which hatchery

[tim1970]

Which hatchery is best for Cornish X? I see that mcmurray and cackle call their birds "Jumbo", but is it the same performance wise as Ideal or Welp? I really don't want to wait until early May when Mcmurray have more available, but I do want the largest and fastest growing

Thanks for the help


Tim

 

[skeeter]

there are only a hand full of places that the hatcheries get eggs from so they will be pretty much the same where every you go I would go with the cheapest and closest,your local feed store probally has the best deal on chicks right now

 

[GwenFarms]

I personally like Cackle. They have the healthiest birds I've ever seen anywhere.

 

[greyfields]

No matter which hatchery you buy your broilers from retail, the hatcheries are all getting their eggs from the same 2-3 breeders. So, just pick the one closest to you, since time and conditions during transit make the biggest difference.

 

[freeholdfarms]

Try Schlecht Hatchery, in Miles, Iowa.
http://www.schlechthatchery.com/
$0.80 for straight run

 

[GwenFarms]

Quote:
This company does have good prices, both on birds and shipping. Have you ordered from them before?

I like Cackles fry pan special for heavy breed cockrels, I don't think it can be beat, but this is a great price on some of the specific breeds, particularly the cornish cross if you like those.

 

[freeholdfarms]

We got their Cornish X last year, happy with the outcome.
As far as we have been able to tell the only difference between hatcheries is the price. We have done this three years.
This year we started with Red Rangers to try something different.

 

[GwenFarms]

I've raised birds all my life, no I'm not going to give away my age, and I have seen differences in hatcheries, but they tend to go through cycles. It really depends on who is supplying eggs sometimes I think. One thing I do know is that Cackle has superior birds this year. There is one, I'm sure you've heard that doesn' t have great birds, but usually does except they don't seem to do as well in shipping. I don't know if the hatchery has a more stressful packing process, or what, but I've noticed more shipping losses through them than with Cackle. I've never had a shipping loss with Cackle. The company that sells to my local TSC isn't having a steller year either. They are normally a so-so company, but their stock seems a little on the scrawny side this year.

Now in regards to the Cornish X it may not matter, I don't raise them and probably never will, but I remember reading on here that there is one,or two suppliers that supply to all of the hatcheries. If fact it may have been in this thread.

I usually just raise heavy cockrels for meat, but I've been reading up on freedom rangers and may give them a try.

 

[UncleHoot]

Quote:
I believe that it's really just Vantress and Hubbard, and there isn't much difference between the two.

McM also sells their "Cornish Roasters", which supposedly grow a bit slower, but I'm not sure I could tell the difference. I ended up with huge birds at 10 weeks.

I'm ordering from Meyer Hatchery (first time) this spring, simply because they have Welsummers, which are not available from very many hatcheries. But I'll be getting my meat birds from them too, and plan to raise them together all-in one big lump.

 

[Ang]

We have always gotten our CornishX from Cackle and they are reading in 8 weeks like clockwork. Big, meat birds that taste like heaven.