Where do you get your chicks from?

[lynseystone]

I can have a small flock of only 5 chickens and I am hoping to get several different breeds as young as possible for the bonding experience. What are my options as far as purchasing these chicks since I will not be able to order 20+ at a time? I am not having much luck finding breeders in my area of Texas. (I'd like a couple of silkies, a BO, maybe a cochin and a light brahma...)
Thanks for any input!

 

[NorthChicken]

My Pet Chicken, I ordered a little flock of 9 from them, but depending on your zipcode, you can get as few as 3 per order.

 

[Cellochick]

I've always ordered my chicks from Murray McMurray hatcheries, and I've never had a problem. They do require you to order at least 20 chicks. I've always split an order of chicks with a friend so it works well that way. I got four new cochins chicks last spring and they're turning out wonderful. You could also try your closest Tractor Supply during chick days to buy as few as six chicks. I've done both with excellent results

 

[BantamLover21]

I bought my chicks from McMurray Hatchery. The box of chicks arrived on time, and the chicks were all happy and healthy. However, there is a minimum order of 25, but you can get around that by splitting the order with other interested chicken owners. You can also get chicks from Tractor Supply, but from what I've heard, there are a lot of problems with gender and breeds when buying chicks from there. My Pet Chicken is a great place to get small numbers of chicks, though it is a bit expensive.

 

[Cluky]

my pet chicken has low order numbers and wonderful variety of both bantams and full sized ones.

 

[christine9]

I received my chicks from Meyers. They have a min of 3 chicks. They arrived in great condition and are still happy and healthy. This time of year seems to be more difficult to find chicks though, maybe because of molt season.

 

[jdoane]

I got mine from Meyers also. Loved that I didn't have to order a lot and that they had a great variety as I wanted a mixed flock. They shipped well.

 

[realsis]

I can only have a small flock also and I get my chickens shipped from private breeders. I only have silkies so I've used breeders from the American silkie bantam assocation. Ive ordered from Amber waves and my new chicks are being sent from Seriously Silkie. Private breeders like this ship and ship in as small of quanity as you like. Their is NO minimum order posed from private breeders.but although you can order just one I wouldn't recommend shipping just one small bird. Perhaps two at a time is better. You can find private breeders online or through clubs like american silkie bantam . Ect. Make sure their flocks are NPIP flocks. These birds are tested for some big diseases. You should be able to find lots of breeders in your area or close to it. If your interested in silkies I can look in my book and give you names of some breeders in texas. Just pm me and let me know. But that's how I do it. also breeders are more willing to work with you like DNA sex testing for babies to ensure females. Im waiting on DNA results now for my new birds because where I live I can't have males. they usually don't make you buy the ones that turn up male if you don't want. I only pay for the testing which is 12 to 19 dollars depending on the lab used. So I prefer breeders.with no minimum purchase this might be the way to go for you as well. I hope this helps. Best wishes

 

[2lilchkns]

I just ordered 10 from Ideal, in Texas, and I think their minimum is three for standard chicks (though I'm not positive.) I ordered a variety of breeds. I'm new at this, but they all arrived alive and healthy and so far are doing well. The breeds I ordered are RIR, Buff orp., americauna, speckled Sussex, barred rock and white rock. We'll see how it goes.

 

[yinepu]

Where in Texas are you?

Have you checked with the local feed stores? many of them carry chicks and will even special order for you...