Recommended Hatcheries

[Acre4Me]

However murry mcmurray does one thing i disagree with. They always add a few extra birds to your order which is nice i guess unless someone does not want them or have the means to raise them.

I think when it comes to live animals you should get exactly what you order. Adding extra chicks may not be in the plans of the person ordering them.

Generally this is done in case of chick death. You order 10, they ship 12, and if 2die, you still have 10, but might have 12. Also, they will extra for the warmth. This year, I ordered 25 chicks, I got 28. Then 3 died the first week, so I still had my 25!

 

[Billylynn]

I just received my 2nd order of Jumbo Cornish X chicks today from Chickensfor Backyards. CFB is in MO and I live in NW PA. I get an email the the chicks were shipped on Wednesday am and my Post Office calls me to pick up the birds the following afternoon. (That's how long it takes to mail a letter across town. Crazy world)
The chicks hit the floor running, full of life as soon as I let them out of the box versus chicks from larger hatchery that were pretty lethargic and it took them 2-3 days to recover from their trip. My first batch from CFB was raised through 7 weeks with no broken legs or heart failure and the average weight of my 15 birds after butchering was between 5-6#.
I personally like to support smaller businesses when it's possible and this company seems to have a good product at a fair price.

 

[Newyorkrita]

I just received my 2nd order of Jumbo Cornish X chicks today from Chickensfor Backyards. CFB is in MO and I live in NW PA. I get an email the the chicks were shipped on Wednesday am and my Post Office calls me to pick up the birds the following afternoon. (That's how long it takes to mail a letter across town. Crazy world)
The chicks hit the floor running, full of life as soon as I let them out of the box versus chicks from larger hatchery that were pretty lethargic and it took them 2-3 days to recover from their trip. My first batch from CFB was raised through 7 weeks with no broken legs or heart failure and the average weight of my 15 birds after butchering was between 5-6#.
I personally like to support smaller businesses when it's possible and this company seems to have a good product at a fair price.

Of course I had to check after reading your review. Looks to me from reading some of the FAQ's questions that they might not have the birds themselves but ship from various un named hatcheries. I didn't like that part!!

 

[amazondoc2]

I have ordered from Ideal several times. I've always been happy with them. I HAVE had problems with chick losses, especially when ordering bantams too early in the spring, but Ideal has always been happy to give refunds when necessary. Moral of the story: wait til warm weather to order bantams!

I've also ordered twice from Purely Poultry. They don't hatch themselves -- they are a middle-man. I had a good experience the first time, but the second time they tried shipping me an order a month earlier than I had requested. Fortunately, I was able to cancel the order before it shipped -- and since I had already figured out where the birds were actually coming from, I was able to order straight from the actual hatchery and cut Purely Poultry out of the deal.

Which brings me to Metzer Farms. Beautiful healthy birds, if you want ducks.

 

[rlhagan56]

I've used Cackle Hatchery in Missouri for years and they are wonderful to work with, and always have excellent quality chicks arriving in active good health.