Hatchery reviews

[halvr]

I ordered 31 varied breeds from Ideal last year. The chicks were kept off soil for 6 months (sudden move--had to build chicken house/area in new place) kept in groups of 6-8 in large rabbit hutches that were cleanes daily, fed starter/grower until 3-4mos, and I lost over half of them. They would be fine one minute and literally an hour later be flat out, nonresponsive, and die within 6hrs of first clinical signs. Autopsies on the first losses showed skinny birds with no other physical signs, so I put them on meat bird food, dewormed with corid and fenbendazole, increased grit size and gave high protein treats like meal worms and crickets. I still lost another 13 birds. I can't say it was a problem with Ideal, but we have gotten many birds from other places since then with no problems. I am hesitant to order from them again, to say the least.

 

[halvr]

Rareduck, inbreeding can cause defects in that you are concentrating faulty genetics. If a line of chicks s has a recessive issue, by breeding those birds back to each other you are increasing.the chances you will get manifestation of the disease/issue, not to mention the chances of a mutation developing.

 

[halvr]

A Gardener and Mamawolf544
I had a chicken with what I believe was Marek's. It is considered the chicken form of the canine parvovirus, not that it is in the same genetic line of diseases but in that it is readily spread to other birds, other flocks, simply by contact. I am a licensed veterinary tech and I work with an LVT who works at the National Zoo (how cool would that be?!? I am so jealous of her!) I consulted with her when My bird went lame after being perfectly fine for a year, went blind, and became neurologic. We never performed an autopsy, but all her clinical signs point to Marek's.Marek's doesn't happen because your coops are dirty, poor husbandry, etc. It is spread by feather dander. It is a virus you can carry in on your clothes if you visit another flock and you don't even have to touch anything.. It gets on your shoes if you walk where they have been. Chicken shows, chicken sales/auctions, etc are prime places to pick it up and bring it home.

 

[halvr]

Marek's-- continued...
You can bring in a bird who is incubating it or one who is a carrier and it will spread. Once it has been introduced to an area, it is impossible to get rid of. This information comes from the Zoo specialist, my local extension office, and all the reading I did trying to save my beloved Chickenbird when she got it. It causes t-cell lymohoma, a type of cancer in the lymph system. It can cause tumors anywhere on any lymph duct or node, but likes the femoral ducts for some reason. Affected birds canl get this characteristic scissors splay leg, and of left to run its course they can go blind, be unable to eat/drink. There are 6 different syndromes with varying clinical signs.

 

[mamawolf544]

A Gardener and Mamawolf544
I had a chicken with what I believe was Marek's. It is considered the chicken form of the canine parvovirus, not that it is in the same genetic line of diseases but in that it is readily spread to other birds, other flocks, simply by contact. I am a licensed veterinary tech and I work with an LVT who works at the National Zoo (how cool would that be?!? I am so jealous of her!) I consulted with her when My bird went lame after being perfectly fine for a year, went blind, and became neurologic. We never performed an autopsy, but all her clinical signs point to Marek's.Marek's doesn't happen because your coops are dirty, poor husbandry, etc. It is spread by feather dander. It is a virus you can carry in on your clothes if you visit another flock and you don't even have to touch anything.. It gets on your shoes if you walk where they have been. Chicken shows, chicken sales/auctions, etc are prime places to pick it up and bring it home.

That is why I do not attend show's, swaps or go to other people's farms. My flock is pretty well closed, and my pen's are kept away from the public who pick up birds, I have a pen just for that.
And if I am ordering from a hatchery to see if I like a breed of bird I always pay for the vaccination.

 

[JimH99]

Regarding Ideal Poultry Hatchery in Texas.....I live in Idaho and ordered 25 day old chicks and received them February 20, 2013. Very cold weather and there was 3 that were dead upon arrival. They credited me immediately for those and the other 22 all survived very well and other than a few lost to predators they are very much alive and healthy to this day. I brought other chicks in from other areas and had a couple issues, but the Ideal Poultry babies went through fine, all healthy as can be.
Bottom line is I will order from Ideal poultry again. I have over the years ordered from probably 8 other hatcheries and I have to say Ideal treated me very good and their chicks were extremely healthy......this is my experience!

 

[RareDuck]

Inbreeding does not cause defects. It will bring out recessive defects that are being carried if there are any. Identical recessive defects can be carried by totally unrelated birds and show up in their offspring. Mutations can occur at any time and in unrelated birds. Certain chemicals known as mutagens can cause mutations that are usually detrimental. It does not matter if the animals are related or not only matters if they are carrying the same defect. I had rabbits that were littermates that I thought were both female. Their parents were littermates that the owner had previously thought were both female. Their parents were sister and brother and produced healthy offspring. They like their parents also produced healthy offspring. They were also very fertile.