"Small order fee"

[jennaprice]

Mt. Healthy is great! I have ordered from them twice. If you order 10 chicks or more the small order fee is $10, much cheaper. I order 10 chicks.

So at Mt. Healthy Hatcheries, I was looking at the cost of chicks. I liked the prices until they told me about their "small" order fee. Does anybody know any good hatcheries that have fewer order fees? View attachment 2420301

 

[Judy Todd]

So at Mt. Healthy Hatcheries, I was looking at the cost of chicks. I liked the prices until they told me about their "small" order fee. Does anybody know any good hatcheries that have fewer order fees?

Are you not close to Wilco or a farm store. I can buy just a few or a whole bunch, at about $3 to 4 dollars each. I see you are in Washington. They carried chicks thru until Oct. I would wait until Feb when they get their first order.

 

[WVBirdsAndBees]

Small order fees are a pain. I usually split with someone or order the minimum to avoid the fee and sell the extras. I think at Meyer the magic number is 15. Can't remember for Mt Healthy. We've had good luck with both.

I've also dodged the fee by picking up chicks, if you happen to have a hatchery within easy driving distance.

Buying from feed stores or breeders is another option, as some have said.

Sounds like you're getting everything figured out, though. Plenty of good help here.

 

[Judy Todd]

There really isn't a "right way" to do it, both options have pros and cons, so as long as you're aware of that, you should be fine. Me - I don't want to deal with shipping losses and fees, don't want more than 3-4 chicks at a time, don't care about meeting some sort of breed standard, and do want to be able to say no to birds that look "off" to me for any reason, so feed store is fine for me.

I agree with this. I want to look at the chicks and pick out the healthyest or chose to have , Lets say different coloring so I can tell them apart, esp when they are freeranging, just me tho, not important. Healthy is the important point.

 

[Ferd Berfel]

TSC & Rural King are “cheep” in comparison. I have only ever gotten one cockerel. If they don’t look healthy that means that they probably aren’t. If they die within 48 hours you get a replacement. I don’t know what they are vaccinated for, but mine are healthy. I don’t work at either place or own stock in the company.

 

[Judy Todd]

I can't select a specific delivery date for Meyer Hatchery. I just get stuck with: View attachment 2420598And no I don't want 8 chickens as a new chicken owner

Areyou so determined to get chicks now, that you cannot wait until Feb to buy them at a farm store? Sounds like they are firm about min order, for the health of shipping chicks, makes sense in the middle of winter esp.

 

[Cami Su]

So at Mt. Healthy Hatcheries, I was looking at the cost of chicks. I liked the prices until they told me about their "small" order fee. Does anybody know any good hatcheries that have fewer order fees? View attachment 2420301

This makes me so grateful for Farmway (a non-chain farm store. They also carry outdoor gear, clothes, furniture and kitchen and house stuff. I am guessing that all the other stuff pays for the feed, because they practically give that away, and I get my chicks for less than $3 each).

I also always buy more than 30 birds, but the fact that they get so many orders means that the person who gets 3 birds has no extra cost. The cost with a chain store is that the birds are not as healthy and ROOSTERS! I got 4 or five out of 20 birds I got from TSC (and actually more like out of 10, because I think that half the birds were a sex-link where the sex is tied to the color of the chicks, that group of 10 was all hens.

 

[Flo7]

Aloha! Gee, if you were on Oahu, you could just go outside and scoop them up!the roosters here keep these hens busy!! New crops of chicks every few weeks!

 

[NatJ]

Areyou so determined to get chicks now, that you cannot wait until Feb to buy them at a farm store? Sounds like they are firm about min order, for the health of shipping chicks, makes sense in the middle of winter esp.

The answer is buried in the 6th page of the thread:

What date are you looking for? Is this to order in advance (i.e. next spring or summer) or is it "now"?

Mid Spring to late spring

So OP Alex S is trying to plan ahead for next spring, and wants to place the order now.

Yes, we've already suggested waiting a few months to order, because then more hatcheries will be ready to accept orders for spring delivery, so there will be more choices.

 

[ajackalope]

Sky Girl hatchery has a flat $60 fee per order. I'm not sure if this includes shipping. On the site it says to pick shipping separately. The normally ship a 6 chick minimum but up it to 10 in the fall and early spring to keep the birds warm. O have never ordered from them but my neighbor gets fertilized eggs and loves them. We're lucky enough here to have a hatchery that has pick up orders.