Why so long for shipment??

[2 Beauts]

I placed my order for 5 RIR, 4 Buff Orpingtons, 4 White Rock and 2 Marans on 3/17 with My Pet Chicken. I called them on 3/20 to confirm that they saw the note Not to ship them before 3/28 because we sould be out of town that week. They told me the Marans could be an issue. I told them to sub 1 BO and 1 White Rock and ship anyway. I got an e-mail today saying they're not shipping until 4/28. I e-mailed them back and asked why it would take so long.

Does anyone have any guesses as to why it would take 6 weeks to get them? I'm just a little frustrated.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Because that's when they next expect to have eggs to set. This time of year is also probably the busiest for chick orders and shipping chicks.

 

[CUDA]

Yep, and they need to set your whole order so they hatch at the same time. Don't worry, it is common with hatcheries, and they are just trying to make sure your chicks arrive as healthy as possible.

 

[doodledoo]

I ordered from a different hatchery and mine got delayed 3 times so I know what you are going through! The waiting is the hardest - now I am waiting on eggs to hatch!

 

[Mrs MIA]

If it's a small hatchery, and they have their own breeder flock, it could be that they're not getting many eggs. One place I talked to said that the breed I was interested in was broody right now, and they just weren't getting the eggs they needed to hatch chicks, so they are on backorder/waiting list. I'm learning a HUGE lesson in patience this year...

 

[ridgefire]

Its the hatcheries busiest time of the year. I've had to wait almost a month just for a hatch date. But now I have less than a week hoping all the eggs hatch as expected so I don't get delayed.

 

[2 Beauts]

It's my own fault really. Being new to chickens, I just thought that since it took 3 weeks for an egg to hatch, that my shipment would be about 4 weeks out. So, when I found out how long it was really going to take, I was disappointed. MPC emailed me back, seems the RIR's pushed it out by a week. : ) It wasn't the Marans at all!

Thanks for everyone's input!