What is your favorite hatchery?

[smoore7489]

Hi all! We want to expand the flock soon-ish and researching some hatcheries. There's just sooo many and it has my head spinning. So I thought I would ask the good people of BYC! We got our last chicks from TSC but kind of wanting to broaden the horizon a little.

What hatcheries do you recommend? Is there a reason you like said hatchery better than others?
Any hatcheries you DON'T recommend for any reason?

Thanks all!! Happy hatchin'!

 

[BYCforlife]

Hi! There are a lot of good hatcheries out there. They don't ship to everywhere, so what is your general location?

 

[DesertBird]

I've gotten mine from TSC, too - haven't used a hatchery yet, so I don't have any recommendations for you with exact names, but I'd suggest the closest one you can find so the chicks don't go through a super long shipping period. Good luck! Do you know what breeds you're gonna get?

 

[smoore7489]

Hi! There are a lot of good hatcheries out there. They don't ship to everywhere, so what is your general location?

Opps i meant to put that in the post. I am located in Southern Ky

 

[smoore7489]

I've gotten mine from TSC, too - haven't used a hatchery yet, so I don't have any recommendations for you with exact names, but I'd suggest the closest one you can find so the chicks don't go through a super long shipping period. Good luck! Do you know what breeds you're gonna get?

We have a few in mind. We want to get a straight-run of some relatively known docile breeds.(hoping for a good ol rooster) And I was thinking of some Buff Orphington hens. But its still in the air! We just want more babies haha

 

[DesertBird]

We have a few in mind. We want to get a straight-run of some relatively known docile breeds.(hoping for a good ol rooster) And I was thinking of some Buff Orphington hens. But its still in the air! We just want more babies haha

I've heard Buff Orp's are great! I was gonna get some on my last chick run, but my TSC didn't have any - went with Australorp's instead, as they're also known as a docile breed, and 5 mystery breeds. Probably Production Red's or Red Sex-Link's? They aren't the breed TSC is selling them as, so I'm really hoping they're at least all pullets like TSC said. If I can talk my family into getting more chicks next spring, I'm definitely hoping for some Buff Orp's. Good luck with yours!!

 

[Amelia Egghart]

TSC orders from hatcheries generally by which is closest to that particular store. I'm in California and I typically find birds from Privett and Belt hatcheries. You can probably find out where they order from and then ask if they can get a particular breed that hatchery offers that you would like.

I prefer picking the chicks out myself from a large order than having any shipped to me, but in Kentucky you're a lot closer to the major ones!

It depends what you're looking for. What kind of birds do you want? What's important to you?

 

[brucifer]

It's usually a lot less expensive to go to Craigslist and find chicks from a local breeder. Quite often you'll get better quality birds than you will from a hatchery. I just checked Craigslist for the Bowling Green area, and someone has Lavender Orpington chicks as well as other varieties of Orps for $5 apiece. Whatever you decide to do, best of luck!

 

[chickjoy11]

Sorry to be ignorant, but what is TSC???

 

[brucifer]

Sorry to be ignorant, but what is TSC???

TSC stands for Tractor Supply Company. It is a national feed-store and farm-hardware chain. It's also in Canada. The closest one to you is probably in either Troy; Alton, IL; or Belleville, IL.