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

[Chikenbutwut]

No i didnt see the eggs just purchased pullets and had them throw in the roos. I didnt lose the sussex just the pics!! i can also tell you that i dont think they handle the birds to much as all mine are skittish but getting better the marans have very nice laceing in my opinion but im no expert ! I based my ordering on price and local wasnt to concerned about show qlty as i dont show as of yet but they were very decent to deal with and very willing to keep me informed as im not very patient waiting for shipped birds/chicks worse than kid on x-mas!! anywaygood luck shopping if ican help let me know i have been shopping alot over the past year up to 105 birds now some hatchery some show stock but im happy with them all and dont let the gen public fool ya some hatchery birds are excellent qlty others not so much show people started somewhere right?? pete

Oh phew, thank goodness, I thought something happened to your birds! Thank you so much for letting me know about their started birds being skittish...that helps me out tremendously. I think I'm going to go somewhere else to get my birds based on all I've heard. Temperament and health are very important to me and I've heard enough to make me leery. I'd go with hatchery birds, it's just that you can't find Araucanas at any and there were Ameraucanas (purported to be purebred) listed on some hatchery sites (Meyer, My Pet Chicken and some other hatchery I can't remember off the top of my head), but they're all sold out...that and Marans hatchery birds tend to have light egg color from what I understand. Ideal would be a hatchery that I'd consider if I were going that route, as I've heard a lot of good things about them in all the research I've done. There's other breeders I was interested in that offer pullets and I've found that some are members here, so I'm going to be contacting them and see what I can get planned out. I've got getting this and that all planned out in my head, I just hope it goes that way, lol!

Thank you so very much for all of your info. and for the offer of help...depending on how things go, I just may take you up on that.

 

[gg706]

Please keep in mind you will NOT get any Araucana from ANY hatchery. Even if they call them Araucana they are Easter Eggers!!!!!!!
You will only get Araucana from a breeder. They are a very difficult breed to hatch because of fertility issues, there are ALOT of culls to get decent chicks to ship out to the customer. It is a losing situation for a hatchery and more work than they are willing to do on a mass scale.

Thought of something I am going to do.....might help you out???? i am ordering some hatchery birds this time around as I said before. Positives cheaper-easier-can get decent productive birds. Not to say there will not be any problems.......I am sure there will be but I don't have as much invested. I threw in a cochin female-or you could get a silkie if you prefer that breed. The 2 breeds I mentioned are notorious brooders and VERY friendly. NOT the best layers but I am hoping my cochin will make her place being friendly to the kids and hatching out eggs for me. Next year if she is doing well and is cooperating wanting to brood some chicks I may order some hatching eggs. Araucana for me. But you could order some Araucana eggs and then order some eggs from Bev's Marans.
I looked at her website several weeks ago....

WOW she is one of the best and her birds look GORGEOUS!!!! I have been told hatching shipped eggs is a gamble, but if you want breeder birds it is the way to go. NO breeder is going to mail you a chick that is perfect. They keep those chicks and grow them out for their own breeding program. I do have to say breeders breed to the SOP (looks) not really for being productive. I thought I wanted breeder quality birds but now I just want some production. I want to go to the egg carton and have SOMETHING in there! Take it for what it is...I have had a bad experience..you may not. So the decision is yours, let us know what you come up with! Best of Luck!

 

[bambamsdad]

I recently hatched a bunch of shipped eggs 75 to be xact ended up with 34 birds so 40-50% hatch rate is pretty acurate it all depends on the seller and how much they care about the product to package them well. I bought alot of eggs from ebay and only one batch from a member on here (pastrymama) packaging and age of eggs made the biggest difference.I received eggs as far away as maine,arizona and had great rates due to the xtra care they took some closer to me didnt hatch as well but less care in packaging! I also have a large amount of hatchery birds and the one thing i can say about them is they do produce eggs i know cochins are'nt known for laying but mine lay everyday and have been since they started may not win the ribbons but healthy and vaccinated most show breeders dont offer these services that i've seen. Comes down to what your after as far as being satisfied like you said you can spend a lot and still be dissapointed or spend alittle and be very happy!!

 

[gg706]

50 percent hatch out rate from what I have read IS GREAT! I am happy to hear cochins lay as well, that is the icing on the cake! has your cochin gone broody?

 

[Chikenbutwut]

Please keep in mind you will NOT get any Araucana from ANY hatchery. Even if they call them Araucana they are Easter Eggers!!!!!!!
You will only get Araucana from a breeder. They are a very difficult breed to hatch because of fertility issues, there are ALOT of culls to get decent chicks to ship out to the customer. It is a losing situation for a hatchery and more work than they are willing to do on a mass scale.

Thought of something I am going to do.....might help you out???? i am ordering some hatchery birds this time around as I said before. Positives cheaper-easier-can get decent productive birds. Not to say there will not be any problems.......I am sure there will be but I don't have as much invested. I threw in a cochin female-or you could get a silkie if you prefer that breed. The 2 breeds I mentioned are notorious brooders and VERY friendly. NOT the best layers but I am hoping my cochin will make her place being friendly to the kids and hatching out eggs for me. Next year if she is doing well and is cooperating wanting to brood some chicks I may order some hatching eggs. Araucana for me. But you could order some Araucana eggs and then order some eggs from Bev's Marans.
I looked at her website several weeks ago....

WOW she is one of the best and her birds look GORGEOUS!!!! I have been told hatching shipped eggs is a gamble, but if you want breeder birds it is the way to go. NO breeder is going to mail you a chick that is perfect. They keep those chicks and grow them out for their own breeding program. I do have to say breeders breed to the SOP (looks) not really for being productive. I thought I wanted breeder quality birds but now I just want some production. I want to go to the egg carton and have SOMETHING in there! Take it for what it is...I have had a bad experience..you may not. So the decision is yours, let us know what you come up with! Best of Luck!

Yep, knew that about the Araucanas and them really being EEs at hatcheries. Thank you though.

It was Ameraucanas that were at some hatcheries...My Pet Chicken and Meyer (and another hatchery I can't remember the name of) had them this yr...they've sold out though (they sold like hot cakes...no sooner did they advertise them on their sites, they were gone, lol!...then again, it's the first time they've ever offered them, as they usually only offer EEs).

I found some breeders I'm going to contact who offer started pullets. I'm pretty sure they're all members here on BYC (my brain is mush right now with all the researching I've done, so I'm not totally sure they all are). I just need to find out how well they socialize them. They have good reputations, so I'm hoping for the best. I've contacted breeders in the past, but either didn't get a response after several emails, had them say they weren't selling anymore due to the bad economy and rising food prices for the birds, or have been faced with only being able to get straight run, which I really can't do right now 'cause I can't have roos and really don't want to go through the hassle of trying to rehome any.

If that route doesn't work out then I may very well end up going through a hatchery (thank goodness I've wrapped up all my research on them, but for one I still need to find about the quality of birds on and how they are to do business with, as my head feels like it's gonna explode from all the researching I've done lately, lol!). I could perhaps go for breeder's birds later on if I get some property my parents may be handing over to me (as right now I'm limited to the numbers I can have due to space issues...need to keep my numbers low to be fair to the birds so they'll have plenty of room, as I'll have to keep them in a run where I'm living right now). With going the hatchery route, I know that giving up on breeders would mean sacrificing egg color, but I suppose I could get some EEs and still get that color in my egg basket we would like (provided I don't end up with brown egg layers). I totally know what you mean about the ease of ordering through a hatchery though.

I understand that I wouldn't be getting a breeders best birds if I went through one, as they reserve those for themselves. That said, I wouldn't mind a breeders culls, as long as I could get decent egg color (color doesn't have to be perfect, though the dark Marans' eggs are so lovely) and healthy birds. I figure either way, between breeders and hatcheries though, there's pros and cons on both ends. You know the cons with breeders, but there can be cons with hatcheries too. Like you can end up birds that come out looking like what you didn't hope for (as I've heard stories where some would carry a nice looking version of a breed, then suddenly the breed doesn't look so nice anymore...I'm assuming they changed who they got their chicks or eggs from in cases like that), get birds with bad temperaments, with health issues and defects (cross beak, leg issues, etc.), and birds that don't live long. Then there's the thing with bad egg color (like so many who order BCMs from hatcheries expecting those chocolate eggs and wound up with just brown eggs perhaps a bit darker than you'd get out of any other brown egg layer). I'm sure you know all I'm talking about though. I figure it's just the luck of the draw sometimes.

Oh yeah, Bev's birds and the colors of the eggs, from what I've seen too, are totally drool worthy, lol! Absolutely beautiful!

I will let you know come up with. I'm gonna get in contact with those breeders, contact that one hatchery I don't know much about yet and do some research on their birds and people's experiences. Right now I'm just feeling out my options.

Thank you so much for your advice and info...I very much appreciate it!

Sorry this is so long...just realized how much I wrote. My fingers "talk" too much sometimes, lol!

 

[Chikenbutwut]

I recently hatched a bunch of shipped eggs 75 to be xact ended up with 34 birds so 40-50% hatch rate is pretty acurate it all depends on the seller and how much they care about the product to package them well. I bought alot of eggs from ebay and only one batch from a member on here (pastrymama) packaging and age of eggs made the biggest difference.I received eggs as far away as maine,arizona and had great rates due to the xtra care they took some closer to me didnt hatch as well but less care in packaging! I also have a large amount of hatchery birds and the one thing i can say about them is they do produce eggs i know cochins are'nt known for laying but mine lay everyday and have been since they started may not win the ribbons but healthy and vaccinated most show breeders dont offer these services that i've seen. Comes down to what your after as far as being satisfied like you said you can spend a lot and still be dissapointed or spend alittle and be very happy!!

Hmm, Cochins that lay every day...that sounds good! I'd like to know if they've gone broody yet too. I really liked all I'd heard about Cochins and they're so darn pretty, but my reason for passing them over was because I heard they spend more time being broody than they do laying eggs. That and they can be hard to break and get back to laying when they are broody. What hatchery did you get the Cochins from and are they LF or bantams? I'm assuming LF 'cause bantams are usually broodier?

And yeah, you're right about spending a little or a lot. That is a really good point. I don't know...it may be a good idea to cut my teeth on hatchery birds before delving into breeder's birds. I'm so confused about which direction to head in, lol! I'll need to talk things over with my husband more and see what he wants to do now too, as I haven't really sat down and discussed all that was said in this thread with him.

 

[bambamsdad]

My cochins are still young just over 6mos from what i've read they dont go broody till over a year i also have 2 older hens 16mos that have'nt gone broody as of yet! All my birds are LF igot them from ideal mcmurray and cackle. Have almost all the colors except buff. Just wanted to say that whatever choice you make just remember that no birds are perfect i chose some hatchery because of availability,price and im the kind of person that likes to say i did that!! Its kind of like building a hotrod car you canbuy one thats already done or you can take great satisfaction in building it your self like i said everyone starts somewhere! If you plan on showing show stock will get ya alot closer to your goal and its always nice when selling when ya can drop names of the lines you have stock of I also have show stock birds but it was the rare breed bug that got me!!! Heres a list ISBARS,BASQUE,ALL BUT BUFF/COCHINS,LAV/BUFF ORPS, B/W GIANTS, PART/CHANTECLERS,MARANS BIRCHEN/BLUCOPPER/BLKCOPPER,SWEDE FLOWER ,CORO SUSSEX,BRAHMAS LT/DRK,FAVEROLLES,ROCKS WHT/BAR/PART,SOUTHERN LINE RIR,GL WYANDOTTE,AUSTRALORP so ya see it is addicting!!! The real sad part is i want more!!! but when the feed bills almost as high as the rent ya gotta come to your senses!! Hers a few pics of my hatchery stock

 

[Chikenbutwut]

My cochins are still young just over 6mos from what i've read they dont go broody till over a year i also have 2 older hens 16mos that have'nt gone broody as of yet! All my birds are LF igot them from ideal mcmurray and cackle. Have almost all the colors except buff. Just wanted to say that whatever choice you make just remember that no birds are perfect i chose some hatchery because of availability,price and im the kind of person that likes to say i did that!! Its kind of like building a hotrod car you canbuy one thats already done or you can take great satisfaction in building it your self like i said everyone starts somewhere! If you plan on showing show stock will get ya alot closer to your goal and its always nice when selling when ya can drop names of the lines you have stock of I also have show stock birds but it was the rare breed bug that got me!!! Heres a list ISBARS,BASQUE,ALL BUT BUFF/COCHINS,LAV/BUFF ORPS, B/W GIANTS, PART/CHANTECLERS,MARANS BIRCHEN/BLUCOPPER/BLKCOPPER,SWEDE FLOWER ,CORO SUSSEX,BRAHMAS LT/DRK,FAVEROLLES,ROCKS WHT/BAR/PART,SOUTHERN LINE RIR,GL WYANDOTTE,AUSTRALORP so ya see it is addicting!!! The real sad part is i want more!!! but when the feed bills almost as high as the rent ya gotta come to your senses!! Hers a few pics of my hatchery stock

Your birds are beautiful!! I'm totally in love with the bird in the second row on the right...what kind is that (looks partridge?)...is that the partridge Rocks you mentioned?

Thanks for letting me know that the Cochins go broody after a yr. old. I didn't know that. There's still so much for me to learn.

Well, what you guys were saying about cost did make a lot of sense to me. I asked my husband how concerned he really was over egg color and he said the most important thing to him was friendly, healthy birds that looked pretty, lol! That takes the pressure off me to try to fulfill him and my daughter's wishes of a really colorful egg basket and frees me up to not have to look to only breeders for birds ('cause you know how it is with hatcheries and egg color not being good, like in the case of Marans for instance). See, I tried to pick breeds that would be friendly, good for our climate, decent layers, and meet the egg colors they wanted. It was a tall order for me to try to fill, but I wanted them to be happy too. My husband says he's most enamored with fuzzy faced breeds like Ameraucanas. I did find another hatchery with purebred blues and wheaten Ameraucanas...I just don't know if they have any in stock figuring those other hatcheries I mentioned sold out of them so fast (and they don't state what they do or don't have in stock...kinda strange, but whatever, I guess I'll have to contact them and find out)...I still have to research that hatchery though 'cause they're the ones I mentioned earlier that I don't know much about. If they don't have them, there's always EEs though...they have the fuzzy faces, as he calls them...as long as I can get some that lay colored eggs, then that should still fill my husband and daughters want of colorful eggs.

Nah, I have not interest in showing. Have too much going on health wise for that. Just interested in chickens for pets with benefits. I might would want to get into showing if I get onto that property I was talking about and my health improves, but right now I'd just have too much on my plate for that. Selling eggs in the future, if I move and can get more chickens, would be fun. It'd allow me to run a little business again, like I did as a dog groomer before I had to close my doors due to being sick with this awful autoimmune disease and other issues, and not put as much stress on myself as grooming did.

Lol, I think you've officially become a chickenoholic.

I can certainly see where people come up with the saying that chickens are like potato chips, you can't have just one. I'd have a whole bunch if I could!

Wow, you have a lot of breeds I like...Basque, Swedish Flower Hens, lavender Orps, Wyandottes, Australorps, partridge Rocks...and, of course the ones I knew you already had - the Marans (though didn't know you had birchen) and the Coronation Sussex (see what I mean?...if I had my way I'd join the ranks of chickenoholic too, lol!).

And ya know what...I completely forgot about this one place that had really good reviews that sold started birds and will take back any pullets that turn out to be roos and trade them for another pullet. They're more of a small hatchery. I need to get a hold of those people! I emailed them and never got a response, so I need to try again or call them.

Thank you so much...you and gg706 got my husband and I to talking and helped me to discover that fuzzy faces are more important to him than egg color. If you guys hadn't said what you did, I never would've questioned him and would've gone on thinking what I originally did. You guys have been great and I so much appreciate your help!

 

[bambamsdad]

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

 

[gg706]

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!