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!
