin' cute and everything I've read about them has been positive. They, I think, would be perfect for my daughter, with them being so small and reputedly so sweet.

I'm bummed about that one hatchery I was talking about that sells pure Ameraucanas. I ran across some stuff with the BBB when I was researching them, and it seems they have some issues with them and the issues have not been resolved (and these issues were from this past summer). They got an F rating with the BBB.

I don't like what I read about the complaints at all and it's really got me bummed, as I was counting on getting some. Oh well, there's still that other place that sells Ameraucanas, or so they say...the colors of the birds they have pictured do not look like colors that are normal for Ameraucanas, so that would make them EEs. We'll see I guess.

Yep, I read all that about keeping birds away from your face due to the possibility of them pecking at eyes. Don't worry, my daughter will be well supervised. Thanks for the advice on that and on taming them.

YAY! Glad you got all that out!!!! That is awesome! Hey dont wait too long figure where you want to get your birds...or you wont get any! I put my order in the other day and they are already out to MAY! You definetly do not want chicks shipped when it is winter 2013. Most of them die enroute. Getting them shipped March-May is probably the best time! Awesome let us know where and what you order!

I am excited for your first chicken experience!

Lol, thanks...I'm glad all that was gotten out too! Yeah, I know what you mean about not getting any...everywhere is selling out so quick! I have to wait a month for a check I'm expecting to come in (just had to pay a whopper of an electric bill), so I'm hoping that will be in plenty of time.

I'll be sure to let you know what get.

Thank you!

I am within driving distance from Chicken scratch and I drove up there a a couple of years ago and they had a nice setup and they had nice birds. I don't think breeder quality (but who am I to judge), but they are very nice and better than the hatchery birds I have gotten in the past. And it was nice to pick out the chicks you wanted and I didn't have to pay postage.
The marans I purchased from them are laying about a 4 on the egg chart. They seem to have nice conformation and they are very docile and not flighty.
The owners were extremely nice and I plan to visit them again someday. I do recommend them without hesitation.

I'm so glad you had a good experience and are happy with your birds.

I've heard they're very nice people, it's just that I wanted to get pullets through them since they offer them, but I'd heard that they don't handle them much. I certainly wouldn't get Araucanas through them though, or the BLRWs, 'cause of laying issues. I don't want to be faced with having to kill my pets if I can help it. These two, bambamsdad and gg706, aren't the only ones I've heard of who've had some issues (though bambamsdad only had the issue of their pullets and cockerels being flighty...he didn't buy them as chicks, which is the same thing I was wanting to do). Breeder quality isn't all that important to me...I just want healthy birds, with good temperaments and that live a good while (in other words, don't just drop dead after like a couple of yrs. like some hatchery birds have been purported to do). I'm not going to be breeding or showing....I may would want to show later on down the line if it works out that way, but right now that just wouldn't work for me, so the birds would be just for pets with benefits. Though, that said, I'm going to get a hold of some small hatcheries, which are breeders. There's a few I have in mind.

If it comes down to it, I suppose I could get some Ameraucana and Olive Egger chicks from them, since they are within driving distance of me too (like 2 hours), I just don't want to be stuck with a lot of cockerels to rehome. I'd have to quarantine and go through an introduction phase with putting birds from different places in with each other too, but know it can be done if done correctly.

In the end though, if all else fails, I may just have to go through one of the larger hatcheries. I'd probably get some EEs, some d'Uccles (though it'd have to be straight run) and a Favorelles. I'd need to weigh the pros and cons with where to order from, as far as small hatchery or large hatchery, and figure things out quickly since so many places are selling out and piling up with orders. My area gets really hot in the middle of July and August, so shipping during that time, especially August, wouldn't be the greatest idea. I still have options on the table, so I'm going to see where that all leads me.

Thanks so much for your comment...I really appreciate the input.

 

[Chikenbutwut]

The Marans may be fine, I did not get any marans. But I do not recommend any Araucana. Yes they are nice people, but I paid a hefty price financially and emotionally for their haphazard breeding of their Araucana. If I remember correctly it cost me $160.00 and my kids screaming and crying that I was going to kill their pet 10 months later.....It was HORRIBLE! I will not go back. None of my chickens have been close to the standards or good layers. Not worth the money or heartache.

Yeah, I don't blame you hon. If I did use them I certainly wouldn't get Araucanas or BLRWs. I'd only get some Ameraucanas and Olive Eggers, as I've heard no complaints about theirs, and would drive to get them. It sucks that you had such a bad experience.

 

[autumnjanene]

For those of your that have Marans from CSP, how is their egg production? I've heard that Marans aren't very frequent layers but wanted to get your opinion on CSP's Marans. We really want to get into Marans but not if they have an extremely low lay rate.

 

[SequoyahFarms]

Just wanted to put my two cents in on this thread. I ordered from Chicken Scratch Poultry when this thread was started. I ordered three pullets...a BCM, ameraucana, and an OE. My birds were shipped this past week and I got them the next day. I was worried about shipping older birds without water. They put half an apple in each compartment which holds one bird. It didn't really look like they touched them though, but I guess it was there at least if they did want any. Made me feel a little better anyways. The shipment was late by almost a month, but I had corresponded back and forth so I was expecting it. All three birds arrived in one piece and looks not worse for the wear. The BCM was a little feather picked on the rump which would have been done pre shipping. I figured I could overlook that. I'm guessing its pretty hard to grow out that many birds without some picking and overcrowding?? She does have nice feathering on her feet and good coloring. The OE is beautiful. Shes a dark blue with muffs and feathered feet. Couldnt really ask for more as far as shes concerned. The ameraucana is a lighter blue and is the correct type. Most importantly they all seem healthy. I remembered reading on this thread that someone had ordered started pullets and said they were skittish. While my three aren't exactly cuddly, I definitely would not call them skittish. They all come over to check me out and have taken treats from my hand since the first day. The marans so far is the only one that seems to like being petted. After reading this thread in january i honestly wasnt expecting them to be as friendly as they have been and wanted to share my experience. Overall I'm pretty happy and would order from them again if I couldn't find birds locally.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hello~ I've been meaning to say that a month ago I drove over to McCleansboro, Illinois (about 1.5 hrs. from me) to Chicken Scratch Poultry because I wanted to buy two pullets, a Jubilee and a Lavender. For the money, I wanted to make sure I had girls. The couple was very warm and had a nice small farm. I'm happy with my pullets, but I agree with some posts that I don't think they handled the chicks that much because my two have been skittish and are slowly warming up. I've always heard how friendly Orpingtons are, but mine have been very nervous. The good thing is that they have adapted very well to my other five hens since they were used to being in with a large flock of Orps. I think the pullets lack of fear around the hens made it easier for the hens to accept them. Had the pullets freaked out around the hens, the hens probably would have taken advantage of their fear and been a little aggressive. Overall, I guess it's better that the pullets felt at ease with the hens rather that us, because we're flexible about working on a friendlier relationship with the pullets. haha

I think that the reason their chicks don't seem to be handled enough is that the couple have a lot of flocks and probably too little time to spend handling the young ones to get them comfortable around people.

My daughter read that chickens like mirrors so she put one in the yard the other day and today I happened to notice my Jubilee admiring herself! ha (The photo isn't great-- my lavender is much prettier-- not white as she looks in the photo) They are around 3 months old.

 

[Setterkisses]

I've bought birds from them twice happy both times 1 pair of coronation sussex(huge birds) and 2 pair blk/blu marans the coro sussex is laying and does have a pinkish egg the marans are still young 14wks? if you'd like to see some pics let me know. Pete

I would like pics!! I love coronation and light sussex - hope they arent too big to get in my coop