New to chickens

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kkovacic

kkovacic

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HI! My family has decided to take the plunge and get some chickens. We got our coop and are so excited but now it's time to get the chickens. We've done a lot of reading but no one has given any good websites on where to buy our chickens. We went to our local stores and none of the chickens they get are sexed. Can anyone give us some insight on where to go? We are from Pennsylvania! TIA :)
 
Greetings from Kansas, kkovacic, and
welcome-byc.gif
! Pleased you decided to take the plunge and get chickens and also glad you stopped at BYC! This is an awesome community that can help you every step of the way! First off - where to get chickens. In my neck of the woods, starting about February, local farm and ranch stores sell sexed and unsexed chicks. If those aren't available in your area, mail order is a great option. Chicks are amazingly resilient through the mail and the bigger outfits are very reputable. I will give you the names of large hatcheries I have ordered from in the past. These have done well by me and offer a great variety of birds from which to use. Murray McMurray....Meyer Hatchery....Cackle Hatchery....Stromberg's....Ideal Poultry. There are others but these are ones I can personally vouch for. If it was me, I'd pick the one nearest to PA. Anything that might cut a day off of shipping is a plus. I can almost assure the chicks will arrive in great shape. You can research/ask other hatchery opinions in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16/chicken-breeders-hatcheries

Then when you get them it's just a matter of dunking their beaks so they figure out where the water is and show them their chick starter food as they go to town in their brooder. Some folks put electrolytes (available from wherever you order) in the water to give them a boost. But once have the chicks...actually before...check out the Learning Center here: it is a treasure trove of useful poultry information. Obviously, you will want to pay most attention to the raising baby chicks section. Here is the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
Finally, stop by and say hey to come of your poultry owning neighbors in the PA thread in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you
Best wishes and enjoy the ride on the poultry train!!
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Hi,
I am new also - I got my chicks from Meyer Hatchery. They arrived the next day after leaving the hatchery (I think it's in Ohio?) and I am down in Homestead, FL which is south of Miami - so they traveled a good distance in 24 hrs. They were in great condition and packed really well. I did purchase them sexed, all female, BUT one turned out to be a rooster! I called them just to let them know, I didn't really expect a refund because I wanted to keep him anyway, but they refunded my money for him right away. So I would use them again, they were very nice on the phone and answered all of my questions patiently. They explained about "auto sexed" chicks, which means you can tell what sex they are when they hatch by color of their legs or some other distinction. I think I understood this correctly, if I'm wrong, someone please tell me! So that may be an option for you to pick breeds that are easily sexed. Good luck! Erin
 
redsoxs said:
Greetings from Kansas, kkovacic, and :welcome !  Pleased you decided to take the plunge and get chickens and also glad you stopped at BYC!  This is an awesome community that can help you every step of the way!  First off - where to get chickens.  In my neck of the woods, starting about February, local farm and ranch stores sell sexed and unsexed chicks.  If those aren't available in your area, mail order is a great option.  Chicks are amazingly resilient through the mail and the bigger outfits are very reputable.  I will give you the names of large hatcheries I have ordered from in the past.   These have done well by me and offer a great variety of birds from which to use.  Murray McMurray....Meyer Hatchery....Cackle Hatchery....Stromberg's....Ideal Poultry.  There are others but these are ones I can personally vouch for.  If it was me, I'd pick the one nearest to PA.  Anything that might cut a day off of shipping is a plus.  I can almost assure the chicks will arrive in great shape.  You can research/ask other hatchery opinions in this link:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16/chicken-breeders-hatcheries

Then when you get them it's just a matter of dunking their beaks so they figure out where the water is and show them their chick starter food as they go to town in their brooder.  Some folks put electrolytes (available from wherever you order) in the water to give them a boost.  But once have the chicks...actually before...check out the Learning Center here:  it is a treasure trove of useful poultry information.  Obviously, you will want to pay most attention to the raising baby chicks section.  Here is the link:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
Finally, stop by and say hey to come of your poultry owning neighbors in the PA thread in this link:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you
Best wishes and enjoy the ride on the poultry train!!  :)
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Thank you so much for all of this information! This is exactly what we have been looking for! I am so glad I came across this website!
 
G’Day from down under kkovacic
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Welcome!

As you have already received some good advice, I will just wish you the best of luck with your feathered family.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends
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