Hatchery... Which one?

[kybeagle]

I am new to this so I am just trying to find out which hatchery everyone uses to order chicks from. I've heard complaints on this board about some of them so just wondering who you folks would recommend, I live in Kentucky.

 

[kyeschicks]

hmmmm... I've order from cackle (on April 7th I'll be receiving my 2nd batch from them) and from Ideal Poultry.... both are some pretty good hatcheries

but I would recommend you to go with Cackle.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have dealt only with Ideal and all of the chicks lived! I have heard both good and bad about several different hatcheries. I believe that most, if not all, I have read about offer refunds or will ship replacements. It helps for the buyer to keep communication open with the hatchery and post office about the immenent order. I called both twice about the date of shipping and alerting me when they arrived. Couldn't have gone smoother if we tried!!

 

[NC Chicken Lover]

I've only ordered from Meyer and Stromberg's. All chicks lived and were healthy.

 

[chicmom]

I get all my day old chicks from the Meyer Hatchery, in Polk Ohio. If you go to meyerhatchery.com, you can request a free catalog. It's great because it has nice photos and descriptions of many breeds of chickens. Really helped me decide what breed to get the first time around.

 

[briana1975]

Last year was my first year into chickens and we ordered from Ideal. Everything went great. Lost 1 chick 2-3 days in and they refunded me for that 1 chick. I actually have another order with them for April. I also like that they have a dollar amount not a chick amout for minimums.

 

[keeko]

To make things more complicated, I'll add in another hatchery - McMurray. I went through this exact same hunt a few months back looking for just the right hatchery. I heard some bad things about McMurray, but overall, I was recommended to them by more word of mouth from friends and family, so that ended up beating out any online reviews I read.

Anyway, I split the order with a friend, and all day-olds arrived alive and healthy! Of mine, they all lived, and only 1 of my friends failed to thrive. Luckily they sent us one extra of the same breed, so we were still OK. I have to say, their customer service was excellent too...I changed several things about my order less than a month to go (changed one breed, bumped up the ship date) and they did it and sent me e mail confirmation of the changes. Everyone I spoke with on the phone was great too.

To get an "inside" look into McMurray, I saw that Mike Rowe had gone to McMurray to do a "Dirty Jobs" episode on chick sexing. You can YouTube it and it should still come up. It's in several parts, but it shows you the workers, how they sex the chicks, where vaccinations are done, and it's nice just to see the inside of the hatchery.

But in ALL honesty, even though I had a great experience - next time I'd find chicks locally. Takes the stress out of their lives early on, and supports a local business. Unless of course you want a very special or rare breed

Good luck with your search!

 

[Ang]

I've used McMurray and Cackle with great success.

 

[sune42]

Well, depending on where you live in KY.... I am in Northern KY and I ordered my chicks from Meyer Hatchery and we are actually going to pick them up (less stress for them, less funds for me b/c of the small order shipping) on Monday. There is also Mt. Healthy Hatchery that is right over the river in Cincinnati. If you are more south in the state, Ideal may be good, I think they ship out of TX. Good luck on your choice.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

kybeagle. I'm from Ks.

You are going to get A LOT of different opinions on this topic. What it boils down to is which hatchery has the most breeds that you have selected. The closest hatchery would be a good idea too. But I have heard that they don't always make it straight to you. I my self ordered from Cackle with no problems. Now that I have been in the chicken hobby for several years, I have found several more hatcheries that are close to me. But this last year I have been getting my chicks from a feed store. I don't want to be stuck with a minimum. Good luck on finding a hatchery that you will be happy with.