Need help figuring out what to order.....

[crzychickenlady]

Ok, I want to order some chicks, but I don't know what a safe number would be to order of straight run....

I'm going thru Cackle Hatchery because they have all the breeds I want in Bantam....of course they don't sex them

They are also VERY close to me, so hopefully not too much stress in shipping on the birds.

They have several breeds of Bantam Cochins that I have just fallen in love with! There's 4 that I am interested in; Golden Laced, Barred, Partridge, and Silver Penciled.

Cackles minimum per breed is 5, with an overall total minimum of 25 per order. So...my question is here....how many do I order to ensure at least one good pullet of each breed? Would I likely get at least one pullet out of 5 straight run??

I can have roo's, LOVE my roo's!!........but my BF surely would not like that, lol

Any advice will be helpful, will most likely be placing my order in March.

Oh yea, here's the breeds from Cackle:
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/cochinbantam.html

 

[NancyinAlaska]

I would say yes............................ out of 5 straight -run, you should get at least one pullet. They say..................50/50 in a hatch. McMurray has alot of Cochin Bantams, straight-run of course. Good Luck

 

[crzychickenlady]

Heard from 2 sources that Cackle doesn't have the greatest birds, that they arrive sick.

Ideal has the same breed I want just a little further away, but I have ordered from them before, so I know what I will get from them.

 

[LeBlackbird]

Remember, They will all have terrible hatchery type, and don't look like the pictures (except for the barreds, they are dead on)

Also, Gold laced cochins are still being devloped, so don't expect actual gold laced, I've seen "goldlaced" cochins that look like buffs with black spots.

 

[crzychickenlady]

I've narrowed it down now. I want to get Partridge, Silver Penciled and White Frizzle. Now just need to figure out how many in each breed to order.

 

[HEChicken]

If you live close to Cackle, perhaps you could take a drive over there and pick them up yourself? That would save them the stress of the shipping, plus allow you to look through all of their stock and choose the ones you want. Just a thought - I don't even know for sure if Cackle allows pick ups. However out of 5 yes, you *should* end up with 2-3 pullets. If they are true straight run, each chick has a 50/50 chance of being a pullet. However you could also end up with either 5 cockerels or 5 pullets! I've seen several threads from people hatching their own, who *should* be getting roughly 50% of each, but 15/16 are one or the other, so some of it is just luck of the draw.