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- #71
Wow, I am so sorry you have had poor luck with Ideal Poultry's birds!
My first order since childhood was in October, I ordered 25 LF and 25 S/R assorted bantams.
The 25 bantams were shipped as 26, but 2 died, I think the losses were either Silkies or Sultans. I considered it an acceptable loss and did not even bother reporting it. After all, the bantams were only 99 cents each!
I kept 8 bantams and a trio of Black Australorps. The BAs look as good as they did when I was a kid in 4-H and I took countless ribbons and even a few trophies with my Grand Champion Black Australorps that came from Ideal! All 11 birds from the October shipment look like the pictures, the only "defect" is the Silkie with the missing toe, but as she is a pullet, I kept her.
Now I did have poor luck on the Silkies, I got 6 and 4 of the 6 were boys, but I sold the all the Silkie boys at a month old for $5 each, so I made $4.01 each! I ended up with exactly 50% (12/ 12) of each sex in that bantam assortment.
I found BYC when I googled "Ideal bantam special", I did choose my screen name shortly after that, but I really like the definition of idealistic I found -
"the tendency to represent things in their ideal forms, rather than as they are".
Sounds a bit like a hatchery who sells birds based on cartoon pictures, rather than actual photos, doesn't it?
Or an aging chicken hobbyist who sees only good things?
Now, I happen to believe in Ideal's ideals, as I have always received birds that grew up to look exactly like the pictures!
However, your pictures don't lie, your birds do not match the pictures.
I think their disclaimer gives them an "out" on the Black crested white, and on the smooth vs frizzle, I am curious how many you ordered to only end up with 1 frizzle?
I got 2 Black frizzled Cochins with my order of self blue Cochins, Moderns and OEGs on March 17th , but they are not old enough yet to see if they are frizzled yet.
In fairness, I did end up with a Silkie that only has 4 toes on one foot, but 5 on the other! I got 1 crossbeak EE, but I have had birth defects hatch out here, and the crossbeak did not occur until about 1 month of age! I also got a Cornish bantam that had 3 crooked toes, but by and large all of my Ideal birds end up just as pretty as the pictures!
The 150 started pullets I sold at 1-2 months old have all stayed sold with no complaints about roosters, so the sexing was 100% correct on the $1.45 Surprise pullet specials! I kept one EE chick that was silver and it did end up being a roo, that I gave away, but that is the only one out of 150 that I know of and I received 1-2 extras on most of the surprise specials and I think I only lost 2 total on the specials so I am sure I am ahead at least 1 or 2 pullets so the 100% ratio is still intact!
Sometimes I have gotten frustrated with Ideal, because as a repeat customer, I began to expect 1 or 2 extra chicks in the box, but sometimes they just don't put any extras in! Even when I specifically requested "males for warmth", I did not get any, but most of the chicks survived and the ones that didn't were replaced the next week and then when some still didn't make it, they refunded my money!
Breeder quality birds are not in my budget and Ideal has kept me entertained by delivering "cheeping boxes of happiness" every month or two since October! They don't charge more for the birds that sell out immediately, like the dark brown egg layers! Other hatcheries charge $5 a pullet chick for Marans, etc, but Ideal is content to only charge $3.08 even though they could charge more and still sell out! Other hatcheries charge a shipping fee, Ideal is content with only 15 cents a chick! I like Ideal!
Ideal is the only hatchery that I know of that sells 52 weeks a year! I would have gone crazy last winter if I had not had chicks! I had so much fun and met so many people when I was selling started pullets!
Edited to clarify my numbers
My first order since childhood was in October, I ordered 25 LF and 25 S/R assorted bantams.
The 25 bantams were shipped as 26, but 2 died, I think the losses were either Silkies or Sultans. I considered it an acceptable loss and did not even bother reporting it. After all, the bantams were only 99 cents each!
I kept 8 bantams and a trio of Black Australorps. The BAs look as good as they did when I was a kid in 4-H and I took countless ribbons and even a few trophies with my Grand Champion Black Australorps that came from Ideal! All 11 birds from the October shipment look like the pictures, the only "defect" is the Silkie with the missing toe, but as she is a pullet, I kept her.
Now I did have poor luck on the Silkies, I got 6 and 4 of the 6 were boys, but I sold the all the Silkie boys at a month old for $5 each, so I made $4.01 each! I ended up with exactly 50% (12/ 12) of each sex in that bantam assortment.
I found BYC when I googled "Ideal bantam special", I did choose my screen name shortly after that, but I really like the definition of idealistic I found -
"the tendency to represent things in their ideal forms, rather than as they are".
Sounds a bit like a hatchery who sells birds based on cartoon pictures, rather than actual photos, doesn't it?
Or an aging chicken hobbyist who sees only good things?
Now, I happen to believe in Ideal's ideals, as I have always received birds that grew up to look exactly like the pictures!
However, your pictures don't lie, your birds do not match the pictures.
I think their disclaimer gives them an "out" on the Black crested white, and on the smooth vs frizzle, I am curious how many you ordered to only end up with 1 frizzle?
I got 2 Black frizzled Cochins with my order of self blue Cochins, Moderns and OEGs on March 17th , but they are not old enough yet to see if they are frizzled yet.
In fairness, I did end up with a Silkie that only has 4 toes on one foot, but 5 on the other! I got 1 crossbeak EE, but I have had birth defects hatch out here, and the crossbeak did not occur until about 1 month of age! I also got a Cornish bantam that had 3 crooked toes, but by and large all of my Ideal birds end up just as pretty as the pictures!
The 150 started pullets I sold at 1-2 months old have all stayed sold with no complaints about roosters, so the sexing was 100% correct on the $1.45 Surprise pullet specials! I kept one EE chick that was silver and it did end up being a roo, that I gave away, but that is the only one out of 150 that I know of and I received 1-2 extras on most of the surprise specials and I think I only lost 2 total on the specials so I am sure I am ahead at least 1 or 2 pullets so the 100% ratio is still intact!
Sometimes I have gotten frustrated with Ideal, because as a repeat customer, I began to expect 1 or 2 extra chicks in the box, but sometimes they just don't put any extras in! Even when I specifically requested "males for warmth", I did not get any, but most of the chicks survived and the ones that didn't were replaced the next week and then when some still didn't make it, they refunded my money!
Breeder quality birds are not in my budget and Ideal has kept me entertained by delivering "cheeping boxes of happiness" every month or two since October! They don't charge more for the birds that sell out immediately, like the dark brown egg layers! Other hatcheries charge $5 a pullet chick for Marans, etc, but Ideal is content to only charge $3.08 even though they could charge more and still sell out! Other hatcheries charge a shipping fee, Ideal is content with only 15 cents a chick! I like Ideal!
Ideal is the only hatchery that I know of that sells 52 weeks a year! I would have gone crazy last winter if I had not had chicks! I had so much fun and met so many people when I was selling started pullets!
Edited to clarify my numbers
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