- Mar 26, 2012
- 20
- 1
- 24
Hi all--
I'm a newbie here. Just figuring out plans for the fence and coop, and now that I'm finally starting to finalize those plans, i thought i better see about ordering my peeps. I had been doing lots of research on the breeds and came up with 4 preferred breeds for my little flock of 6:
Rhode Island Reds
Black Australorps
Buff Orps
and maybe: Silver or Gold Laced Wyandotte
Well, to my dismay, of course now that it's April, the breeds I want will not be available until late June (if I skip the Wyandotte) or early July if I want all 4 breeds, and if I want to order from the local hatchery where I can pick them up in person (Meyer)
So, my options are:
Wait and start them mid-summer (i really wanted to start in the spring, so they would be laying before the really cold weather sets in)
Change to other breeds -- some may be available by late May.
Order from a mail order place: anyone have experience with "Chickens for Backyards"?? They could likely do an order of all 4 available for late May shipping, but they can't tell me the ship date until after I've placed and paid for the order.
OR: I could get the "Brown Layer Assortment" from Meyer, which could include all the breeds I like, but could include none of them. But, they are available by mid-May, which is perfect timing.
So -- what's more important -- timing? Or breed selection? Are there other hatcheries that accept small orders and might have better availability? I checked MPC and availability dates for the 4 breeds i want is about the same as Meyer.
Thanks for any suggestions!!
I'm a newbie here. Just figuring out plans for the fence and coop, and now that I'm finally starting to finalize those plans, i thought i better see about ordering my peeps. I had been doing lots of research on the breeds and came up with 4 preferred breeds for my little flock of 6:
Rhode Island Reds
Black Australorps
Buff Orps
and maybe: Silver or Gold Laced Wyandotte
Well, to my dismay, of course now that it's April, the breeds I want will not be available until late June (if I skip the Wyandotte) or early July if I want all 4 breeds, and if I want to order from the local hatchery where I can pick them up in person (Meyer)
So, my options are:
Wait and start them mid-summer (i really wanted to start in the spring, so they would be laying before the really cold weather sets in)
Change to other breeds -- some may be available by late May.
Order from a mail order place: anyone have experience with "Chickens for Backyards"?? They could likely do an order of all 4 available for late May shipping, but they can't tell me the ship date until after I've placed and paid for the order.
OR: I could get the "Brown Layer Assortment" from Meyer, which could include all the breeds I like, but could include none of them. But, they are available by mid-May, which is perfect timing.
So -- what's more important -- timing? Or breed selection? Are there other hatcheries that accept small orders and might have better availability? I checked MPC and availability dates for the 4 breeds i want is about the same as Meyer.
Thanks for any suggestions!!
