Picking them up would be at the hatchery itself. Not really an option unless you live close to the hatchery.
"Small order fee"
- Thread starter Alex S
- Start date
Picking them up would be at the hatchery itself. Not really an option unless you live close to the hatchery.
- Thread starter
- #52
Alex S
Songster
Oh. Makes sense
What date are you looking for? Is this to order in advance (i.e. next spring or summer) or is it "now"?
- Thread starter
- #54
Alex S
Songster
Mid Spring to late spring
Ah ok, good. I was worried that you planned to get them immediately, with winter shipping being tougher on chicks than spring.
I looked at the "availability" tab on the Buff Orpington page at Meyer hatchery.
They have a few dates in the rest of 2020, and that's it.
So it looks like they are not yet taking orders for next spring.
You could try again later-- in previous years, I saw several hatcheries that started taking orders in January, to ship at various points in the spring and summer.
McMurray Hatchery has a minimum order of 6 chicks if shipped on or after April 1, and I see the Buff Orpington page shows them available for that date. It might be possible to place an order now from them.
Cackle Hatchery has a 3 chick minimum order, and starts shipping in February. It looks like they are not yet accepting orders to ship in the spring.
My Pet Chicken isn't taking spring orders for Buff Orpingtons.
The other hatcheries I can think of won't work because their minimum is quite a bit higher than you want.
I might try a few more than 4, even as a new chicken owner. Chickens do best in a group. If one dies in shipping, and one more dies of something else, you would be down to 2, which isn't the best. And trying to get 2 new ones is even harder than trying to get 4 or 6 in the first place. Starting with 6-8 would give you a little more leeway--often they all live, sometimes they do not, but it's convenient if you can pick a number that's OK either way.
Yes, of course more chickens need more space, but a little coop usually takes almost as much labor and time, and costs almost as much money, as making a bigger one. And putting out food and water takes about the same amount of time even if you double the number of chickens. Cleaning takes a little longer, but again it's not by much--you still have to go outside and get your tools, no matter how few the chickens.
The final decision is up to you, and I don't want to push you to get more than you are comfortable with. I just wanted to point out a few details that you (being new to chickens) might not yet be aware of
- Thread starter
- #57
Alex S
Songster
Could you send me some blueprints for a bigger coop? And I guess I could always give the extra chicks to a friend!I looked at the "availability" tab on the Buff Orpington page at Meyer hatchery.
They have a few dates in the rest of 2020, and that's it.
So it looks like they are not yet taking orders for next spring.
You could try again later-- in previous years, I saw several hatcheries that started taking orders in January, to ship at various points in the spring and summer.
McMurray Hatchery has a minimum order of 6 chicks if shipped on or after April 1, and I see the Buff Orpington page shows them available for that date. It might be possible to place an order now from them.
Cackle Hatchery has a 3 chick minimum order, and starts shipping in February. It looks like they are not yet accepting orders to ship in the spring.
My Pet Chicken isn't taking spring orders for Buff Orpingtons.
The other hatcheries I can think of won't work because their minimum is quite a bit higher than you want.
I might try a few more than 4, even as a new chicken owner. Chickens do best in a group. If one dies in shipping, and one more dies of something else, you would be down to 2, which isn't the best. And trying to get 2 new ones is even harder than trying to get 4 or 6 in the first place. Starting with 6-8 would give you a little more leeway--often they all live, sometimes they do not, but it's convenient if you can pick a number that's OK either way.
Yes, of course more chickens need more space, but a little coop usually takes almost as much labor and time, and costs almost as much money, as making a bigger one. And putting out food and water takes about the same amount of time even if you double the number of chickens. Cleaning takes a little longer, but again it's not by much--you still have to go outside and get your tools, no matter how few the chickens.
The final decision is up to you, and I don't want to push you to get more than you are comfortable with. I just wanted to point out a few details that you (being new to chickens) might not yet be aware of
There are lots of plans on the internet, but I don't personally have any coop plans.
Do you already have a coop chosen, or plans picked out for one?
Lots of coop ideas in the article section. Something medium should work for 4-6 roughly. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/medium-coops.19/
Basic rule of thumb: allow at least 4 square feet of floor space per chicken inside the coop, plus enough more space to put feeder, waterer, nestboxes.
That can help with choosing the correct size coop plans.
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