Where to purchase chicks from?

[Ilovemychicks08]

My local feed store uses Cackle hatchery. They only charge the price per chick and the minimum is to bring 2 home unless you have proof you have more chicks. I have had very good luck with them. I dont order online because i am charger 30 to 50 dollar small order shipping fee because i can only have 5 chickens. I would love to order from McMurrays or Meyers they both seem good!

 

[ShaunJ421]

I live in Townsend, Massachusetts. I'm a first time chicken owner. I ordered 16x 1-day old chicks from Meyer Hatchery. And didn't have any issues with shipping at all.

I ordered 15x hens, 1x rooster. Like you, I wanted an assortment of breeds. But even hatcheries are limited on breed selection on any given day, depending on what's hatching that day.

I was able to order 10 different breeds that I wanted, I did want more breeds, but they weren't all hatching on the same day. I picked a day that had the most breeds hatching. August 28, 2022.

Unfortunately one of the Frizzled Easter Eggers that I bought, was born with a deformity, and failed to thrive. She passed away at about 6 weeks of age. But the rest of them are doing great at 16 weeks now!

I'll attach some pictures of the day they arrived, as well as what they look like today. Our rooster has just started crowing the past few days.

For hens I have:
1x Blue (BBS) Ameraucana
1x Buff Orpington
1x Cream Legbar
1x Rhode Island Red
1x Black Jersey Giant
1x Frizzled Easter Egger
2x Fibro Easter Eggers
2x Black Copper Marans
2x Buff Brahmas
2x Cookies & Cream
And my rooster is a Blue (BBS) Ameraucana.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I hate opening boxes of dead chicks. It's happened to me multiple times. I won't order by mail any more. I prefer getting them from breeders or feed stores. I know feed stores get them shipped, but getting them at tsc eliminates me having to open a box of dead chicks.

If I add more chicks, I think I'll go the FB route. I belong to a couple of poultry groups, and folks are always advertising chicks of all different kinds of breeds. Today, I saw posts for d'Uccles, Silkies, Easter Eggers, and Delawares. That was just today. Just recently, I've seen posts for bantam Cochin, Marans, and Orpingtons. There out there, and now that I have relationships with some, they are willing to work with me on numbers and sex of birds.

 

[Iluveggers]

I am in NY. We placed two orders last year, one from McMurray & one from Ideal. All chicks arrived alive & are still doing well!

What breeds are you wanting? I would not hesitate to order from a mail hatchery, based on what breeds you want. After doing so much research from the different hatcheries, I could probably tell you which hatchery had the most of what you want if you list them out. Lol

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Your better off going to tsc or runnings and getting chick, hatcheries these days are a rip off they get you with the shipping. If you buy local id only buy newly hatched chicks never adults as thats how people end up with mg or other diseases.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Ditto I ordered starter flock from MCM and had them vaccinated before delivery. Great way to get variety you want.You can always go in with someone else to split shipping costs also.

Most farm stores require 4-6 at a time, never less than 2.

Murray McMurray is where I would choose from out if what you've listed, but they have minimums too

 

[rosemarythyme]

My own preference is to pick up chicks at the feed store, because I only get small batches of chicks (3-4) and would rather pay the mark up to ensure I get live, healthy chicks.

As far as the issue with getting all the breeds you want, unless you plan on getting a large number of chicks, I'd recommend being a little open with the breeds you get, and pick from the breeds available - you can grow your flock over time to eventually get all the breeds you want, and staggering the ages of the flock by 6 months - 1 year or more, will help keep you in eggs. Some farm stores will announce what breeds they're getting and when, and you can plan your purchase around availability that way.

Most farm stores require 4-6 at a time, never less than 2.

Really depends on your state laws, store policies, etc. I have been able to buy a single chick without issue but we have no regulations on that.

 

[EEforMe]

I’ve ordered from cackle and my pet chicken. My pet chicken will do small orders without the big fee and cackle does an excellent job with breeds. They all look pretty much like how that breed should look. Mpc not so much. My Orpington looks more like a skinny australorp lol

 

[EEforMe]

I’ve ordered from cackle and my pet chicken. My pet chicken will do small orders without the big fee and cackle does an excellent job with breeds. They all look pretty much like how that breed should look. Mpc not so much. My Orpington looks more like a skinny australorp lol

Oh and I forgot to add that I live somewhere pretty difficult to ship to and have never had a problem with dead chicks. I can’t say why it’s hard to ship here though because that would give away too much about where I live heh

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We've ordered from a couple of different hatcheries, always with good results. The only time it didn't go well was a few years back when we ordered early chicks and they were shipped at the end of February in a blizzard in below-zero temps. The entire shipment was lost, but the hatchery sent out a replacement shipment at no cost and they all arrived alive except one. The best hatchery has been Mt Healthy, which we used last spring. Their chicks arrived not just alive, but lively and robust, and we didn't lose a single one. Only one even had the slightest sign of pasty butt and it resolved immediately after a single cleaning. Will definitely order from them again and confidently recommend them! Oh, and we got exactly what we ordered as to both breed and gender.