Ordering and choosing chicks?

[BCollie]

Hi guys! I hope I'm posting this in the right section.
I finally got the go-ahead from my parents to get chickens!!!

I've been to the feed stores but don't like their selection. They mostly only have RIR's, sex links, or straight runs. I want sexed chicks, and I'd like ones that are prettier than the sex links and RIRs.
So I'd like to order online. First question: What are the best places to order chicks from? I was looking at mypetchicken and it seems the only time I could get any of the breeds that I'm interested in would be shipped about April 15th. That's kind of an awkward time for me, but I could make it work if I had to. What other online stores are good for ordering chicks from? Without a huge minimum order? I'm only planning on 5 chickens, but I guess I wouldn't mind going a few over that and then selling all but 5. But I really don't want to be ordering 10+ chicks...

My second question...Mixing and matching chicks...I've been looking at different breeds and the ones that I'm really interested in are:
Light Brahma's(I LOVE these!! For sure want at least one!)
Barred Plymouth Rock
Speckled Sussex
Ancona
Silver Cuckoo Maran
Silver Laced Polish
Blue Andalusian

These are just breeds that I'm looking at right now and would possibly like to get a mix of some of them. Would there be any potential problems with these breeds together?
Total newbie here! But we all have to start somewhere.. Any advice is much appreciated.

And just pointing out that I won't be ordering chickens until I have the final coop plans drawn up, at the very least. The coop will be build to house 6 chickens even though I'm only planning on 5.

 

[Kay1993]

Yay how exciting for you! I think Meyers Hatchery has all the breeds you specified. I've never ordered from them but I have contacted them through email with questions I had. They were very helpful and friendly. When you have the time go through the Chicken Breeders & Hatcheries section. Oh, and have fun with those Light Brahmas... mine are complete wackadoodles

, they sure are pretty though. Good luck with everything!

 

[BCollie]

Yay how exciting for you! I think Meyers Hatchery has all the breeds you specified. I've never ordered from them but I have contacted them through email with questions I had. They were very helpful and friendly. When you have the time go through the Chicken Breeders & Hatcheries section. Oh, and have fun with those Light Brahmas... mine are complete wackadoodles

, they sure are pretty though. Good luck with everything!

Hahah really? How so?

Where can I calculate shipping cost from Meyers Hatchery? I can't find a link for it.

 

[Kay1993]

Hahah really? How so?

Where can I calculate shipping cost from Meyers Hatchery? I can't find a link for it.

Well they're just totally hyper mental, flying all over the place, hoarding treats, pouncing on the poor Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers....

I can't either. Hmm, fill out an order and don't complete it. Get to "review order", it shows your total price :

• (HOME »​
• SHOPPING BASKET »​
• POULTRY ARRIVAL »​
• BILLING & SHIPPING INFO »​
• REVIEW ORDER »​
• ORDER COMPLETE »)​

​

 

[BCollie]

Okay, here's something I didn't think about. It doesn't get too cold here (it hardly ever snows, and when it does it usually doesn't stick to the ground), but it gets HOT. I'm in very northern CA and it can get up to 110 here in the summer. I've read that Brahmas do well in heat, which is good! Would any of the breeds I mentioned have a problem with the heat?

I've read that Leghorns are not only good layers, but also do well in heat. But I also read that they're skittish. I want friendly chickens, would these not be a good option?

 

[BCollie]

Well they're just totally hyper mental, flying all over the place, hoarding treats, pouncing on the poor Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers....

I can't either. Hmm, fill out an order and don't complete it. Get to "review order", it shows your total price :

• (HOME »​
• SHOPPING BASKET »​
• POULTRY ARRIVAL »​
• BILLING & SHIPPING INFO »​
• REVIEW ORDER »​
• ORDER COMPLETE »)​

​

That's awesome! I LOVE animals with personality!!

My dog is the weirdest freak of nature to walk this earth, but that's why I love her. She is very excited about getting chickens. She absolutely loves to look at the chicks in the feed store. They are in a large, metal brooder and she will stand there with her front feet on the edge and her head in the brooder, watching the chicks run around. She used to play 'mom' to foster kittens. She's going to love chickens, she already knows the word. "Chickies", I call them.

I guess I have to make an account to find shipping cost.

 

[Hillschicks]

I ordered from meyer mutiple times.. So far no issues... But try to choose a hatchery as close to your location as possible.. The less time they spend in mail trucks the better... And when selecting breeds (we have very mixed its awesome) make sure not to pick one chicken that looks different ffrom all the others... A lone wierdo is usually picked on

 

[BCollie]

Method:


Express

Poultry Shipping

$45.26

Tax

$0.00

Total Due

$62.54

Just put in 6 Light Brahmas so that I could go and look at shipping. Ouch, $45 for shipping from Meyer. No thank you.

I ordered from meyer mutiple times.. So far no issues... But try to choose a hatchery as close to your location as possible.. The less time they spend in mail trucks the better... And when selecting breeds (we have very mixed its awesome) make sure not to pick one chicken that looks different ffrom all the others... A lone wierdo is usually picked on

I have no ideas what hatcheries are near me. I'm in Northern CA. Shipping from Murray McMurray is only $22, but then they have the 15 minimum..Shipping from mypetchicken is $36 if I remember correctly.

Good to know about selecting breeds, thank you. What if I had a a couple light colored, a couple dark, and maybe a couple brownish ones? In this case there's no single odd-one-out, so that would prevent bullying, right?

 

[Eggcessive]

Meyer is in Ohio, and MyPetChicken gets some of their chicks from them, then you pay the middleman. I would look around in your state first and local area for breeders. There are tons here on BYC that live all over California. There are threads on here for the local states, just post looking for people from No. California. I know some breeders from Oregon on here too. Look on here first, find someone close, and I'll bet you will find that local people would have many breeds and might help you start out with some chicks. Personally, I love to help people here in Ohio hatch or get some of my hatching eggs when they are starting out.

 

[happybooker1]

Have you checked your local CL? Mine has a variety listed from various individuals. Then you could pick out your own. As long as they're within 1-2 weeks' age of each other it shouldn't be a problem.