price of my new chickens, question

[thepremo1]

i am getting chickens for the first time and i thought chicken would be like $1 to$2.50 per chicken.
i only want 8 or 9 and the only place i could find that had the selection i want and be able to ship them is mypetchicken. i am ordering 4 red stars 4 barred rock and a EE, and it is going to cost my like 63 dollars! is that average, or is there a better place to get them

 

[Katy]

Quote:
You're paying for the convinience of wanting to order only a few chicks.

 

[Illia]

Yeah, when you only want so many, you've gotta expect them to be a little more expensive. It takes more to keep a fewer amount alive during shipping and all.

 

[thepremo1]

well tractor supply ussually has chick dont they could i get them from TS?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Probably so. Maybe not the EE though.

 

[teach1rusl]

MPC is pretty reliable with their sexing of the chicks, and you get the breeds you want. And yes, the shipping is the biggest charge. You could get them from a feed store or TSC, but you may not get the breeds you want. And you could end up with eight roosters. I looked at it like this: I spent a few hundred for each of my dogs, and I typically spend at least $75 for their annual exams and shots. So to me, for eight animals, $63 sounds really cheap.

Of course my chickens are pets, so maybe that makes a difference.

 

[math ace]

TRY your feed stores. Chicks will run $2 - 3 each.

TRY craigslist for local individual sellers. Some hatch their own, some order larger quantites from hatcheries and then sell the extras.

TRY BYC forum for local SWAPS.

When I got mine - - I did a one day road trip and picked up 4 different varieties from 3 different people. I paid $ 3 - 7 each depending on breed and age. Most were 2 weeks old and a few were 2 months old.

 

[prov31gal]

if you want 9---why not just bump it up to 15 and order from cackle hatchery? and sell the ones you dont want on craigslist. then youll be able to get sexed birds and for a better price with a good selection of breeds. 0r you could give craigs list a shot, you could see whats on there and just buy what looks good on there, no shipping but not too much choice.