Privett hatchery

[ATeacherChick]

I'll update for 2018, especially regarding the Blue Australorps. Watch out for what your local store labels them.

My preferred farm supply store orders through Privett, and I have been very happy with the health and vitality of the chicks so far! I know for a fact my feed store has gotten confused when labeling the sexes--AFTER my purchase of 4 Blue Australorp "pullets" I visited the Privett website and saw that it is stated there they only sell the BA's in straight run. So not Privett's fault. Ah, well. Hopefully I get at least two pullets and I'll be happy. I'd even keep a well-tempered rooster. If I was paying more than 2.50 a chick I would be ticked off, but the prices are fair enough I know re-sale value on the accidental cockerels will make up for it.
According to the STORE I bought from, here are the chicks I have purchased so far
Currently just over a week old
4 Blue Australorp Pullets, 2.39 ea
6 Welsummer Straight Run, 1.69 ea
1 Black Jersey Giant cockerel, 1.99 ea
1 Black Jersey Giant pullet, 2.39 ea
4 Naked Neck Pullets, 2.39 ea

A few days old
3 Buff Cochin Bantam Straight Run, 2.39ea
1 "Ameraucana" (hehe, Easter Egger) Bantam Straight Run, 2.39 ea. Bought on a whim-like hope it'll turn out to be a pullet.
2 Brahma, Light and Buff, Pullets. 2.39ea.

 

[joydix]

I got a few from Tractor supply last year. for one thing most of the stores here (but not them!) won't sell the day they get them. they need some time to stabilize. 2nd they would not let me anywhere near the enclosure and i like to PICK which ones i want. they were bantams so straight run and i think i can pick pretty well. i made a pain of myself and finally the manager came over and let me get close so i could POINT to which ones i wanted! i prob would not get chicks from them again tho. one died when i got home. it was a cochin. i cant believe someone got MEAN bantam cochins! mine have all been the very sweetest in my flock and really i think they might be my favorite...or a close 2nd to my bantam wyandottes...i have large fowl as well but just love the bantams

 

[Sylvester017]

I'll update for 2018, especially regarding the Blue Australorps. Watch out for what your local store labels them.

My preferred farm supply store orders through Privett, and I have been very happy with the health and vitality of the chicks so far! I know for a fact my feed store has gotten confused when labeling the sexes--AFTER my purchase of 4 Blue Australorp "pullets" I visited the Privett website and saw that it is stated there they only sell the BA's in straight run. So not Privett's fault. Ah, well. Hopefully I get at least two pullets and I'll be happy. I'd even keep a well-tempered rooster. If I was paying more than 2.50 a chick I would be ticked off, but the prices are fair enough I know re-sale value on the accidental cockerels will make up for it.
According to the STORE I bought from, here are the chicks I have purchased so far
Currently just over a week old
4 Blue Australorp Pullets, 2.39 ea
6 Welsummer Straight Run, 1.69 ea
1 Black Jersey Giant cockerel, 1.99 ea
1 Black Jersey Giant pullet, 2.39 ea
4 Naked Neck Pullets, 2.39 ea

A few days old
3 Buff Cochin Bantam Straight Run, 2.39ea
1 "Ameraucana" (hehe, Easter Egger) Bantam Straight Run, 2.39 ea. Bought on a whim-like hope it'll turn out to be a pullet.
2 Brahma, Light and Buff, Pullets. 2.39ea.

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I hope your wishes come true! Sweet bunch of chicks. I hear owners really LOVE their Naked Neck Turkens but I haven't tried them yet. My local feed store deals with most hatcheries but seems to primarily use Privett because of Privett's cheaper prices. I picked up my Privett chicks at my feed store the day they arrived at the store and took 3 Dominique chicks home with me. I think the chicks were not all shipped as day-olds since one chick was large compared to the other 2 chicks. We had the kiddie pool all ready for the chicks at home so they had no stress being handled their first day home. In less than a couple days the chicks were bouncing all around in the kiddie pool brooder and not afraid of our changing their water and feed daily. In fact, it didn't take them long to understand we were their food source! They are over 6 months old now and seem to be all the same size now.

I got a few from Tractor supply last year. for one thing most of the stores here (but not them!) won't sell the day they get them. they need some time to stabilize. 2nd they would not let me anywhere near the enclosure and i like to PICK which ones i want. they were bantams so straight run and i think i can pick pretty well. i made a pain of myself and finally the manager came over and let me get close so i could POINT to which ones i wanted! i prob would not get chicks from them again tho. one died when i got home. it was a cochin. i cant believe someone got MEAN bantam cochins! mine have all been the very sweetest in my flock and really i think they might be my favorite...or a close 2nd to my bantam wyandottes...i have large fowl as well but just love the bantams

That's strange that Tractor Supply is hesitant letting customers pick the chicks they want. My feed store offered me to choose the 3 chicks I wanted and they had arrived that same morning -- it was easy to know the Dominique chicks were pullets because they are easy to sex by sight. Barred Rocks are similarly easy to sex as chicks so I was confident I had 3 female Doms. So sorry you lost one Cochin chick. It happens with chicks and it's hard to know why. I lost my first Privett Dom chick a couple years ago, who knows why? yet this past year all 3 of my new Privett Dom chicks were bouncy and healthy. I think all bantams must have sweetness genes! Our Silkies are the cutest, funniest, smartest little sweeties How can anyone resist a cute bantam breed!

 

[cactusrota]

That's strange that Tractor Supply is hesitant letting customers pick the chicks they want. My feed store offered me to choose the 3 chicks I wanted and they had arrived that same morning -- it was easy to know the Dominique chicks were pullets because they are easy to sex by sight. Barred Rocks are similarly easy to sex as chicks so I was confident I had 3 female Doms. So sorry you lost one Cochin chick. It happens with chicks and it's hard to know why. I lost my first Privett Dom chick a couple years ago, who knows why? yet this past year all 3 of my new Privett Dom chicks were bouncy and healthy. I think all bantams must have sweetness genes! Our Silkies are the cutest, funniest, smartest little sweeties How can anyone resist a cute bantam breed!

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I'm pretty sure it's a biosecurity policy. They don't know if people are handling their own chickens at home then coming into the store with that on their hands. They don't want something spread to all the chicks. My TSC has been really good in the past of letting me point to the ones I want. They will hold a chick up for me to see and I can say yes or no. So I don't mind at all. We have another feed store in town that sells Privett chicks and they have that stacked metal brooder and their chicks always seem to have pasty butt. It kinda looks like the trough style brooders are way better for them, because all the chicks I've ever gotten at our TSC are always healthy. I did get a EE with scissor beak once, though.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yep, biosecurity is a good policy. Some people come into the feed stores on impulse to buy chicks, ducklings, or bunnies for their children and don't even have a brooder set up for them at home yet. Those are the customers that frost me -- but my feed store knows me, been going to him for 10 years, we know each other on first name basis, and he knows how fastidious I am around chicks, plus I call ahead of time before arriving.
As for chicks, I always say it's the luck-of-the-draw as to their survival or health as my farm Mom would say. Even in hatching, owners can have a 100% success and the 2nd time only 50% for various reasons. That's how I feel about shipped chicks -- how robust were the parents, how were they handled during packing, how long a trip did they have, how did USPS handle the live chicks, what were temperature conditions, etc etc -- all factor into the survival/health of shipped chicks. Shipping stress is a primary cause of pasty butt and can trigger coccidia symptoms in older shipped juveniles. I had one of my 3 Privett Dom chicks (the smallest one) get pasty butt but I cleaned her and used chick probiotics (in fact, for several weeks) and she cleared up by the 2nd day -- just have to do our best to stay on top of things with such tiny animals. I've spent $100's on shipped live juvenile or POL pullets from private breeders only to lose the young birds for unknown reasons yet other times the birds survive bouncy and healthy into old age. It's the risk customers take. The first time I lost a bird I was devastated wondering what I did wrong but after 7 years of chickeneering, I've come to accept the cycle of life. Sad to lose ANY bird but all we can do is forearm ourselves with knowledge aforehand to give our birds the best start and the rest is up to the hardiness of each individual bird.
I've seen some owners go through a lot of patience and trouble straightening cases of scissors-beak but I have to admit, I am such a weanie about sick or unhealthy birds. It pains me to see them suffer or live their lives as severely disabled birds. My vet helps me make the decisions about whether one of my birds will be a good survivor or whether I should throw in the towel and euthanize one. It's very hard as I get attached to my flock as pets. But I've come to trust my vet who has saved more than one of my injured or sick birds. BTW, what did you do with the scissors-beak EE?

 

[cactusrota]

Yep, biosecurity is a good policy. Some people come into the feed stores on impulse to buy chicks, ducklings, or bunnies for their children and don't even have a brooder set up for them at home yet. Those are the customers that frost me -- but my feed store knows me, been going to him for 10 years, we know each other on first name basis, and he knows how fastidious I am around chicks, plus I call ahead of time before arriving.
As for chicks, I always say it's the luck-of-the-draw as to their survival or health as my farm Mom would say. Even in hatching, owners can have a 100% success and the 2nd time only 50% for various reasons. That's how I feel about shipped chicks -- how robust were the parents, how were they handled during packing, how long a trip did they have, how did USPS handle the live chicks, what were temperature conditions, etc etc -- all factor into the survival/health of shipped chicks. Shipping stress is a primary cause of pasty butt and can trigger coccidia symptoms in older shipped juveniles. I had one of my 3 Privett Dom chicks (the smallest one) get pasty butt but I cleaned her and used chick probiotics (in fact, for several weeks) and she cleared up by the 2nd day -- just have to do our best to stay on top of things with such tiny animals. I've spent $100's on shipped live juvenile or POL pullets from private breeders only to lose the young birds for unknown reasons yet other times the birds survive bouncy and healthy into old age. It's the risk customers take. The first time I lost a bird I was devastated wondering what I did wrong but after 7 years of chickeneering, I've come to accept the cycle of life. Sad to lose ANY bird but all we can do is forearm ourselves with knowledge aforehand to give our birds the best start and the rest is up to the hardiness of each individual bird.

I've usually had good luck clearing up pasty butt with just fermented feed. But usually try to avoid getting chicks that have it. I did get some Mottled Java's from that feed store with the metal chick rack that had it, but I got it cleared up in less than a week and they grew up healthy and strong.

I've seen some owners go through a lot of patience and trouble straightening cases of scissors-beak but I have to admit, I am such a weanie about sick or unhealthy birds. It pains me to see them suffer or live their lives as severely disabled birds. My vet helps me make the decisions about whether one of my birds will be a good survivor or whether I should throw in the towel and euthanize one. It's very hard as I get attached to my flock as pets. But I've come to trust my vet who has saved more than one of my injured or sick birds. BTW, what did you do with the scissors-beak EE?

I culled her. She was actually mixed in with some Dark Cornish that I was getting and looked almost the same at 2 days old. But after I got her home I noticed the muffs. Then the scissor beak, which continued to get worse.

 

[Sylvester017]

Scissors-beak is so sad because otherwise the chick is healthy. I've dialogued with some owners who put mild scissors-beak birds into a disabled birds pen with other injured or disabled birds and they do fine, but there can be some severe scissors-beak cases that can't be remedied.

My chick that had pasty butt didn't have it until I had her at home for a day. We were in the throws of a 100 degree heatwave so I didn't use a brooder heatlamp -- but it was still very hot and my littlest chick got the pasty butt. But the chick probiotic water is very helpful and I always keep a refrigerated packet in my first-aid box. She cleared up by the 2nd day which I was very grateful because I hate to stress a baby chick by having to wipe her little vent clean every couple hours. She got very accustomed to it and very tame to handling as a result. She was so tiny.

 

[BroodyHuman]

Mild resurrection here.

Paranoid mommy - this is my first time ordering chicks. Ordered through Welp, and receiving through Privett.

My package is taking forever and I'm ready to vomit from nerves. Is it normal for chick shipments to just sit in receiving for 12 hours?

They hatched yesterday. I'm so nervous for them.

Thank you for reading my panic attack.

 

[Sylvester017]

Mild resurrection here.

Paranoid mommy - this is my first time ordering chicks. Ordered through Welp, and receiving through Privett.

My package is taking forever and I'm ready to vomit from nerves. Is it normal for chick shipments to just sit in receiving for 12 hours?

They hatched yesterday. I'm so nervous for them.

Thank you for reading my panic attack.

Newly hatched chicks survive on their internal yolk sack up to 3 days I've read. I've had birds delayed up to 48 hours but they were juveniles, not chicks. 12 hours is nothing. Still, be prepared to lose a chick or two. Not all chicks survive even in ideal situations. Sad but true. My Dominique chicks I ordered through my local feed store who orders all his stock from Privett. All 3 of the Dom chicks I brought home survived but when they were a year old I did lose one Dom hen to heatstroke when our temps got to 122 degrees one day!!! Good luck with your new babies! What breed are you getting?

 

[cactusrota]

Mild resurrection here.

Paranoid mommy - this is my first time ordering chicks. Ordered through Welp, and receiving through Privett.

My package is taking forever and I'm ready to vomit from nerves. Is it normal for chick shipments to just sit in receiving for 12 hours?

They hatched yesterday. I'm so nervous for them.

Thank you for reading my panic attack.

A couple months ago I ordered some chicks through Hoover, which is supposed to be in Iowa. After they were sent and i got my tracking number I found out they were actually coming from Minnesota! Being in AZ if I'd known that I wouldn't have ordered. Iowa is far enough and i already don't like ordering from places that are too different from my own climate. According to tracking they left out Wednesday night... like late night. Which I thought was weird. They got to Phoenix like 1 am Friday morning and just barely missed the truck that comes out my way, so basically sat in Phoenix for 24 hours until the next truck coming to my office! They finally showed up late Saturday morning and all were dead. I'm pretty sure if they were sent out earlier on Wednesday I would have gotten live chicks. I was very upset to say the least.
MS isn't a difference between north/south, they're just going sideways from NM, and weather is still pretty mild right now, so I'm betting you're babies will be ok.