hi from Vermont!

[Michael OShay]

Thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely post when I figure out what I"m going to get. I have also heard good things about murray mcmurray, so I might go with them.

The problem is that it's getting so late in the year that a lot of the hatcheries are no longer shipping chicks until the early spring. For example, Dunlap Hatchery's (my personal favorite) shipping season has ended for the year. However, Murray McMurray (https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html) and Ideal Poultry (http://www.idealpoultry.com/) are mega-giant hatcheries that ship chicks every month of the year (although some breeds are probably no longer available until next spring). I have used both of these hatcheries on multiple occasions, and have been happy with their birds and service.

 

[N F C]

Thought of a couple other things to add...

Some of the things we used to choose a hatchery included:
- had they been in business a long time
- did they have the breeds we wanted
- did they offer a replacement or money back on chicks that are doa
- what were the shipping charges
- did they provide immunizations to the chicks for a small fee
- did they have easy to contact customer service
- what were their chick minimums

Just some things you might want to keep in mind when comparing hatcheries. We noticed a big difference in shipping charges (I mean huge) so even though some places sold their chicks for less, their outlandish shipping charges nixed dealing with them. Murray McMurray had a fixed charge for sending birds depending on your state I believe. That made them much more reasonable than some of the others we looked at.

Again, everyone has their own opinion. It seems to me that at least some of the issues involved with ordering chicks online has to do with the post office messing up, that's why it's important to notify them at least a couple times.

Good luck, hope you find what you want!