Please help me pick the right mail order company

[henney penny]

I`m going to order for the first time through a catalog,I need advice on the right catalog.Tell me your experiences with mail order.Right now I have my order made out in the McMurry catalog but I`m not ordering untill April or May because of the cold here.I have looked at a lot of catalogs,prices all seem about the same.

 

[melody]

Most of the companies are good and comparable. Go with who is closest. It gives the chicks the besy chance especially in the cold weather. I like meyers they are in ohio and only five hours from me. I have purebred ameraucana but order red sex links every couple of years for eggs.

 

[Fourgirlsoneboy]

We ordered our only mail order chicks from mypetchicken.com and are pleased by our birds (although we did end up with 3 roos- but we are ok with that as it allowed us a trio of Sumatras and Welsummers, and our main polish roo Einstein

) . Plus their customer service is great!

I have ordered chicken supplies from McMurry and Randall Burkey and both also had excellent customer service (really, as a newbie I have tons of questions)!!

 

[Kelly G]

I agree....go with the closest - and the one that shares the closest weather extremes that you have (ie - I prefer to order chicks from Texas than Indiana because I live in Florida - does that make sense?)

 

[sumatra]

I've ordered from Mcmurrays, welps, Sand Hill, Cackle, and Ideal. I used to think closer was better, but for some reason Ideal can get birds here faster than anyone else, even though they are the farthest. This can be bad, though, because in 20 degree weather in Feb. you are apt to order 100 bantam chicks for delivery on a day like today. I ought to know, because that's what I did. They all were fine and are doing well. Ideal and Mcmurray don't always send extra chicks and Mcmurray is expensive. Cackle and Sand Hill raise all thier own birds, so i like to help them stay in business. Last year I ordered from both of them and had trouble due to cold/hot weather. The post office really delayed my cackle order and i lost 3/4 of my birds. They had even paid for a postage upgrade. They gave me a full refund, even though some birds made it. Almost the same exact thing happened with Sand Hill, and with the same results. Welp sent me 110 big fat broiler chicks in the middle of summer and they were in great shape. I also got another order from each of those 4 that did well.I kept track of transit times on all of them and found that there wasn't a lot of difference. It didn't matter what time they got off the plane-- the mail truck only came this way once a day. Also see if you can get the post office to call you as soon as they arrive.
So--if it were me, I'd shop around, because that's fun, check prices (don't forget s&h) and pick the one that works the best for you. If you want basic breeds, there are some hatcheries in PA and OH that carry them. Check here or at Dav's garden to see what everyone else thinks. And DO NOT DARE look at Ideal's bantam specials, whatever you do!

 

[FortWorthChicks]

I am another who agrees that finding the closest is the best.

Less travel the better.

Oh Good luck with your new chicks!!!

 

[jlapham]

Cool everyone has great answers. Personally I've never ordered threw anyone but Mc murrays. Opps! sorry I ordered some threw my grain store one year, other than that I've been with Mc murrays for the past 22 years. Their is a breeder in Pa I was going to try but have not done it yet. My birds are do in any day now. Closer the better makes sense, but the choice is yours. Good luck with your new chicks.

 

[peach]

I have ordered from Mcmurray's and stromburgs. both turned out fine. I don't really want the extra chick the McMurrys always sends. I didn't know Ideal existed until this forum and I will probably order from them due to closeness unless I can find a local person. I will support my local breeder if I can always.

 

[vkp23]

I've ordered from McMurray's and from IDEAL. I really like them both. Great customer service with both. My mother is friends with the big head professor of the poultry division here at UGA and he said they order all of their chicks from McMurray. But I agree you should pick who ever is closest. My Pet Chicken I have heard a lot of bad things about. IDK though cause I never ordered from them, but I was appalled by their shipping cost. I personally will never order from them for that. I can't afford it. But like others have said, go with who's closest and shop around. If you find a couple near you that look good but wonder about their quality is like I'm sure there will be some people here who could tell you what its like to deal with that particular hatchery.

 

[Rlilchickadee]

I ordered from Welp last year. Was VERY happy. First ordered 37 meat birds and received 40. Never lost one or had any leg problems. Or any problems at all. Later ordered 12 pullets and received 16 and all were pullets. And their shipping is included in the price of the chicks! Although their headquarters are close many of their chicks come from other states. I don't know if all hatcheries are that way but I know many of theirs come from Texas. And I believe New Mexico. Great service.