Which is better in your experience? If you have ordered from either one of these hatcheries, please tell me your stories! Were the sexed correctly? Were you given the right breed you ordered? Did most of them arrive alive and healthy? If you ordered pullets, how many ended up being cockerals? Please any stories/suggesstions/opinions. Any other hatcheries you would recommend? Thanks !
Hi! I've ordered from both of these hatcheries! In 2010 I ordered 7 pullets and one cockeral from Meyer Hatchery. They arrived and the cockeral and a sumatra pullet died the next day.. the other sumatra I had was very listless as well and being picked on by the bigger ones so I ended up having to go and buy her some bantam sized friends which helped her survive. Then the other four turned out to be pretty nice! But our speckled sussex was sexed wrong and was a big boy. The rest of the girls were right though. I don't think I'd really want to order from them again because not only did 3 of our 8 chicks die, but the shipment was a day late. But last year, 2012, I ordered from McMurray and was totally content! It might have made a difference though since we ordered 28 and they sent two extras a long to get thirty. But it was exciting and if you don't want the extra birds you can sell them or whatever. You can sign up for a free mystery bird and i got a partrdige cochin girl. But anyways, out of the 30 only two were weak and one died because it drowned (my fault, forgot the rocks in the waterer). So I lost three out of this one too, but out of 30... And out of the ones we actually ordered, I only had one breed sexed wrong, which was my black cochin 'pullet'. He turned into this super sweet boy though and I love him to pieces! So i guess I'd order from McMurray if i were you! Oh and McMurray sent my chicks a day early!! I wasn't even prepared!
I ordered my chicks from McMurray and would order from them again. I called because I had 'first time chicken-mommy' questions and the lady that answered was super helpful and let me ask all the questions I wanted, made some suggestions, & helped me with my final order. I ordered the 25 'assorted bantam feather-footed' special and received 26 very healthy bantams plus a 'mystery chick'. I used their Grow Gel and vitamins/electrolytes in the water. No chick was weak or unhealthy. They all survived beautifully. AND they were shipped 2 days early! (or either I misunderstood them!)
Over the last 30 years I have had occasion to order from both, and others. In those 10 or so orders, every time the breed and sex was correct. I have come to realize that hatcheries breed for successful hatching. They are not exhibition quality birds all the time. Sometimes, they are pretty good when measured against the SOP. But that is they exception. My hatchery stock has always been healthy (none ever died close to delivery date) and hearty (few or no early health issues). I would say order what you want, when you want from where you want.
I have ordered from McMurray in February 2012 and have been on the fence with my experience. I ordered 3 Buff Orpington pullets, 3 Columbian Wyandotte pullets, 5 Easter Egger pullets, and 14 Cornish X Rock pullets. They sent me an EE roo as my free chick. One of my EE pullets died, not sure why, at 3 days old. And one of my BOs was sexed wrong so another roo for me. I sold both of the roos on craigslist with no problem. When I called MM they said they would replace the BO roo and the deceased EE in my next order with them and were very apologetic and nice about it. One of my CW pullets was born without a tail but she is the best egg layer I have- huge brown eggs with thick shells and very friendly. I didn't call MM about that one because I didn't really care- she's perfect to me! And the CX meat birds were PHENOMENAL!!! I gave them the broiler booster and quick chick and they had no leg problems, had huge breast meat, nice and juicy, friendly, and were the perfect size at 9 weeks. So here are my pros and cons- PROS - Friendly birds - Meat birds were fabulous - Great egg layers and beautiful birds - Amazing customer service - The chick packaging was warm and safe - Quick Chick and Broiler Booster are a must now for me CONS - 1 chick loss - 1 chick missing tail - 1 chick sexed wrong I would have to say after looking at my list that the pros out weigh the cons, but it all depends on what you're looking for. Good luck!
I'm wanting to start a new batch of chicks soon and I'm wondering who to get them from. I've always gotten my chickens from feed stores and neighbors but I'm looking for specific breeds this time (light brahmas and salmon faverolles) so I think I'm going to have to order them through the mail. I'm undecided between McMurray and Ideal. Anyone ordered from either of these places? Ideal has better prices but I keep thinking of that old saying 'bout getting what you pay for! I've looked at reviews for both places and still can't decide. Also, does anyone have some of these chickens? Are you happy with them? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
Just my opinion, but when dealing with living things, don't expect perfection. Things grow up in various ways, some live, some die, some are deformed, and in general they are somewhat unpredictable in vitality. We do the best we can to raise them, despite their challenges. Chickens are no exception to this.
I have ordered many hatchery birds, but I have been most impressed with My Pet Chicken. They have a great selection, quick delivery, great packaging for small orders, and I have never had a incorrectly sexed bird. I had an order that went wrong (w/post office) and they were very quick with a refund and replacements, they even refunded the shipping. NO hassle at all and they just wanted to know what else they could do for me. That is not to say that I prefer them overall. After some time keeping backyard chickens I was looking to add new hens to my flock and I found a local breeder who had many different rare and even endangered chickens available in her breeding pens. I was amazed at the quality and the care they received and of course by her knowledge of the birds in her care. Needless to say, I have not purchased a hatchery bird for a very long time, and i don't intend to, and have resigned myself to building an incubator (out of a cardboard box and left over packing foam) and hatching my own eggs from the wonderful pure and unadulterated breeds that are available out there. Keep in mind that you just might have some amazing breeders in your area or near enough to drive out and pick out hatching eggs, chicks, and even juveniles if that is what you are looking for.
I just ordered from Meyer last night. I ordered 15 chicks (the min.). They will be here in march. I ordered online so I don't know about the customer service. Wish I had more info about them but this is my first time ordering hatchery chicks.Hope all goes well.
