Murray McMurray hatchery???????

[kodster]

Well now they're big enough to tell what breeds they all are, the brown chick I asked about ended up being a Sicilian Buttercup I believe. Wish it would have been a Sussex. The Buttercups are supposedly not cold hardy, I would think Mcmurray would look at the shipping address before picking a mystery bird as I live in Northern Wisconsin. Oh well I guess I will see how he/she does. Right now I think it is a hen as it still has that color pattern but as it grows further it my turn out to be a rooster.

I got a Gold-Laced Polish pullet in my last order of chicks from McMurray as my mystery chick... not a breed I would consider for northwestern North Dakota (I'm only an hour from the Canadian border), and a breed that only lays medium to small white eggs. All my other breeds lay large to extra large brown eggs. The only thing I can say about this pullet is that with her unusual feathering, my older flock hasn't pecked her to no end when incorporating the younger flock into one larger flock. I have 5 Dark Cornish pullets that are 4 weeks younger than the older flock, and the older birds just peck them every time they get too close, or try to get into the waterer or feeders... making them wait their turn. There are also 1 White Jersey Giant pullet and a Black Australorp pullet, along with a Black Australorp cockerel that are the same age as the Dark Cornish (my older pullets are White Jersey Giants, Black Austalorps, and Rhode Island Reds) and they have been hit-or-miss as far as incorporating into the larger flock. My younger Black Australorp cockerel has taken it upon himself, though, to protect all the pullets in his age group, from the older birds, and chases the aggressors away. Glad to see to see his initiative, considering there is a Rhode Island Red cockerel 4 weeks older than he is, in that older flock, and they seem to get along fine, for now. Of course, my older RIR cockerel is so laid back, too.

Anyways, long story short... I'm of the same opinion as you over what the choice of birds should be... check the destination before throwing that mystery chick in! I think the packing crew doesn't bother... we have extra chicks we need to get rid of, so just grab any of those that aren't pre-sold, and throw it in! She may end up in the stew pot, if she can't tolerate the cold too much, while alive!

 

[annewandering]

Got my order from McMurray today. They look gorgeous! The cornish roasters are so cute and round that it might be hard to butcher them. The mystery chick looks like it will be a Speckled Sussex. Not particularly rare but seems like a good pick with my cornish chicks. I also have some mille fleur from a chicken lady near here so that is a good match I suspect. Also got five assorted cochins as matches for cochins I ordered earlier in the year. They are my favorite so far.

Could not be happier.

Heres a few of them.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Sweet, I haven't gotten my call from the PO yet I hope they're alive tomorrow!

All I can think of is them suffering! I ordered 14 creves and they already refunded me 4, so I'm already down to 10. Not a good start

 

[annewandering]

Sweet, I haven't gotten my call from the PO yet I hope they're alive tomorrow!

All I can think of is them suffering! I ordered 14 creves and they already refunded me 4, so I'm already down to 10. Not a good start

We nearly missed the call because my son turned my cell phone to silent. Just happened to notice a missed call on it. Got there with 20 minutes to spare!!
They didnt get enough in the hatch for your order? If yours are anything like these they are not suffering. They are happy bouncy little balls.

 

[kodster]

Got my order from McMurray today. They look gorgeous! The cornish roasters are so cute and round that it might be hard to butcher them. The mystery chick looks like it will be a Speckled Sussex. Not particularly rare but seems like a good pick with my cornish chicks. I also have some mille fleur from a chicken lady near here so that is a good match I suspect. Also got five assorted cochins as matches for cochins I ordered earlier in the year. They are my favorite so far.

Could not be happier.

Heres a few of them.

Are those the Cornish X Rocks (Cornish roasters) you're referring to? If so, keep an eye on them. We ordered 9 of them, and at 4 weeks of age, I started losing them to flip-over deaths (which they are prone to, when they have heart attacks because they grow so fast and their circulatory system can't handle the growth). I have 3 left, and they are 10 weeks old now... seem to be doing fine, I'll be butchering them for freezer camp and the smoker in 1-1/2 weeks, when my oldest grandson (who is 13 years old and not used to where food comes from) comes to visit for two weeks.

Flip-over deaths are identified when you find the bird on it's back, with its legs stuck straight out, stiff as a board... bird literally falls over backwards when it has a heart attack and dies.

 

[teresa42299]

I live in the Charleston area of sc and was wondering if anybody ordered from mcmurray. we are thinking about getting some but im worried if we do we will strike bad luck. can you tell me how many chicks you ordered and survived?

 

[cluck-cluck]

We nearly missed the call because my son turned my cell phone to silent. Just happened to notice a missed call on it. Got there with 20 minutes to spare!!
They didnt get enough in the hatch for your order? If yours are anything like these they are not suffering. They are happy bouncy little balls.

Gosh, I hope you're right! Still no phone call, I assume I'll get a call tomorrow morning

I live in the Charleston area of sc and was wondering if anybody ordered from mcmurray. we are thinking about getting some but im worried if we do we will strike bad luck. can you tell me how many chicks you ordered and survived?

I ordered from Ideal last time, but that was in October. They arrived in 2 days and were fine. I ordered 16 chicks at that time. They all grew up fine, and except for rehoming most of the boys, I still have the rest of them doing well here

 

[annewandering]

Are those the Cornish X Rocks (Cornish roasters) you're referring to? If so, keep an eye on them. We ordered 9 of them, and at 4 weeks of age, I started losing them to flip-over deaths (which they are prone to, when they have heart attacks because they grow so fast and their circulatory system can't handle the growth). I have 3 left, and they are 10 weeks old now... seem to be doing fine, I'll be butchering them for freezer camp and the smoker in 1-1/2 weeks, when my oldest grandson (who is 13 years old and not used to where food comes from) comes to visit for two weeks.

Flip-over deaths are identified when you find the bird on it's back, with its legs stuck straight out, stiff as a board... bird literally falls over backwards when it has a heart attack and dies.

Yes they are. We settled on these instead of the Jumbo Cornish X because of the heart and leg problems. I plan to not try to fatten them up as fast as possible just to help them be more healthy. Not wanting to find dead chickens all over the place. We got ten for a trial run. I see that even at this age, two days old, they seem to think its fine to lay down and eat. No wonder they get heart problems!!!

 

[kodster]

Yes they are. We settled on these instead of the Jumbo Cornish X because of the heart and leg problems. I plan to not try to fatten them up as fast as possible just to help them be more healthy. Not wanting to find dead chickens all over the place. We got ten for a trial run. I see that even at this age, two days old, they seem to think its fine to lay down and eat. No wonder they get heart problems!!!

Yep, they don't want to forage, either. You can feed them normally, like the other chicks, for the first 2 weeks, with regular chick starter/grower feed. Then you need to do a 12/12 feeding cycle... 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Be sure to use the Broiler Booster for their water for the entire time you have them... the extra vitamins and electrolytes helps a lot. I even use the Booster for my ducks, because of the extra niacin, etc., in it, which helps with the leg issues for the ducks, too.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Well, mine arrived safe and sound. They didn't have enough of the Crevecoeurs, so I was refunded for those and they put red star males in the batch. I should have called and asked them not to add any males