What is the best hatchery?

[matt14132]

Hello everyone,

What is the best hatchery to get some quality poultry from?

I have hatched my share of eggs; but now I would like to try the hatchery thing again this spring.

I ordered a some ducks from Cackle Hatchery last year and they were a pleasure to work with.

There are a ton of hatcheries out there and no one has exactly the same types of birds.
I figured at least a few of you would be able to provide a few suggestions of places you have ordered from in the past, some good experiences you've had, things like that.

If it helps, I am looking for an assortment of different chicken breeds and 1 guardian goose. lol

Thanks guys for all your help,
Matt

 

[chickencheeper]

Purely poultry
Pros
Huge breed selection and variety
Cons
Expensive
Shipping $
Minimum order varies around $15

Ideal poultry
Pros
Mediocre variety
Cheap
25$ minimum order cost
Cons
Mediocre variety

 

[feedman77]

Look at Hoover hatchery out of Iowa.

Good selection.
Shipping is included in price of chicks.

 

[Beer can]

I've had good luck with Meyer hatchery and Cackle for chicks but they are the only hatcheries I've ordered from besides Sandhill. Nothing against Sandhill, they have rare breeds no other hatchery has. I had a OK experience with them but it's not a place to order from if your impatient (they put in writing in plain English on their website how they operate, what you will have to go through so I don't know why people complain)
Thinking of ordering some hatching eggs from Dunlap hatchery cause hatching is fun and Dunlap is the only hatchery that doesn't charge $$ for eggs.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I'd have to go with Meyer, as the one time I've ordered, I ordered from them. I ordered 5 chicks, and they sent the extra leghorn to bring the order to 6. All of the chicks arrived alive and in good health. All of the chicks have survived to adulthood and are happy and healthy, and most importantly; all of my chicks were female as ordered. That could have been luck or skill, idk.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Hello everyone,

What is the best hatchery to get some quality poultry from?

I have hatched my share of eggs; but now I would like to try the hatchery thing again this spring.

I ordered a some ducks from Cackle Hatchery last year and they were a pleasure to work with.

There are a ton of hatcheries out there and no one has exactly the same types of birds.
I figured at least a few of you would be able to provide a few suggestions of places you have ordered from in the past, some good experiences you've had, things like that.

If it helps, I am looking for an assortment of different chicken breeds and 1 guardian goose. lol

Thanks guys for all your help,
Matt

It depends what you mean by “quality”. If you’re looking for birds that are show quality then I would recommend Greenfire Farms. They have rare breeds that no other hatchery offers. The cons are that they’re expensive like really expensive. I’ve only ordered chicks twice and both times was from mypetchicken.com. MPC has a great selection of breeds but some are quite pricey, so this year I’m getting my chicks from a friend. Strombergs is another hatchery to look into. Good luck with your hatchery hunt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I t depends on what you mean by quality. That can mean so many different things to different people. If you are going with a hatchery I suggest you look at Meyer. They are in Ohio so not that far from you. That might mean shorter easier shipping times. I don't know if they have what you want or what their policy is about shipping one goose with a bunch of chicks.

 

[matt14132]

Thanks everyone for the detailed responses.

I guess what I meant by quality is just that I want to make sure Im getting "sturdy" birds.....if that makes sense?
To be sure Ill be getting exactly what I ordered (as far as sex goes) and that they will grow to be full size, robust birds.

Again, thank you to everyone I appreciate the advice.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

If you don’t want to take a chance of getting the wrong sex of chicken then get auto-sexing or sex-linked chicks.

 

[matt14132]

Well its not so much that im worried about taking a chance, I just like to know that there is a few hatcheries out there that are really "on the ball" with all types of poultry