My birds are NOT what I ordered...

[Egg Rookie 2010]

So out of 15 birds I ordered 4 arent right. This is just my morning rant. My partrige Cochin cockerel is feathering out to be buff, the 2 Jersey Black Giants are feathering out to be white and what I thought was a Rhode Island White has no tail and looks more like an Araucana. Im just whining cause I wanted a wide variety of colors like a bouquet of flowers. Whah! Im sure they will all be wonderful birds but Im kinda disappointed. These are my first chickies and are just over 3 weeks old. Thanks for listening.

 

[EweSheep]

Did you order from a hatchery as a mixed flock? If so, you probably best to order each individual breed and sex.

If you did order by breed and sex, well, that is hatchery flock for you, they don't always come out like they should be. Try to call the hatchery and let them know they sent you the wrong birds. They probably either refund your money back, minus shipping OR ship more chicks.

Wish you all the luck! You will grow on them!

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

They are from IDEAL and I ordered a specific number/color/sex of each bird. Dang it!

 

[EweSheep]

Call for Teri at Ideal Hatchery and have her help you with the chick order. I never had any problems with them replacing or canceling the orders at Ideal.

 

[columbiacritter]

Now I'm worried, I ordered very specific brreds from Ideal. I hope I get what I ordered.

 

[RThomas]

I haven't raised Jersey Giants, but I did read this about the black variety: "The white persists in the plumage until final molt of chick feathers takes place."

Does the RI White have ear-tufts? If not, it's probably not an Araucana. Perhaps the tail is just slow to develop.

I'm not sure about your Cochin. Sometimes the coloration will change as the chick matures.
You may just need to give them more time to develop to get a better idea of their true colors.

How old are your birds?

Edited to add- just saw your chicks are only three weeks old. I'd give them more time to develop.

 

[Olive Hill]

At 3 weeks old you've got a ways to go before they resemble what they eventually should. Be patient.

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

Ideal has college kids working for them as 1 of their courses. Out of 2 orders that we picked up they picked wrong birds in each. And with the 1st order when we asked why the barred cochins didn't have feathered legs we were told the order was taken down wrong. No barred cochins that day and no offer of a refund. The 2nd time they picked a tiny buff bird that was hidden behind the other 3 chicks and didn't find out until we got home it wasn't the buff silkie we ordered, at least that time they refunded the mistake. I'll never order chicks from them again.

@Egg Rookie 2010; call them about it, they should refund or reship, sorry you got the wrong chicks, but you will still fall in love with the ones that were wrong, we did.
@columbiacritter; good luck with your order

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

Well if 3 weeks is early then I will be patient. All I know is I see birds that look very different than what I expected but as you see...I AM a rookie. Ill still love them but whine a little about it. Thanks everyone for all your input.

 

[HHandbasket]

Quote:
Try ordering from Belt Hatchery. They're right there in Fresno & you could probably get there in 45 minutes, depending on where you are (BTW, I am very jealous of you for living in the Clovis Foothills and LOVE that area).