What is your favorite hatchery?

[Folly's place]

I've had good experiences with MurrayMcMurray and Cackle for chickens. Our Meyers order had some deaths, but really all three were fine. It will depend on your location and the types of chickens you are interested in getting, and the season. I only order chicks in spring, never summer or winter, because of the weather. Mary

 

[smoore7489]

Great advice everyone! I really appreciate all the honesty and advice given.
I will probably end up ordering from one of the hatcheries close to here. (Still in debate ovee it though) Not sure which one.. I guess I'm looking at it as a "test run" to see what kind of experience I will have with it. If I have a bad experience (which i pray I don't.) then I will probably go on the hunt for someone local.

Does anyone know a site besides facebook and craigslist to look for chicks? I know facebook is cracking down on the selling of animals here lately and its been a bust for some time now. Craigslist didnt have much options last time I checked.

 

[djstanczak]

I had a great experience with Cackle buying ducks and BCM chickens. I had a terrible experience with a breeder.

 

[misslady]

I think most hatchery's are decent.Some people order them across the country and think most of them will survive.You will get the best results if you order from a hatchery in your state.Just a tip.If you want your chicks to live longer buy from a breeder.

100% agree with this.

 

[lomine]

This is a bit late but I wanted to share.

I've received 3 orders from Meyer in the last two months. I ordered from them because I was looking for some specific breeds but just wanted a few of each. They were the only hatchery that had the combination I wanted. My first order was 21 chicks (10 layers, 10 CX + a meal maker). They all made the trip but two died the first two days. I attribute part of the problem to the fact that they left 8 of the holes on the sides plugged and a bunch more on the top covered. Second shipment was to replace the two dead ones. Meyer paid the shipping but need 3 chicks minimum to ship. I know it's better to have more in the box for warmth so I ordered more chicks for a total of 15 chicks. This time they ship in a bigger box with a divider down the middle. Completely negated the whole idea of ordering more chicks so they can share warmth. One chick was DOA and the rest were huddled together trying to keep warm. Two CX were totally squished in the corner with no energy and didn't survive the day.

Third order was unplanned. My very first broody hen was not successful in hatching any eggs but was so dedicated I decided to get her some chicks. Maybe not the best decision ever but whatever. Since there were none available locally I decided to give Meyer another try. Ordered 7 (6 layers + meal maker) so as not to overwhelm the broody. The meal maker was checked off on the list but not included so there were 6 chicks. This time they left 12 holes plugged, 10 covered by labels, and put bedding up the side of the box that covered all the side holes. There was a heat pack so they were warm but they had no energy. I lost 3 chicks in the first couple days. Mama is doing a great job with the remaining 3.

All the rest seem healthy and are growing nicely. As others have said their customer service is great. I received replacements or refunds for all dead chicks. They are very professional and prompt in their responses. But they seriously need to work on quality control for their packaging. Shipping is hard enough so they don't need to make it worse with bad packing decisions. It must not be a new problem though because one of the questions they ask when you tell them a chick died is how many air holes were still plugged. I don't know if I'll be ordering from them again. I guess it partially depends on how the layers turn out.

 

[nissalovescats]

I have had good experiences with McMurray, Cackle and Ideal hatcheries. It all depends on which breeds I want. Each one has a different assortment. I have been raising chickens since 1990 and I have noticed that over the years the post office has declined in its ability to ship live chicks. Also, when I open at the post office and tell them there is a visible dead chick or two, they do nothing about it so I can't get a refund or anything. I think the hatcheries do what they can but the post office delays can cause problems.

I also buy eggs from Ebay from what looks to be reputable breeders who at least mention the source of their stock and give some notes about their breed. Or at least spell the breed name correctly.