Rare Chick from Murray McMurray Hatchery Probability

[Dogchickenboy]

I am getting 25 Cornish rocks for meat but they told me when I ordered them I would get a rare/exotic chick. What do you think it could be? Also will they send me any extras?

 

[abmaddox1981]

They usually send extras, but I always assume I'm only getting what I ordered. The free exotic will be whatever they have extra from other orders. Mine was a silver spangled hamburg and he is beautiful! I have also seen where people get cochins or silkies. Usually, from what I've noticed is it's mostly bantams or other smallish birds and will most likely be a rooster.

 

[Jordann]

You don't have to request the "rare breed", they will just send it, right? Thinking of going with this hatchery when we get our chickies in the spring.

 

[abmaddox1981]

Yes, they do just send it. I loved the service I got from McMurray and plan to order again after the first of the year.

 

[loudfrog]

There is actually a place on the order form that asks if you would like the mystery chick. You can uncheck the box if you do not want it. We got the mystery chick the first time we ordered(Partridge Cochin Rooster) but declined this time because we do not keep roosters and could not bring ourselves to eat him.

 

[Jordann]

I'm not opposed to an extra rooster Can't wait for chick ordering time! Going to try and find someone who will go in on an order with me, since 25 is a little over what I want.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Ya, to get the mystery chick you have to leave the box checked when you order on the website, the website automatically checks the box for "I want a mystery chick.", if you do not want the chick un-check the box. We have usually gotten something from the "rare" breeds list or a cochin or polish, a lot of people seem to get EEs but I have never gotten one. From ours and other people I know, they run about 60/40 male/female. We've always gotten at least a couple of extra of one or more of what we have ordered in orders of 40-100 chicks.

 

[ChickenManTN]

I ordered from them last month and was able to find my mystery chick's breed by browsing through the "rare" section of the website and looking at pictures. Mine is a Dominique. ...just ordered some more and looking forward to seeing the next surprise chicken.

 

[ChickenManTN]

Update:
My rare chick is not a Dominique, as I had stated earlier. His comb is more developed now at nine weeks of age and it it obviously a straight comb. After browsing through the catalog again I'm thinking he might be a Cuckoo Marans. He is very cool and gentle. He wasn't as big as the other cockerels at first (they're all Speckled Sussex.) Now he's about the same size as the largest cockerels. He has one tiny wattle and one big dangly one, a flaw for a show bird but pretty darn cute for a pet.

...just received another bunch of chicks today with another rare breed bonus baby. This one is the blackest chick I have ever seen. He has a little lighter coloring on his feet, and a tiny white spot on his throat. He is long-legged, tall, and skinny compared to the Buff Orpington fluff balls. There is no chick pictured with this much black in their rare breeds section of the catalog. The closest thing is one of the black Blue Andalusians. (The chicks come out 50% blue, the rest splash.)

Still not sure what these babies are, but it is fun trying to guess! Now I'll have to breed the oddball Marans looking rooster to something to see how dark the eggs come out, and breed the black bird to a white Blue Andalusian to see if the chicks come out blue. I got into this thinking meat & eggs and it is turning into a chicken obsession!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Those extra chicks are always fun. How big is he compared to the orps? They also have black minorcas which are pretty big tall birds, bigger than the andys.