I need advice about ordering?????

[scooby]

ok here is my problem and i need advice , i called meyer hatchery to place my small order of six chicks ($20 extra fee), now the jersey ,rir,wyandotte,and ameraucana they all have available now to order and i could have them by next week but the delaware and the faverolles are not due till october, now i dont know if i should wait to order till october so i get them all together, but it is so close to winter and they would only be around 2 months when winter hits fulforce and well we are in central utah and the winters here arent to nice, cold,snow and below freezing most of the time. if i get them in october will they be able to handle the cold winter that young. what should i do?????

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

>>>if i get them in october will they be able to handle the cold winter that young. what should i do?????<<<

Find a breeder of the varieties your looking for, and not order from the hatchery! Try to find live birds or chicks locally.

I got stupid one year because I couldn't find a certain variety and decided to try the hatchery method. After three replacement deliveries, I STILL only ended up with about 1/4 of the ordered amount of birds living. All others were dead upon delivery, THREE DIFFERENT TIMES, and the resulting birds weren't much to speak of.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Sometimes that's not always an option. We've ordered from hatcheries and had no problems.

Getting them in October might be though. I'd wait until spring personally.

 

[gritsar]

I also got my brahmas from a hatchery and although they are not show quality, they are healthy, hardy little devils. Lost two in shipping, but it was early April and still pretty cold.
Getting chicks in October is possible, but it's going to be more of a hassle for you from the get-go. With a small order, if it's cold you're more likely to lose some in shipping and once you get them home you will have to be extra diligent about keeping their quarters draft-free and warm.
If it was me I would either get the ones available now with substitutes for the ones not available, or like Ralphie said, wait until spring...something none of us wants to do when we have chicks on the brain.

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
i second this advice.

 

[FlockofFun]

I ordered some polish chicks from My Pet Chicken last week. The website stated that they would not be available until September or later, I just got an email this morning stating that they would all be here next week. I would just call the hatchery and talk to them first, then just consider placing the order. You could always ask them to supplement the Faverolles with something else if they are not available as soon as you would like them to be.

I would love to buy from local breeders, but the few that are around breed barnie mixed breeds, or just order theirs from the hatchery and sell them. So, for many people, the hatcheries are the only option. I have ordered from McMurray and My Pet Chicken this year and have been very pleased with both orders.

 

[scooby]

i planed on getting them from meyers since they do sm. orders, i dont know of any breeders around here so its either order now or wait till spring huh, o man that sucks i was so looking forward to having the delawares i heard they where such good birds.. any one know of any other small order hatcherys i night have luck with?!!!!

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
there's nothing saying you can't get your delawares later.

i think ideal hatchery has a dollar limit, rather than a number limit. i personally think it's worth going with meyer (or mypetchicken, through meyer) because you get the express shipping, which isn't even optional with some hatcheries.

 

[scooby]

ya i thought of doing 3 now and 3 later but my husbands not to hot on the idea of chickens and i was lucky to get him to say ok and build a coop for me so part of the reason i want to order them all at one time is so i dont have to explain how 3 more chicks showed up in our back yard at a later time. i have a feeling what i get now is going to be all i get... also i would hate to pay that 20$ fee all over again....

 

[austinhart123]

if i were you i would order more than six chickens and i would try another hatchery