Where to buy?

[kittythemom25]

Hello!

I’d like to mail order some fun ornamental chicks. Where do y’all recommend ordering from? I was looking on Stromberg’s, but it kept telling me I had to add more chicks to my order before I could check out. I only want to add 15 chicks to my flock.

thanks!

 

[FortCluck]

Meyers and Cackle are two places I've ordered from

 

[Ridgerunner]

I assume you are in the USA since you mentioned Strombergs. If you were somewhere else none of this applies. This is another situation where having your general location in your profile could have proven very helpful, but you did mention Strombergs. Thanks for that much.

Different hatcheries have different requirements in how many you can order at one time. And different price structures. Some vary how many you can order based on the time of the year. The main reason for this is that they want to ship enough chicks together so they share body heat and keep each other warm during shipping. Instead of using minimum numbers solely some add artificial heat to the shipment and pass the cost on to you.

Some hatcheries require a minimum of five from any one breed/color/pattern in addition to a minimum overall total. Others might allow you to order just one or two of a specific breed/color/pattern but charge you more. There is more manual labor and handling if you order fewer of each so they charge you more.

"Ornamental" often means bantams. Most major hatcheries will not try to vent sex bantams. The people that do the vent sexing at hatcheries might go through tens of thousands of chicks in one day. Bantams are just too small to do that efficiently. If you want pullets that may be a big issue for you. The only people I know that vent sex bantams is MyPetChicken. They are not really a hatchery, they buy and ship from real hatcheries. Hopefully someone else knows of some hatchery that sexes bantams.

If you are not after sexed bantams and can wait on good weather there are several hatcheries that might help you. MtPetChicken still has minimum shipments depending on where you are located but those numbers are lower than most hatcheries. They base their minimum numbers on how difficult it is to ship to your local post office. Could be as few as 3, could be as many as 9. They should ship 15 anywhere in the USA and may be your best choice. They do tend to be more expensive as you would expect for that specialized service.

 

[Acre4Me]

What is ornamental to you?

bantam = small sized.

polish = tuft of head feathers.

Feathered feet

colorful (usually males)

varied breeds in your flock


A lot of hatcheries offer mixed assortments. Assorted rare breeds, assorted brown egg layers, etc. so they pick and ship what’s available of sexed female pullets.

 

[RebelChief]

I ordered from MyPetChicken and they only required me to order 8 (I'm also TX).

 

[kittythemom25]

Thank for for the help!

 

[kittythemom25]

What is ornamental to you?

bantam = small sized.

polish = tuft of head feathers.

Feathered feet

colorful (usually males)

varied breeds in your flock


A lot of hatcheries offer mixed assortments. Assorted rare breeds, assorted brown egg layers, etc. so they pick and ship what’s available of sexed female pullets.

I would like to add some color and variety to our flock. I’ve had some suggestions and am thinking of silkies- we already have some silky mixes that we love, as well as ameracauna.

 

[Acre4Me]

I would like to add some color and variety to our flock. I’ve had some suggestions and am thinking of silkies- we already have some silky mixes that we love, as well as ameracauna.

Silkies are definitely ornamental. We don’t have any, so I can’t recommend a hatchery. We also have a mixed flock and we love to see all the colors!