where can i buy only a few chicks?

[SpottedCrow]

A local farm is a good way to get older birds...most farmers will let you "take" some of their almost grown birds...

 

[Foghorn]

Where do you live? Did you say? (sorry if I missed it) Maybe if someone lives close enough they could help. I am in Connecticut.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Man, I just checked out the mypetchicken.com site. Fifty bucks is outrageous for a started pullet. You can get chicks at local farm store for about $2.25 and I know several places in my area that sell started pullets for about $10-$12. For a kid sarting out I think chicks from a feed store are probably easiest, and with alot of interaction you get a tame friendly chicken.

Karen

 

[MyPetChicken]

Hi all! Since this post is about buying a few chicks & our company -- My Pet Chicken (http://www.mypetchicken.com) was mentioned, I thought I'd weigh in.

We sell started pullets in 3 breeds (Red Stars, Black Stars, White Leghorns), and you can purchase as many or as few as you'd like. These guys sell out fast and our next shipment isn't available until early July, so it is best to reserve yours soon. You're right - $50 is expensive! Shipping really makes it costly. The cost per bird goes down drastically when you buy more than one, though (5 for $113 etc.).

For baby chicks, we sell quantities as low as 3 and generally there is no wait. Most breeds are available to ship within 2 weeks.

We also -- just today! -- now sell sexed bantam baby chicks. We're the only place in the country that sells sexed banties as far as we know. It is significantly more expensive ($8 for a pullet, $6 for a cockerel vs. $3 for straight run), but so many people asked for it that we thought we'd give it a try. People know they need to live with their birds for several years and don't seem to mind paying extra to get exactly what they want. Thought that was worth mentioning as we've gotten so many requests for it.

Thanks again to those who mentioned us!

-Traci

 

[Llysse]

I tried to order from My Pet Chicken and they were indeed extremely polite and helpful on the phone. However, I changed my order three times trying to find chicks that could be shipped within two weeks: no dice. The closest we could come was a month. It made more sense (and was tremendously less expensive) for me to just order eggs and hatch them myself. In fact, it took about a week to determine what the various estimated delivery dates would be, as they had to check with the hatcheries they work with for the availability of the breeds I was asking about.

Again, their customer service was great, and if you're looking for RIRs or something very common then you may have no problem... and I've certainly recommended that people look into using their service on the basis of the fact that they can ship so few chicks at a time. (I'm not a real fan of receiving 15 extra leghorn roos "for warmth" from other outfits when you may not be set up to care for them properly.) However, I had no success with the two week delivery.

 

[equine chick]

There is meyer hatchery in ohio that will sell you three chicks but a 15 dollar extra charge for small shipment. They put in a special heating pad to keep the babies warm. I ordered from them this year, they come april 23rd. www.meyerhatchery.com

 

[MyPetChicken]

There are a few breeds for which we have been backordered due to a cold snap and decreased laying -- all the rest are readily available! Those breeds are:

- Red Silkies
- White Silkies
- Salmon Faverolles
- Delawares

As we're now heading into the warmer months, we shouldn't have problems with backordering in the future.

Thanks Llyse for the positive review despite our not being able to give you what you needed.

 

[chickaddicted]

Ideal will also sell chicks in small quantities and has lots to choose from, they require a $25 min order, but from what I've read on their site you could order a book to make up the difference in $$.

Also, check to see if your state has a farm bulletin, usually through the department of agriculture. I've found several folks close to me with all kinds of chickens.

Now I've just gotta get the brooder set up and get my chicks!

 

[mach4chic]

I received my order of 6 chicks from My Pet Chicken in the middle of August. I did have to wait several weeks for them to arrive, but this was okay w/ me since I'm brand new at this and I had alot of prep work to do. The girls arrived in great condition and seem to be doing very well.

 

[DulcyDoll]

i started out with hatching eggs. I bought my first ones from McMurrayHatchery.com I decided to start that way because i wanted to have them from the begining. It takes a bit more research to do the incubation, hatching, brooding thing but well worth it in my opinion. Nothing more rewarding that seeing a chick you hatched grow up to be a beautiful healthy chicken (IMO)

I'm glad your girls arrived happy and healthy. You'll love having them