Which hatchery to buy from and how many chicks to buy??

[pdsavage]

15 is a good number to start with..I got my first chicks about 10 years ago,I order 25 of the rare breed special from mcmurray hatchery..
It took me a month to finally order after going over all the chick catalogs...
I lost a few due to the dog next door so thats why extras are good cause you never know what will happen....

 

[elmo]

You can also consider getting your chicks from a local breeder, rather than going the hatchery route. You can then see the husbandry conditions the parent birds were kept in before you buy, see the health of the stock, and your chicks don't have to go through the stress of being shipped through the mail. It's also a good way to make a local chicken friend, too.

I bought locally, and I'm vey glad I did.

 

[chicken boy sam]

Quote:
15 is a great number to start with. I started with 16, but 10 were roosters.

 

[pride&joy]

I picked up the first 9 pullets from the feed store (Ideal stock I was told) in Jan also got an order from my pet chicken 8 bantam pullets that turned out to have some roos in the bunch (no problem here except for the extra$ paid for sexing?) . Now I just received 3 separate Cackle order in the last 3 weeks over 120 birds in tot only two were lost in shipping and the others including turkeys are doing fine. I like the fact the Cackle has pictures of their stock and not drawings of one should look like.

As far as how many is enough or too much, if you have the space to keep the birds happy (not crowded) them it does not matter with how many you start b/c you will finish over run by chickens reading and posting in this forum…… That’s right I said it chicken addicted . enjoy ha

 

[Kiwibird]

If possible, start with only two or three chickens. This is because getting chickens is fun, and you will want to do it again. You will have a little space left to get another two or three next year.

(People who can deal with delayed gratification do better in life, they tell us. The rest get the next two or three chickens next week, rather than next year. Or even later today...)

 

[Willow's Meadow]

We have a pretty big barn in the back. We recently moved and there is a nice barn in the back. It has a cement floor and electricity. I'm planning on using that for the coop. I don't have a run yet, I want to free range them but I'm going to have a run to so there not always free ranging. So I hve the coop space for 15 chickens. I should post some pictures of the barn once I figure that out. hehe!

 

[GermanChick]

I just got my first ever chicks from Cackle last Monday. I thought about the number to order a long time because being realistic we only need 7 or 8 hens to get the eggs that we want. But to cover any losses, shipping, illness and later in the summer free ranging, I went for the 15 minimum order. Cackle is the closest hatchery and I really wanted to reduce shipping stress for the chicks. I considered My pet chicken for a while but I rather have a shorter shipping distance and have a couple more chicks, just in case....... If all make it through the summer then we might sell 6 later on craigslist .....
So far all are doing great !!!!!!!

 

[fastpat]

I bought 25 from McMurray Hatchery, they sent 27 all of which are doing well so far. Many hatcheries won't ship less than 25 chicks, so that they keep each other warm, McMurray is one of those. If I wanted less than 25 I would have ordered through my local Feed & Seed Store, who I spoke with. My chicks would have arrived about two weeks later than I wanted, so that was also an issue. My chicks hatched on a Saturday or Sunday, I had them Monday morning.

 

[OHhappychicks]

As well from me

to the wonderful world of byc and chickens!! Everyone has all around great advice here. I think you just need to think of the space you have for happy, healthy chickens. In my instance, about 2 yrs ago, I got a wild hare to get some chickens, just enough for my husband, myself, and for my grown children to have a few eggs. I thought 10-12 would be fine. Well I watched a Martha Stewart program on her chickens, and she purchases hers from Murray McMurray, (Not that you have to do everything Martha does!

) but since I didn't know ANYTHING about chickens, I decided to look at their website, and researched the ones I thought were good layers and bought some porcelaine bantams that I thought looked adorable, (and they are!

). Had to purchase 25, plus MM adds a rare breed chick to your order for free. My happened to be a little cochin rooster that we absolutly loved, but early last summer, we lost him.

Out of the 25 we ordered, only 4 were roosters. We kept the little cochin rooster and put the others in the freezer

We are down to 14 right now, due to a couple of dog incidents, a hawk (we think) and natural causes. Picked up 6 bantams from tsc last saturday, lost one. Have 16 ordered from Mt. Heathly because I live close enough to go pick them up and I didn't have to order 25. I really wanted to order from MMc, but didn't want another 25. They were healthy and happy and beautiful. Will see what I get from Mt H. Hope I don't have all roos from TSC!
Have lots of fun with whatever you decide!

Also, I bought the book Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens and read it and I still refer to it often. I know there is Raising Chickens for Dummies and probably lots of other books out there. I just read up on the care, facilities that baby chicks needed. So far, they are happy and healthy.

 

[gumamelachick]

Hi, and welcome! I, too, am new to chicken keeping and this site has been a great resource.

Definitely check local ordinances. I live in the suburbs and we're limited to 6 chickens... didn't know about that until after the chicks were ordered (from MPC- I

My Pet Chicken!!!). Wanted to start small and under the neighbor's radar with 3, ordered 5. Then, went to my local feed store to pick up some crumbles and ended up with 4 more! They're with me now but will be moved into a (soon to be built) coop at my mom's house.

My Pet Chicken is great for small orders. I ordered them for egg production for me, my husband, and all my baking endeavors. All my girls

(hope they're girls) are beautiful, happy and healthy. And they arrived from Connecticut to California in one day! Though if I had enough space, I probably would have ordered 25.... or more. I wish I wasn't so limited. I guess that's why I'm starting the second flock at my mom's.

Here are the girls in ther new run- a little over 4 weeks old. These are the ones from MPC.