Ideal Poultry

[Maev]

Shall I call a moderator?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Back to the topic at hand................

Yeah! I'm going to report you to the moderator on duty!!! hehehe

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yeah! I'm going to report you to the moderator on duty!!! hehehe

You rang?

 

[Brahmamama4]

I just ordered 7 Cochin chicks from them and they are supposed to be arriving this week. They were about $27 with shipping. I don't know if thats a great deal or not. It wasn't one of the specials.

 

[GardeNerd]

Over the years, I have gotten a lot of our chicks from them, and my neighbor has too. We have always been very happy and they have excellent customer service.

I just received a batch of bantam cochins on Thursday. I ordered one of their specials, 25 assorted Cochins. I have fun trying to figure out what everybody is.

 

[gryeyes]

I've ordered from Ideal twice, from MyPetChicken once, and Metzer Farms once. I would order from each of them again, according to purpose: MPC for sexed bantams, Metzer for ducks and geese, and Ideal for large fowl pullets. I've got nothing bad to say about any of those three companies. I also buy chicks from my favorite feed store, which uses both Ideal Poultry and Metzer Farms. Sometimes they order from Privett or Meyer, I think it depends upon the season or the breed availability throughout the Chick Season, which - at my favorite feed store - runs from mid-February to early October.

 

[1keegan]

We have 7 eggs on day 14, and just picked up 5 one-day old chicks today.
We're new to this, but we were hoping that after 2-3 days after the eggs hatch, we could put them together.
Any word of wisdom for introducing the 2 different ages?

I put day old chicks with week old chicks.

 

[Happy Chooks]

We have 7 eggs on day 14, and just picked up 5 one-day old chicks today.
We're new to this, but we were hoping that after 2-3 days after the eggs hatch, we could put them together.
Any word of wisdom for introducing the 2 different ages?

Just put them together and keep an eye on the little ones to make sure they are eating/drinking. I've mixed ages of chicks many times and never had a problem. I'd leave the hatched ones in the incubator until they are steady on their feet though. (usually 24 hours)

Here's a day old snuggling up to a week old chick

 

[gryeyes]

I've done the same, put chicks of disparate ages together, up to 3 weeks difference. Unless it's a single chick at the far end of the age difference.... I kept a couple of those in a separate brooder for a week so the smaller ones are eating and drinking okay and have demonstrated they're alert, quick, and have good mobility and speed when they get the "zoomies." Then I know they can hold their own in with chicks 3 weeks older. Bantams hatched later than other chicks also get special treatment for the same reason.

Other than those circumstances (or any chick is not alert, active, eating and drinking) I put younger chicks with older chick quite routinely. I would not push it past 3 weeks though.

 

[donrae]

My local Grange buys from Ideal, so my birds are from there. I've had no problems, but I've not bought direct from them. By the time I get them, they're a couple of days old and the weaker ones have died off.

 

[gryeyes]

My local Grange buys from Ideal, so my birds are from there. I've had no problems, but I've not bought direct from them. By the time I get them, they're a couple of days old and the weaker ones have died off.

Ahh, that's one of my special tactics with feed store chicks! I always try to get the oldest chicks of the breeds I want. Chicks are delivered in quantity one day a week, and those that didn't sell the previous week are therefore a week older. I look for the most active and alert older chicks, precisely because they HAVE survived well. They've passed that early die-off stage.

But if my feed store isn't offering a breed I would like, I'll check with Ideal. Or, if there's a special sale I cannot resist, I'll buy chicks in quantity from Ideal, which offers many more breeds than my feed store carries.