Why don't you like hatchery chickens?

[catterbug]

So I am new to this whole chicken world and I wanted to get some baby chickens. I am thinking about getting some from Myers Hatchery in OH because a few people have told me about them. However I am reading on this site that people don't seem to like hatcheries and that their chickens aren't that good. Why?

 

[canada-goose]

Hatchery birds are fine, they just don't make good show birds.

 

[yotetrapper]

Yeah, if you want a backyard flock they're fine. If you want to get into breeding and selling, or showing, you'd want breeder stock instead of hatchery.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

most do not like hatcheries because the bloodline/breeds are not pure, most have been mixed, think of a puppy mill not as extreme but close

 

[urbanfarmer101]

Last year I got 27 from Mc Murry hatachery. They all survived and look fantastic-no problems. They came in the mail. This year I didn't want as many (minimum order of 25) so I got some from the farm store. They were ordered from the Ohio hatachery. The too are very nice quality birds. I have had them two weeks and haven't had any trouble. If you want to establish show chickens or breeding lines, you might want to get picky. But if you just want regular old chicks, I wouldn't hesitate to get tem from a hatachery or store.

 

[My Little Sister's Farm]

I don't like hatchery "Ameraucanas" because they hatch the brown and pinkish eggs along with the green ones. If you're looking for a few backyard hens or a laying flock their great. I have lots of them and don't breed to any standard but my own for layers. But if you think you'd like to put some in the 4-H arena with your children, definitely purchase from a breed the best you can afford for them. If you're going to show yourself, same thing. I never showed chickens but I do know that what some hatcheries call a Buff O is really just a buff colored chicken, show standard body type and feathers are way different than a lot of hatchery breedings.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
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[Illia]

Why don't I like them? Because they're not what the breed standards call for. . . They're basically just another chicken, not a unique breed.

I mean, I've seen so many hatchery breeds that look alike, so then it makes you wonder - Why bother get them in particular, if they don't look as they should? For example - I got myself some Brahmas a year ago because I wanted a beautifully BIG chicken with nice feathered feet, beautiful Columbian color, nice personality. . . I wasn't going to show them, I just wanted a real Brahma. What did I get? A Sussex cross and three other Brahmas that were 5 pounds underweight, severely smudged with black that made them not even look Columbian, and certainly not big! My Marans are bigger than them. . . .

Another reason is that hatcheries have HUGE facilities full of birds that are very similar to factory farmed hens and meat chickens. Think of it - How else can they sell SO many chicks to SO many people? There's no paying attention to how breeding goes, there is rarely ever a renewal in stock which causes inbreeding and genetic problems, and their confinements are crowded and horrible. Seriously, have you ever seen the parent stock from a hatchery? No.

And last is breeding and selling methods - Take their "Ameraucanas" for example. They don't have them. Because they want chickens who just plain lay lots of eggs so they can sell lots of chicks, they crossbreed them to more common layer breeds to get a "better chicken," and create the Easter Egger. But of course they still tell their customers they have "purebred Ameraucanas." They do this with other purebreds, too - Take my Sussex/Brahma cross. . . Sold to me as a "purebred Brahma." This is another reason why hatchery birds cannot be shown or put as an example of a breed - They're not bred to the standard, they're bred just to lay lots of eggs. Have you ever seen real, show quality Buff Orpingtons? They are actually BUFF colored, and are actually poofy and beautiful. Have you ever seen the difference between hatchery Silver Laced Wyandottes and Show Quality Wyandottes? Who cares about the showing part - Hatchery Wyandottes aren't even "laced," most are more of a "silver spangled" look, are nowhere near as fluffy and poofy as they should be, and are not broody as Wyandottes should be. Hatcheries breed out broodiness. They want eggs.

Just my opinion.

 

[houndit]

There are several reasons some people do not like hatchery birds. Some people do not because some of them kill extra chicks. That does not bother me. I dislike them because a lot of them are not good quality. I am not interested in showing, but I would like to get nice layers. If you want quality birds you really have to order from a quality breeder. The hatcheries only job is to fill the box with chicks. They do not worry as much as the breeder does about how they will lay and grow. They are so far below standard that it is hard to breed them back to standard. That makes it harder to find good producing heritage birds, because so many people get them from hatcheries.

That said I have a lot of hatchery birds. They are usually pretty good for a small backyard flock owner.

 

[Tala]

Hatchery chicks are often mixed breeds that are sold/represented as purebreds.

Example: I have 2 Cuckoo Marans cockerels (from a person) and 2 Barred Rock cockerels (from TSC, from a hatchery) they look really similar, the best way to tell them apart is the color of their legs.
The Marans have light colored legs, and the Rocks SHOULD have yellow legs.
One of the "Barred Rocks" has muddyish legs that are neither all dark nor yellow......I wouldn't even give him away as a Barred Rock. I'd just tell everyone the truth - he's a mutt.

If I wanted more mutts.....well I'd hatch some of my own eggs