I ordered some IDEAL chicks way back in June this year. Due to smouldering heat and a little short-lived brooder temp problem, I lost two of the chicks I ordered (one DOA and the other died the night of arrival). They were both Spangled Russian Orloffs: I was SOOOO disappointed because Orloffs are my favorite chicken breed!
Here's how many I ordered:
4 Russian Orloffs (down to 2, now)
2 Buckeyes
1 White Jersey Giant
I made the big mistake of getting a puny amount instead of a large amount. I say this not because of shipping problems but because of culling: I wanted to get near-standard chicks but wound up with really small, hardly standard-abiding chickens! IDEAL included 17 packing peanuts, all voracious White Leghorn males. My sister kept one, and so did I, but mine is now WAY too flighty and slightly aggressive. I've got to get rid of him.
My chicks are quite small so far. I owe this mainly to hatchery-stock smallness, but I also should have given them more protein in their diet. Next time, I'm going to give them ground catfood--that's supposed to be a good source of animal protein.
I'm thinking about either getting IDEAL bantams (Sumatras or Old English, I'm not sure) or IDEAL Orientals (Malay, Saipan, Asil, or Thai). I hear that IDEAL Orientals are not as aggressive as Orientals usually are because their bloodlines are doped with other breeds. A disadvantage if you want to breed pure, but an advantage if you're like me and you just want some beautiful Oriental-looking chickens to blend with your all-too-common production breeds. I love variety in poultry, to an extent.
Anybody had experience with IDEAL Orientals? Would love to hear your say. Please PM me about it because I rarely respond to thread replies.
