where to get chicks

[chickencarsten]

i was thinking about getting 12 chickens in the spring. i want to get the chicks from ideal poultry. has anyone got chicks from there?

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I haven't ordered from a hatchery before, but I have gotten hatchery chicks - our local Feed Store gets chicks in the spring, but they use Mt. Healthy Hatchery.

I am not sure I'll be buying from Ideal. They intend to begin selling Columbian Rocks as Delawares next spring - I think that is very sad - I want Delawares, and I would not want someone selling me something else and telling me it was a Delaware. Makes me wonder what else they would lie about.

meri

 

[Chickenfortress]

I have. My last order was from ideal. The chicks all arrived fine, and we lost one a week or so later. One was cross beaked, and it died after a while too. Minimum order was 25. I plan to buy from them again this spring, maybe 50 birds total. The only complaint i had was that they were a little too liberal with the dye. Some of the marked birds had color in their eyes.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Oh, btw - I think Ideal has a 25 minimum, or else they charge you extra - and it turns out costing the same as if you buy 25 anyway, even if you only get 12.

mypetchicken you can buy as few as 3 (again, they charge extra though, to make up for heat pads and the like).

Cackle Hatchery you can get 15 - which wouldn't be much more than 12. I have not researched Cackle Hatchery, but if I do buy some chicks next spring, I will probably do so from them, as I do not need 25 chicks, either - I already have quite a few chickens.

I have checked their site, and I can get 5 each of Delaware, White Rock and Buff Orpington for about 47 bucks shipped. That's not a bad price, IMO.

They say you have to buy a minimum of 5 of each breed, and a minimum total of 15. Shipping is 15 bucks for that amount.

http://www.cacklehatchery.com/default.html

here's the link, if you want to check them out.

meri

 

[MariposaMama]

My chicks came from Ideal and I'm very happy with them. I ordered a surprise assortment and got a great mix. There were a few more packing peanuts than I'd hoped, but all were Cochins and I found a lady who was thrilled to buy my extras.

My crowd is 13 weeks old now, I didn't lose any. All are happy and healthy, and as soon as I can convince hubby to let me, I'll be ordering more from them.

Edit to add: Ideal does not have a minumun number of chicks order, just a $25. minimun order amount. I only ordered 12 chicks, it's just that they sent 8 packing peanuts along with them. I think unless the weather is really warm, you can count on getting more than you order.

 

[Mahonri]

I bought some juvenilles recently from a "grower" here in the Phoenix area.

She swears by Cackle as the very best hatchery and she always orders 100 chicks at a time... says they are the best in price and never has a dead arrival and few losses after they arrive.

The birds we bought had been crowded a bit, but they look healthy. One of the Leghorns we got just laid an egg! She is a small hen but it was a jumbo white egg! There was a rooster in the pen so we are saving the egg to put under our broody on Wednesday... I don't want a staggered hatch under my broody.

 

[waynesgarden]

Yep, I've ordered several times from Ideal and they made the trip from Texas to New England in good condition. I'd try to order from a hatchery closer to home if I could but none carry the breed I like (except some closer Canadian hatcheries that won't ship to the US.)

Wayne

 

[FrChuckW]

I just got my first shipment from Ideal. I ordered the assorted 25 pullet standard layers. They arrived fine and in good condition. The only thing I forgot to do was to have them tell me what breeds I got. Oh Well!

You can also check out Meyers Hatchery, they also will ship as few as 3 chicks now but there is a small order charge which includes an upgrade to Express Shipping and a heating pad