Where to get chicks?

[nuthatched]

maybe find a local you can go halvsies on the orde? I prefer McMurray, personally

 

[PhillyDelcoChix]

Meyer Chicken Hatchery recommendation here too!
Got 8 chicks because everyone told me they can die during shipping or soon after.
They were all healthy, still all healthy- 8 weeks later.
The company year has live online chat too for questions which I really liked being a first time chicken owner.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Usually feed store chicks are sexed.
Unless they let customers handle them and they are mixed up.

 

[DragonGirls]

I was also going to suggest Meyer they sell sexed chicks and offer a refund or replacement if they do happen to get a wrong gender sent,I also found them to be very nice and helpful over the phone.

I'm also in WNY and as Dobie says, I would wait until at least April if mail ordering as our weather can be so unpredictable!

I have another 5 arriving from their April 20th hatch and had some lovely chicks from them in May last year to go with our older girls who are now just about 4 years old.
All this after thinking I only ever wanted 6 lol! Chicken math is real!

I also agree with Rosemarythyme about buying through a store,it can be tricky and have also seen bins labelled incorrectly there.

Good luck whatever route you decide to go

 

[Cryss]

Google chicken hatchery in NY. Ther should be a map to find hatcheries close to you. That’s what I did. I can buy as few as I want and mine will raise them till they are fully feathered if you wish for a fee.
EDIT: Oh and mine will guarantee gender, offers exchange of gender mistakes.

 

[Farmdog267]

I have always purchased from a local feed store or Agway store. Some of them have chicks only in the spring while others have them for a longer duration during the year.

 

[BrockportChick]

View attachment 2022367
Meyer Chicken Hatchery recommendation here too!
Got 8 chicks because everyone told me they can die during shipping or soon after.
They were all healthy, still all healthy- 8 weeks later.
The company year has live online chat too for questions which I really liked being a first time chicken owner.View attachment 2022365

I actually couldn't wait (gotta work on impulse control!) and ordered 8 from Meyer yesterday afternoon! They'll be here in 2 weeks.
I know there's a risk that they might not all make it, but even if they do, I think I'll be ok. I've been asking around about the permits in my village, and apparently there's virtually no enforcement/interference from officials, and the coop in building is plenty big enough for 8, so if they all survive, great!
Thanks for sharing your experience with Meyer. I'm so excited!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If going this route, make sure to educate yourself about the store and the breeds they're carrying, as some stores (TSC is kind of famous for it) are unfortunately infamous for having chicks labeled incorrectly right off the bat or allowing buyers to handle chicks, which then get placed into the wrong bins.

An ideal store would have at least a couple of employees knowledgeable about chickens, and will not allow buyers to just willy nilly pull chicks from bins and put them back.

My store doesn't really know much about chicks, but they place the tubs inside a coral with a gate (the fence the chicks off). You aren't getting in there to handle chicks. Employees monitor that area pretty well. Whether chicks are labeled correctly, etc., I have no idea.

I actually couldn't wait (gotta work on impulse control!) and ordered 8 from Meyer yesterday afternoon! They'll be here in 2 weeks.
I know there's a risk that they might not all make it, but even if they do, I think I'll be ok. I've been asking around about the permits in my village, and apparently there's virtually no enforcement/interference from officials, and the coop in building is plenty big enough for 8, so if they all survive, great!
Thanks for sharing your experience with Meyer. I'm so excited!!!

How exciting!!
Do you have the coop ready? Chicks grow quickly and they get stinky, so have plans for getting them outside.

 

[BrockportChick]

My store doesn't really know much about chicks, but they place the tubs inside a coral with a gate (the fence the chicks off). You aren't getting in there to handle chicks. Employees monitor that area pretty well. Whether chicks are labeled correctly, etc., I have no idea.


How exciting!!
Do you have the coop ready? Chicks grow quickly and they get stinky, so have plans for getting them outside.

The coop currently exists on paper and in my head, so no. But-- I have a week and a half off work before the chicks get here, so I'm planning to get a lot of work done then to prepare for them. I do have a back up plan ( the unfinished loft over our garage where I can set up a temporary pen) should I get delayed finishing the coop for whatever reason.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My store doesn't really know much about chicks, but they place the tubs inside a coral with a gate (the fence the chicks off). You aren't getting in there to handle chicks. Employees monitor that area pretty well. Whether chicks are labeled correctly, etc., I have no idea.

Mine labels bins correctly (though they have up to 4 breeds in a bin) and they monitor the chick area so people aren't grabbing them, but only some of the employees are knowledgeable. So if you're getting chicks from a 4-breed-bin, or a started pullet (where they often toss all the breeds together), you either need to make sure you know what you're looking at, or that you get an employee that does.

I can at least eyeball verify the chick color to match the bin label so haven't had any issues there, though we did get a "mislabeled" started pullet in our first group of chickens because at the time, I had no idea what I was looking at and just picked a chicken.