Ideal & Roosters (Southern Chick) - Help Needed ASAP

[User48]

Southern Chick,

You mentioned that Ideal will automatically send a bunch of roosters if you order less than 20 or so chicks. Has that been everyone else's experience too? If yes, I'm going to need to cancel my order, which was carefully handpicked & due to arrive next week. I spoke at length to the person that helped me & I specifically stated that I could not have more than one rooster. The only reason why I did not go with My Pet Chicken again was that they didn't have all that I wanted in stock at the time that I wanted it, which was important given the age of my other chicks. I would be really, really angry to wind up with 10 extra roosters on my hands - or even ten extra hens - I just don't have the space yet.

Any feedback from others about their experiences with Ideal when ordering smaller numbers of chicks would be appreciated. I'll need to cancel my order pronto if, in fact, this is a trend.

Thanks,
Laura

 

[Chelly]

Laura,
I ordered my chicks months ago - for delivery in early August, with the high temps, I only received what I ordered, no more. But they couldn't tell me or guarantee that on the phone or emails I sent them.
All depends on the weather.....

 

[Southern28Chick]

I don't know about this time of year. When I ordered mine in early spring I spoke to a lady from Ideal and she said the number of "males for warmth" were determined the day of shipment so she couldn't tell me how many they would send.

I had ordered 13 chicks so I moved my order up to 25 and she said with 25 they would not send ANY extra males and they didn't.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You need to call them and ask. It's quite possible that they won't need to do this, as it is so warm this time of year. You may very well have a big enough order, so that they don't need to add other chicks. You need to call them and ask them about this, though. If they say it isn't a problem, I would ask them to make sure to note that on the order, not to include extra males. I've heard they have good customer service and I'm sure they will not mind you calling to confirm this.

 

[cookinmom]

Yeah, they say the add the roosters for warmth, so maybe they won't need to send them now. I got some too, but it was back in March & it was really cold.

 

[Judymae]

I got my order of 13 at the end of May. I only got one extra chick for warmth. I ordered 6 barred rocks and got 7. I think all of them are pullets! At 12 wks old none of them stands out as a roo. No crowing. No lighter colored barring. Not one has a bigger comb or wattles. I think I got really lucky!

 

[User48]

OK, thanks. She seemed most concerned with them moving around the box too much because there would be too few of them. It's very hot here in Central California, so hopefully warmth won't be an issue. This really makes me all the more impressed with My Pet Chicken. They just added a bunch of straw &, of course, I'm more than happy to pay extra for the straw/heat element/whatever it may be to get what I want. I think it's a little odd just to throw in some roosters without first explaining that you'll be throwing in some roosters & that that is part of the bargain, so to speak. I mean it's not like inheriting a bunch of roosters is a minor inheritance - it would have a profound impact on life here & I wouldn't have placed the order had I known that was part of the deal. There is NOTHING on their web site that suggests if you order fewer than 20 or whatever pullets you should make way for a bunch of roosters...

I'll keep everyone posted on how this turns out so that there's a record of it on the board. It seems we should all be educating each other about what to expect from each hatchery. I'll also add an update to the hatchery section. I'm obviously still waiting for a call back...

Laura

 

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

Most likely at this time where the weather is nice and warm they wont send males for warmth. I orderd some a week ago and ordered 2 male surprise special ....and they didn't even send them! all I got was my girl chicks and my ducklings never even put male in my order!. I dont think they will be sending any males with your order enles you only order 3-4 chickens

 

[Chelly]

I found this on the FAQ page:

What does MALES FOR WARMTH mean?
It means that male chickens will be included with your order to provide warmth and comfort for the shipping of your poultry. We include males for warmth on any order that we feel needs the extra mass for shipping.


I havent' looked much - but it must say somethign about Males for Warmth on their site.

 

[User48]

Yikes, well thanks for pointing out that "males for warmth" is on their site, Chelly. I can't complain too much then, since I obviously missed that. I did have the conversation about not wanting any extra males, so I do feel like it would be unfair to suddenly be presented with them, but I'll wait and see what they say when we speak again. I only ordered 5. Had a sixth one ordered, but they called to say they could not send that variety. It was then that I had the whole conversation of not wanting too many because we weren't really ready for them yet (as in, still revamping coop, etc.). So I opted not to get a sixth but stick with 5 - you can see why then getting a whole bunch of unwanted roosters on top of that would be disturbing. I guess next time I'll just stick with My Pet Chicken.

Of course, adding to this stress is the fact that I just picked up 4 more yesterday - a silkie rooster & hen & 2 silkie chicks. The roo & hen are indescribably beautiful & are fitting in well - I have them set up in what was to be the pre-coop for my little ones. The two chicks also seem to be blending in fine with my other 5 chicks. They're just about the same age. It really is an addiction.

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone!

Laura