Where do you buy meat birds?

[Klutch]

https://dothan.craigslist.org/grd/d/slocomb-chickens-roosters-pairs-trios/7699902027.html

 

[AprilWC]

My TSC sometimes has CornishX at reduced price because they've had them over a week. Lowest I've seen in recent years is $1.99 each.

 

[Birdinhand]

I get my CX from Jenks in OR. They have settled in the Cobb 500 strain because they remain active and lively for the longest, till about 5-6 weeks old. I harvest around 8+ weeks

 

[ChknLadyBawk]

My husband wants to get some meat birds this spring. Probably about 15. Cost wise it doesn’t make sense to order from a hatchery with shipping charges. Does TSC sell meat breeds? What’s the best way to get chicks to raise for meat? Not too interested in dual purpose. Looking for breeds that are ready to harvest quickly.

Have you looked into local farms? That way you could pick them up yourself.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I got 10 this spring from Mt Healthy but I can't tell you now what I paid for them or if there was a shipping charge. I'm always very happy with Mt Healthy birds.

 

[cassie]

I always bought mine from Murray McMurray. Even if you don't get your chicks from Murray, you would be well advised to buy a packet of their Broiler Booster. It is a vitamin electrolyte supplement formulated for meat birds, and you just add it to the water. I found it went a long way in preventing some of the health issues the Cornish X are heir to.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I always bought mine from Murray McMurray. Even if you don't get your chicks from Murray, you would be well advised to buy a packet of their Broiler Booster. It is a vitamin electrolyte supplement formulated for meat birds, and you just add it to the water. I found it went a long way in preventing some of the health issues the Cornish X are heir to.

That's good to know!

 

[Acre4Me]

We buy from a “local” small hatchery. We drive 1.5 hours to get there, then, drive them home. I’ve always heard that getting them food and water as soon as possible after hatch results in bigger birds, and I’ve read a study on this too -but it’s been awhile, and my takeaway was to get food/water in them sooner. They are little muscle machines, efficiently turning feed into muscle in a short timeframe, so feed and water is important.

The other reasons to buy in person is to remove the shipping stress.

If you cannot buy from a local hatchery, for one reason or another, then TSC (or similar) gets them in and has already removed the dead ones, and you can pick the lively ones.

As far as placing an order to have them shipped, if you already know there are delays from certain locations, avoid those. Strangely enough for me, I have to avoid shipments from Ohio places, if possible, bc there are some strangely long routes out there. I tend to order from hatcheries to my west, and they get here within 1.5-2days. Whereas Ohio hatcheries take a full 3 days to get here, in my experience. Still, if USPS mishandles the live shipment, I’ll still get dead chicks. Makes no sense, but it has been my experience, so I drive to Ohio hatcheries now, and am happy with my chicks.