Murray Mcmurray Hatchery

[zackcrack]

Any thoughts on Murray Mcmurray hatchery? I have an order coming in a few weeks. Very excited!

Any tips for when they arrive?

 

[cavemanrich]

HAVE YOUR BROODER AND EXCITEMENT READY.. Do you have a flock of chickens now? Do you have a coop?, They grow quickly. What is the assortment you ordered???
AND OF COURSE

 

[HTChick]

I got an assortment (25 straight run) from McMurray Hatchery in the fall plus 6 Americana (mixed) pullets and 1 surprise exotic. They are currently 3 months old and very healthy. My chicks arrived healthy and I have only lost 3 (to vent gleet which is a fungus that is not very contagious thank goodness). Very delighted with my flock. McMurray is not show quality but quite nice for a home flock.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I've ordered several times from MMcM, and have been happy with their chicks. Enjoy! ry

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Welcome to the BYC flock. Here are Chickengeorgeto's top ten recommendations or does and don'ts.

[10] Do try to keep it simple.

[ 9] Chickens are tougher say after about 4 weeks of age than they look.

[8] Most of the really bad poultry diseases are viral in nature so if you treat one of these viral maladies and your chicken survives, congratulations you may have created a feathered Typhoid Marry who can pass what ever disease you are dealing with on to the rest of your flock, or possibly contaminate your land and equipment for a year or longer.

[ 7] Practice good husbandry. Treat for both internal and external parasites on a regular basis, whether you see any parasites or not.

[ 6] Don't fall for fad diets and by all means feed a good grade of pellets, however mash ie crushed pellets is the preferred baby chick food.

[ 5] Raw beef liver or other fresh lean red meat cubed fine, small fishing bait minnows, and dry or canned dog food are all just as, if not a better source of protein and healthy snacks than things like meal worms are.

[ 4] Chickens are tough customers but don't be hesitant to manage the predators if you start losing birds. Yes another predator may or may not replace the predator that you reduced to possession but it may be years.

[ 3] Chickens in general but hens in particular can in a humans' eyes be extremely cruel to one another. Try to refrain from unnecessarily dabbling in your flock's internal power structure. Chickens have been successfully raising themselves and living in flocks for a lot longer than either you or I have and they have pretty much perfected the process.

[2 ] A good safe, warm, (not hot) draft free, and dry brooder is essential to successfully grow off baby chicks.

And now we are at #10 or #1 depending on your point of view.
ding, ding, ding

[1 ] By all means wait until it is dark and your flock is quietly roosting before nabbing chickens to do any thing like inspect, treat, or medicate them, and by all means gently awaken them so that they know that it is you and not a grizzly bear that just grabbed them off their roost pole.

 

[zackcrack]

First off, thank you for the replies and advice!

I didn't get much of an assortment. I want to breed and do local shows, so I'm focusing on Salmon Faverolles. They were the perfect breed for me, as they are cold-tolerant, heat-tolerant, docile, do well in confinement, and are fairly uncommon. My total order came to 16 Salmon Faverolles female chicks, 6 Salmon Faverolles male chicks, 2 Jersey Giant female chicks, 2 Turken female chicks, 1 Dominique female chick, and the free rare chick. I also had MMH add a heat pack for extra warmth. It looks like shipping temps are going to be between 20-50F!

The non-Faverolles chicks are just for assortment and are all breeds I like but can't focus on.

As for my coop, it's held many flocks of chicken throughout the years. We no longer have chickens as we got a puppy a few years back and she completely wiped out the chicken population. These chickens won't be free-ranged for this reason. The coop is elevated inside a fenced run. It is 4'x8' floor space with roosts and nesting boxes throughout the coop. The run is 12'x16'. That's about 192 sqft, so I'm thinking it can hold about 19-20 chickens. I got so many SFs so that I can pick out the best stock and keep those to breed. I know that MMH doesn't have APA quality stock, but I'm sure with a few generations of breeding I can get them to local-fair quality. I've been wanting chickens for two years or so now, so I'm beyond excited for these little guys!

I've also gotten plastic spiral bands in multiple colors of sizes 4, 7, 9, 11, and 14 (Just in case one size isn't large enough for older roosters) and numbered plastic bandettes sizes 11 and 12 for the Salmon Faverolles I will be keeping and using for breeding in my project. MMH is going to mark my cockerels so that I can put blue size 4 spiral bands on them when they arrive and settle in. I'll be checking daily to make sure the bands can still move freely over the leg, feathering included.

I'm going to make a separate thread with a few specific questions about chick care, etc. Thanks again for the help.

 

[HTChick]

I don't free range my chickens either cause we have a dog and even without that - too many predators, too little cover here in the desert.

I like your breeding idea. I will also suggest, from a small amount of experience with my daughter and silkies, that you can sometimes pick up show quality birds at the chicken shows from breeders. Just FYI in case your plan doesn't work as good as you would like. Good luck!!

 

[donrae]

Your free rare exotic chick will almost always be an Easter Egger cockerel

Other than that, they're a great hatchery. My go-to place to order chicks. Healthy birds, good customer service.

 

[austrolover1]

Your free rare exotic chick will almost always be an Easter Egger cockerel

Other than that, they're a great hatchery. My go-to place to order chicks. Healthy birds, good customer service.

I have ordered 3 times from MMcM and every time I have received a bird. I did NOT say a chick! The first time we got a really sweet mallard duck; the second time we got a BEAUTIFUL chicken ( I am not sure what type it is) whose toes fell of because of frostbite (so she lived in the house for a while), and then we got a male polish. So it varies.

 

[cavemanrich]

BEAUTIFUL chicken ( I am not sure what type it is) whose toes fell of because of frostbite (so she lived in the house for a while), and then we got a male polish. So it varies.

I had a similar case where all the toes fell off, not at once.. It was not due to frostbite because my chickens stay indoors during winter and outdoors when warm. Hen was a mix of serama and cochin with feathered feet. Lived 7 to 8 years and lost to predator.,

I called her Cotton (he had no shins) , after Hank Hills father... King of the Hill.