What hatchery to you recommend?

[pattikake]

We are looking to order quite a few Rhode Island Red chicks (50-75) .. have not had good luck w/ Murray McMurray. I'm looking for other recommendations?

Thanks

 

[cuppycake]

I just got an order from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio. they guarantee 100% of your chicks will arrive alive and survive 48 hours or they replace them for free. they also ship 4% extra chicks as an added safeguard that you'll get all the birds you paid for. So you'd get 2-3 extra chicks in your box.

We had 21 chicks arrive safe and sound, they seem healthy and alert. I live in Michigan so it wasn't a super long trip for them, they arrived at my post office about 18 hours after leaving the hatchery.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Probably no hatchery is perfect. Rhode Is. reds are not specialty birds so you can probably get birds pretty much anywhere. If shipment has been the problem, I understand. I live in washington state and got birds sent from Meyer hatchery in Ohio it took 3 days.they specialize in a variety of birds. I ordered a blue andelusian hen, a americana hen, an ancona hen, a blue splash maran hen, a blue hamberg rooster, and a free chick they offer which was a barred rock. so that was 6 chicks. The ancona ended up a rooster. and the blue hamberg had its yoke sack not drawn into his belly and just stuck on the outside, later he died. but the up side the other hens lay the big eggs, the american's egg was a dark green, and the blue splash maran is the prettiest hen with big dark eggs. I thought about ordering there again just because I love the web site and the catalog.

The one bird I have that is not from there is my white leghorn. She doesn't have much of a personality but lays every day she even laid all winter. They are a light weight bird they don't eat as much but great egg production.

 

[fishnet1971]

I picked up 7 chicks from Meyers last Monday that I had ordered. All 7 are in great shape, healthy and doing great a week later. The hatchery itself is really nice, the people are nice as well.

 

[PaintedCavalry]

I ordered 6 chicks from Meyer last year and all were sexed correctly and breed correct. This year I have 26 coming from them.