Which hatchery is best?

[Skip]

Hi, I'm new to chicks and I'd like to know which hatchery is best. Which hatchery do you use? What are your experiences, if any, with Mcmurray and Henderson's? Will either of them give me only six chicks?

 

[samapp]

I have ordered from McMurray in the past and had good luck with the chicks; the only thing is that you have to buy 25 chicks minimum. I have never heard of Hendersons so I can't say anything about them.


Last year I ordered from Ideal Poultry in Texas http://www.ideal-poultry.com/ They do not have a minimum amount of chicks you can order but they do have a minimum dollar amount of $25.00.

I was very happy with the chicks I got last year from them and would order again.

 

[Fresh Eggs]

I am new too!



McMurray's minimum of chicks is 25, my pet chicken will give u up to 8 in the farthest parts of the country, I belive. Good luck, my 26 chicks will be here at the end of Jan!!



Fresh Eggs

 

[namreknat]

I really couldn't say which hatchery is best; but I have ordered from Ideal twice and things went well both times.

 

[PortageGirl]

Meyer will also ship small orders, though they don't have all the variaties some bigger hatcheries have, they have some good ones and are a family business and I'm told they're very reliable. So far, I've called a couple times with questions and am convinced they're decent people.

http://www.meyerhatchery.com/

 

[Opa]

I had real good luck with Estes Hatchery

 

[Cats Critters]

I vote Ideal, my order all arivved alive and healthy and I have not had any health problems ether.

 

[jhmoore]

I had great luck with My Pet Chicken. I had a small order of all females, and they only threw in one extra (which turned out to be a girl). Although later on, a different, non-extra turned into a rooster. But, all were alive and healthy! And, their customer service was awesome.

 

[tim_TX]

I like the fact that McMurray offers vaccinations where Ideal does not. My first few batches of chicks from McMurray were great quality chicks and arrived in equally great shape. However, it would seem that they are starting to farm out their business. The last time I ordered from them some came from New York and some came from Cameron Tx (home of Ideal --- coincidence????). The birds from NY arrived in poor condition and were of questionable quality. The birds from Cameron were fantastic.

I am stuck on Ideal now, especially since they they are just 1.5 hours away and allow customer pickup That lets me save a few bucks and avoid the shipping stress altogether.

 

[birdsofparadise]

Iʻve had respiratory problems with McMurray birds and have heard that MPC is really iffy on its sexing of chicks. Basically, all of their birds are to be considered "straight run". Ideal has done right by me and I intend to continue to use them. The only complaint youʻll hear is that they donʻt sell "show quality" or "pure bred" birds, only birds that confirm to the standard for the breed. But for $1.75 each, what do you expect?

Plus, Ideal does offer Marek vaccinations, they just donʻt recommend it for small flocks.