I've hear the negatives, what about the positives?

[drumstick diva]

This may be bending the thread a bit but Davesgarden.com/ has something called "Garden Watchdog," where people send in reviews of various companies pro and con. One of the categories is "Supplies for Poultry farming." They list 48 hatcheries , so there are probably lots that the BYCers may not even know about. It offers YOU the chance to report what your experiences were. There is no charge for this.

You go to www.davesgarden.com/ click on products and services, then click on Garden Watchdog. You can find the various companies by name, state, product category etc. They are always eager for customer feedback and I always check them out before buying any related products. They also like people telling them about new companies so they can list them.

 

[Domestic_goddess]

Thanks to everyone for your comments! It makes me feel alot better and Love hearing the positives stories. I'm crossing my fingers for a happy arrival. That's great drumstick diva, I'll have to check it out.

 

[Chosen Chickens]

I am in Utah as well and my order is shipping out today and going to be here on monday... I am anxious to see how it turns out as well. Good luck to you!... hopefully we'll have good weather over the weekend

 

[herefordlovinglady]

50 baby ducks and only 4 doa....the whole nest of them was happy and energetic. all doing well today.

 

[luvmypyr]

we are in ohio.. we ordered chicks last year from a hatchery within our state ( a small order as well -12 chicks) all arrived alive .. 1 died a day later ,but it was health related -not shipping.. ordered from the same hatchery this year 2 1/2 weeks ago .. very very cold , i was worried, but all arrived alive + 2 extra ( another small shipment ) and every one is doing wonderful ! one was not thriving at first but we gave her a little karo syrup water and that did it for her .. she is the liveliest of the bunch for sure! both shipments were here within 24 hours , our rural po called before they actually opened and i could hear the chickies in the background.

 

[Keri78]

I think you'll be fine!!!

The heat pack makes all the difference in the world for winter shipments!

 

[Domestic_goddess]

Do they usually put in heat packs, when shipping this early?

 

[schmije]

Quote:
It depends on how many chicks you buy. Companies with very low minimums will use them, but my two orders (27 & 35 chicks) didn't have them.

 

[KatieH]

Mine were shipped from MM early February and arrived on a Sunday. My local PO was GREAT and I got them right away. Thought we were going to lose one, but she pulled through and now 3 weeks later, haven't lost any (out of 32 birds).

 

[Airilith]

I ordered mine in November from Ideal. The weather had been extremely mild so I figured I'd be fine. I ordered 7, and they added roo's for warmth.

Well, with my luck I should have expected this, but the day after they shipped my fuzzy butts we got a huge storm. A nor'easter rolled threw with freezing rain and extremely high winds. I admit I freaked. I showed up at my local PO and waited the following morning. The nice lady told me that the trucks had all been delayed because the wind had caused truck restrictions on the Cheasapeake Bay Bridge. Great! She told me not to worry, she'd call me the second the truck arrived.

An hour later she called. My car must have flown there! Haha! The chirping in the PO was amazingly loud. She handed me my box, and I opened it ....

AND EVERYONE WAS ALIVE AND WELL! All together the 16 chicks were just fine.