Where should I get my chickens?

[BigNan]

Sorry if this the wrong place to post.
But I’m a new chicken owner and I had bought my first chickens from Tractor Supply like 8 months. Big mistake I know. But long story short they gave me the wrong breed and gave me all roosters.
But what I’m asking is where should I get chickens from now on? I don’t have anyone to get chickens from near me breeder wise, and I definitely not getting more from tractor supply. Any good place to buy from?

 

[hysop]

Where are you from?

 

[hysop]

Wow I am so sorry they were all roosters. Did they sell them as straight run or pullets?

 

[black_cat]

Generally any online hatchery, though some are better than others. My friends use MyPetChicken, and some popular ones are Myer's and Ideal. This will change depending on where you live-you would want a hatchery that's closer to you to shrink down the shipping time. Hatcheries vent sex their chicks, which gives you a 90% accuracy on what gender they send. Tractor Supply tends to mix their breeds and genders-I think that this is because many of the employees are inexperienced with chickens. I'd personally love to work at a tractor supply, not as my main source of income, just so that fewer people end up in bad situations with all males of completely random breeds!

 

[orloffer]

I have heard the most good things about Cackle hatchery compared to the others, but people have varying experiences with all of them. black_cat gave good information in the above post. If buying from a feed store, make sure the store and its employees are credible and knowledgeable.

 

[hysop]

If buying from TSC I say stick to sex links. Guaranteed pullets.

As far as ordering online, I’ve only ever ordered from Cackle Hatchery and I love them. But it’s best to order from a hatchery closest to you to minimize transport time. Right now CH is done for the season til next Spring I believe. So if you’re looking to purchase some now then Cackle won’t be the winner.

 

[Acre4Me]

Generally a good idea to put your general location so other BYCers can give you better answers.

However, you can order online, of course. Shipping is hard on chicks, so when possible picking them up in person is always best. A simple google maps (or similar) search might net you a hatchery within driving distance. We found a favorite hatchery 1.5 hours from us that we get the majority of our birds from, but also found a big hatchery (Meyers) about 3 hours from us, and we have purchased in person at their store when we have been in the area for other reasons. There is a medium sized hatchery 2 hours from us, but in a direction we rarely travel, so we have never gone to that one. You can try another farm store because they may get their chicks from another hatchery than TSC, and they may be more knowledgeable about chicks.

Also, you may have ended up with all males from TSC because your purchase followed someone else that was able to pick out the females in the batch. Some breeds can be color sexed, wing feather sexed, or head spot sexed as bitty chicks, so a previous purchaser may have successfully done that. As far as wrong breed - yes that happens a lot at some farm stores. Some employees just aren't that knowledgeable. I've noticed at my TSC they separate the customers from the chicks, so any breed errors are coming from the employees. In addition, they will put two breeds into one container, so mix-ups can happen that way as well.

Good luck with your next purchase.

 

[Acre4Me]

But it’s best to order from a hatchery closest to you to minimize transport time.

Doesn't always work that way, unfortunately. We ordered from Meyer and received all dead chicks after 3 days of transport. We live only 3 hours from Meyer, and within the same state. Why transport took that long, I don't know, and when I called Meyer to get a refund on the dead chicks they didn't know why it took so long either. I live in a city, not a far-flung outpost, so that shouldn't have added any delay. But, we ordered chicks from a place in Iowa and got them in 17 hours after the Iowa post office received them - but we did pay extra for express service in that situation.

 

[BigNan]

Where are you from?

Northeastern Kentucky

 

[keesmom]

Ordering from any of the major hatcheries is an option. Over the years we've had good luck with Meyer, Cackle, McMurray and Ideal. However to avoid additional shipping costs and small order fees you may have to order 15-25 chicks. Though you could sell any extra chicks to help offset costs.

Are there any small feed stores near you that also order day old chicks?