McMurray Hatchery, drop shipped chicks from Texas?

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I Ordered 20 Oegb And They Sent Me Moder Game Bantams But Im Gonna Try Them Again For My Standard Modern Games I Need

 

[coz74]

I recently ordered from McMurray hatchery, 25 straight run heavies. When I talked to an operator from McMurray, she said that they do not ship out of their facility this time of year. She stated they would come from Texas, which mine did, or a different hatchery in IA. Interesting thing is the only dead chicks I received appeared to be BR. They could have been black sex links, but I guess I'll never know.

 

[pinkyglory123]

I expect my first shipment from Myer to arrive tomorrow. I have ordered from McMurray multiple times and never lost a chick. They just did not have the breeds I wanted this time of year. We will see how Myer compares. I have to admit my hatchery BO were no where near the quality of the BO I ordered as eggs. (however the breeder birds proved not quite savvy enough for free ranging and I only have my hatchery BOs left) BUT we did have a standard buff cochin cockeral and a standard dark brahma pullet from McMurray that not only won at the lowly "county fair" level but also kicked buttinski at the "real" shows, where "real" poultryman exhibit. And was bought in the end by one of these breeders for some big money. So somewhere flowing among the DNA of some breeder quality dark brahma's in Massachusetts is some McMurray.

No I don't name my chickens-although my geese do have names. The sight of a flock of chickens on green grass is something I never tire of. So to all my hatchery buying buddies-ENJOY your birds! I have never received a hatchery chick that did not mature to be recognizable as the breed it was-possessing all the qualities that attracted me to the breed in the first place. Buying from a hatchery, enjoying your birds in your "backyard" be it one hundred or just one acre-is nothing to be ashamed of. Small farm flocks have a long history in most families-most of our grandparents probably had a few hens. Enjoy them in all their variety.

 

[KDailey]

Quote:
That's great about your cochin!

And the second paragraph is very well said

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

I ordered the Duke's Mixture from McMurray which arrived a week ago. 28 bouncing balls of fluff made it through the shipping process and are still kicking today. Maybe it's hit or miss based upon the handlers in process too?

 

[pinkyglory123]

Myer chicks arrived as expected and I must say they are the perkiest chicks I have ever received. I have always received healthy live chicks from McMurray but these chicks came out of the box and were literally running all over the place. Very impressed.

 

[2hot2chicken]

(Quote ) I see you don't know much about the hatchery business as the others have stated, most loyal hatchery folks don't and don't realy care to and all that is fine. If you think the hatcheries sit at the right hand then you bess think angain. I do completely understand that hatchery buyers are totaly happy with their so call ed kinda sorta close to whatever breed they think their getting, the hatcheries bet on the fact that you don't know what that true breed should resemble and also that the fact that you realy don't care. As long as they are cute and fluffy and you can name them all pretty little names, that's fine my issue is with the fact that hatchery birds are nowhere near what they are advertised as and Ya'll think they are Show quality when they are really just mutts only suitable for the backyard novice. Ok enough said about all that i am happy your happy with your choices, but don't for a second think that hatchery birds compare to real birds of heritage quality. I wish you and your birds the best of luck. (Quote)

I don't really think this is true either. I ordered some blue silkies from Ideal Poultry out of texas early this summer and the chicks I got were great. Im not the most experienced with silkies or showing but I have had 3 long time silkie owners over to my house for chicken business and they all inspected not only my adult birds but also these chicks and they were very impressed with the quality of the chicks I received. I even sold some to one of the breeders to add to her breeding stock and 1 or 2 she was sure would make wonderful show quality birds!

I also ordered some light standard brahmas at the same time and got 1 chick that is nice but her foot feathering is lacking a little and the other is definatly 100% to breed standard with an incredible amount of feathering on her legs/feet. I don't know if I just got lucky or what??? I'm not saying they were all perfect, some of the silkie chicks were definatly pet quality birds but over 50% we kept and will be showing in 4H and some poultry shows/fairs this coming year so we will see how they do. I have actually bought birds of lower quality from breeders selling them as show stock before so I really don't think hatcheries are all bad! There are those out there I am sure and after so many years in business you have to wonder how much inbreeding has gone on over the years there which dilutes the quality of the stock just to have chicks available? But there are also good ones.......

Off my soap box now......

 

[becky3086]

Well, it is in the "breeders" interest to put down the hatcheries. And once one person says something on these forums, they all follow suit. After all, if you could get just as good a bird from a hatchery why would you spend big money buying from a "breeder". Most people aren't breeders anyway though they say they are because they have a flock of a breed of chickens and they hatch from them but most really don't do their homework and know what to breed for and how to breed. I was out of the chicken business for about a year and since I have come back I have noticed that the quality of birds being offered from "breeders" has gone down quite drastically but the price has gone up substantially. A lot of the great breeders I used to know seldom post now.
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with getting hatchery birds. They are cheaper, know how to deliver to you, will likely refund or send more if your chicks die, and like any bird, even if they are not perfect, usually you will have enough to work with to--if you take the time to learn your breed and know what you are doing- breed a better quality bird from them.

 

[SuttonHeritageFarm]

Honestly I have only been farming and owning poultry for the last year, but I have come to find and so have most of my poultry friends that ordering from hatcheries is a very bad idea. Too many things go wrong...

For example a friend ordered 100 pullets and ended up with all roos but 3. I have some on my farm now.

Another... Order Amerucanas or Arcanas and end up with green egg laying Easter Eggers which are mixed chicks.

I have also received chicks from TX... We are in NC. So that was a bit of a flight for those poor babies!

I could go on. I have come to the conclusion that investing money in an incubator or finding a friend to hatch eggs for you is much better! I have invested over 3,000 in birds and have very little to show. Most of the birds I have now I hatched myself or were purchased for local people.

I hope this helps!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

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I have picked up my chicks from Meyer hatchery, instead of having them shipped. They absolutely ship all of their chickens from Polk Ohio. The chicks are hatched on the premises. The only thing Meyer Hatchery drop ships is their waterfowl.