Hello all.
I am new to this forum, have been watching for a few days, and picked up some very useful information. I raised chickens (R.I. Reds) about 30 years ago when I first moved to Oregon and am looking at doing so again. The biggest problem I am faced with is the lack of local hatcheries. There is one but they only carry the old standards (R.I. Reds, White Leghorns, Gold sex-links, Black sex-links, Bared rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps). Absolutely nothing wrong with any of these but I would like to have some of the more unusual/rare breeds. I was wondering, since I have never done it, what people think about mail order chicks? Again, living in Oregon, most of the lager hatcheries are in the mid or eastern states. Wonder how they would make the trip to the west coast?
Thank you for any input.
Mail Order Chicks
Most of the larger hatcheries only ship on Monday so the chicks get to the destination faster. Also, most require a minimum of 25 chicks so they stay warm. I would recommend www.meyerhatchery.com or www.mcmurryhatchery.com but there are others and depending on which breed(s) you want will determine who you buy from
Megan
dlhumphrey, I was under the impression that Phinney Hatchery in Walla Walla sells a few more breeds than what you just wrote. Wyandottes in both Gold & Silver Laced, Ameraucanas in Wheaton & Partridge. I live close to you there and if you can't get decent chicks at the local feed stores ... maybe call the Feed Stores in Pendleton. They likely have several more breeds coming in weekly as of late February. There ought to be 1 feed store or Co-Op in Harris County bringing in a new day old chick variety every week. Many of the feed stores will accommodate customers by bringing in a special order of a cross section of day old chicks if you pay for them in advance. The Co-Op here in Yakima, WA ..... brings in 2-4 different breeds of day old chicks purchased from McMurray, Ideal & Phinney, Cackle; etc .... in quantities ranging from 25 to 250 every week beginning in late February through mid-June.
Chickenrancher
Thanks for the reply. I think I better do a little more homework. As Photographer pointed out there are several feed stores in the area that get chicks early in the year. Probably better check with them before I mail order.
Photographer,
The ones I listed are the ones that Phinney's show on their 2007 price list. They may have more, just not listed. I can check with them again. They do list others on their order blank, but they ship direct from Texas. Never really thought about Pendleton.
Thank you
DL, I live in Alaska and have ordered from Murray McMurray and have saved their catalogues since the 70's. I go through the catalogue at all times of year, just looking at the pictures and reading about each breed. I've had most of the varieties, even banties, still have both, so for more than 40 years I've had day-old chicks shipped to Alaska and had only one bad experience and that was a stupid postal worker that left peeping chicks outside on a loading dock in Alaska (what a dumber) and of course they all died. I called MM and they replaced every chick exactly without anything but an apology and of course grief for a stupid act. The trick is to order early, but choose your shipping date to coincide with weather that will give you time to brood them inside warm and they are feathered enough for warm weather early. Of course you would order delivery earlier than me. I go for end of March to May 1st. If you want both banties and standard sizes to run in the same pen you order the banties 2 weeks earlier than the standard and then they are the same size when you put them together. And the little banties lord it over the bigger chickens well into adulthood. I like the paper catalogue for pouring over all the time. I've looked on line and that's fine, but the catalogue is beautiful.
Carol
Carol, you sound like me...or me like you...lol! I just recently got my first MM catalog, and have been taking it everywhere in the house I go. I ordered from Welp Hatchery last year, and didn't have a problem, but I would like to try Murray McMurray. I just found my catalog from Welp's yesterday, so now I have both to ooh and ahh over, lol! I think I have my order figured out, but I just can't stop looking....
Dawn
Dawn, well, just look at your name! Don't those Brahmas, and Cochins look beautiful? When I get my mix of chicks (because I like one of each and a beautiful flock and every hen lays an egg, right?) and sit there and match chicks to descriptions in the catalogue, what fun... Carol
I'm the same way with diversity, lol! My mil saw my chickens for the first time this summer, and said, "Well, at least you got some pretty ones" I guess she was used to just white layers when she was younger. I told her I had some of those too; I think my white rocks are pretty, and they have such a sweet eye.
I have buff and light Brahmas, Ameracaunas, golden spangled Hamburgs, white Rocks, two buff hens (rock maybe?) and one single speckled sussex hen. I'm ordering some more light Brahmas, 2 dark brahmas, some more Ameracauna pullets, and I'm going to try 3 NH reds, a few buff laced Polish, and a few salmon Favorelles, and some buff, blue, and 1 silver laced Cochin. Then I will surely have some colors, lol!
Beauti, you're going to be in the eggs with the 3 new hampshire reds, they are my best egg layers up here in Alaska. And the buff laced polish are one of the most beautiful chickens there are. Remember that the blue cochin may not be blue, but black and white or black or white. I'm sure you've read about the "blue gene", to be sure to get one you have to order at least 5 or more, but you might get lucky on the first try, they are truely gorgeous! Of course you have to have blue eggs from the araucanas, LOL I've never left them off of an order.
Carol
Carol-yeah, I figured the reds would be good layers. And the buff laced polish, I just fell in love with them from their picture, lol! I'm hoping they are pretty mild, I love the mild ones :) My little hamburgs on the other hand....let's just say I've ordered them once, and there will be no more once they are gone, lol!
I've sort of read up on the blue; I think I had 5 on my order at first, but then dropped down to 4, and added 1 silver laced Cochin....wonder if I should bump it up again, hee! One of these days I'm going to submit my order, and there will be no more changing. I get myself in trouble coming here and reading about different chickens, and searching different breeds online. :) Oh, I just love my Ameracaunas, and I haven't even gotten any eggs out of them yet (ordered them late last summer...July I think) they are definitely on my list.
So have you submitted your order yet Carol? Now that I'm done jabbering, hee!
Beauti, I have a thread you might want to read. At least the first one.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/779992/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796198/#new
I will probably not be ordering this year, but I love my chickens, Ill tell you of some of mine, later.
Carol
Do all Cochins have the blue egg gene or just the blue Cochin? I knew about Araucana and Ameraucana but I thought they were the only two true breeds with the blue egg gene. Are there others??? Not counting Easter Eggers.
No, no no , not blue eggs, that's just the Ameraucanas for the eggs. I meant the blue color of the chicken, Cochins and Andalusians and Blue Silkies are the only ones I'm familiar with at this time, but you know breeders, they will have blue everything if they can, it's such a beautiful color.
Carol
I will check those links out Carol, as soon as I can think past my screaming son, lol!
Sorry I misunderstood, I didn't think there were other chickens with the blue egg gene. I know that the Ameraucana has a blue and a silver (feather color that is).
Megan
Carol, I have blue Ameraucana & Orpington, have had NJ Giants ..... and yes Blue colored chickens can be had in MANY many, many breeds. Somewhere soon you'll finds a blue colored Marans and if my information is correct ...... Marans are still not even an APA accepted or recognized breed .... just a bunch of crazy chicken folks with chickens that lay a reputedly darker egg than most Barred Rocks do. LOL ... Kelly
Why are you always bashing marans? No one else on this board puts down chickens as much as you. Is there a all game fowl board for you?
I LOVE my marans! I am still getting 4 to 5 xlarge or bigger eggs per day, they are beautiful robust hens who are not only friendly but very comical. I would recommend them to anyone.
You might think you know everything about every chicken breed, I say it depends on their lineage and the way they are raised (hands on with great food makes a big difference in my opinion)
I plan on raising as many different types of chickens as possible and forming my own opinions of them.
dlhumphrey, if you don't find what you want check uot www.albc-usa.org
as a member they will hook you up direct with breeders of rare & endangered anitiquity or heritage breeds.
also, www.xtremegamebirds.com has been an excellent hatchery & breeds some og their own
when selecting a breed, consider the heat in the summer, not just your cold wet winters...
btw, speaking of BLUE, i have the most beautiful [albeit small] BLUE WHEATENS, they are OEGs.
i need to get a picture of them... anyhow they lay cream colored eggs.
we want some turkens, they have the blue egg gene [anythging with a wild game pheasant ancestry could], & i hear there is a new breed now accepted that resulted from as cross between the turken [naked neck] & silkies!!! imagine a bantam blue egg!!!
tf
LoraK, Always is an awful lot and I do not bash the chicken breeds from France. I absolutle love the Salmon Favorelles. I can spell it out briefly my thoughts about your compaint. The chickens from Marans, France are not a breed really. The reason is they lack standard characteristics that are reliably passed from generation to generation. The dark brown gene being the chief problem. There has been for many years a clamoring for dark egg laying breeds but at the same time there has been an all too obvious decline (to those who are wanting to find out) in the true original characteristics of the barred chicken that came from the port town of Marans in France. The rampant spread (read greed of backyard breeders) of new colors has made it even worse. If a chicken that is mainly known for dark eggs lays a slightly darker egg than a Barred Rock ...... what do you call it? There are a few reliable and APA recognized breeds of dark egg layers (Barnevelders & Welsumers; etc.). Marans are not in that select group of dark egg layers even though many folks own them ..... it is not really a breed. Buy a white or black or BBR reputed Marans and see what you get. Chances are extremely high what you won't get is a reliable group of dark brown egg laying hens. Tough for the experts to give them the approval so many wish to gain. Some day perhaps .... but its an uphill battle as long as the breed keeps adding more colors. my 2 cents BTW.. I had them and found they were basically horses (hayburners) ..... more of slow growth meat bird than an egg layer which is another problem. Mine were sweet natured hens but I like the Orpington better because they lay at least 1-2 more eggs a week on average plus 1 size up the chart.
You do bash marans and if I had less of a life I would go back and count the times you did. Never did I see or say anything about show chickens or even recognized maran breeds I was talking about the maran chicken as a egg laying chicken. As far as I am concerned they are a great chicken and I plan to add more gals this spring. I am very happy with 4-5 eggs a day from 6 hens, which are much darker than any eggs I have seen.
LoraK, I'm backing out of this thread. I can be found elswhere. I would get Marans if I were still in the hobby, but alas, I am terminal and your lack of acceptance of fact and opinion is not worth the few remaining days of my life. The rest of you, nice talking with you,
Carol
rotfl, first of all the only chickens that lay blue eggs are ee, americanas and auracanas and sometimes polish(i have had polish frizzles who did and also came from blue eggs as well). no turkens do not lay blue eggs only light tan like an ivory color sometimes a little darker. i have raised them in standard, bantam and crosses and that is the first i have ever heard of a blue egg from either a turken or a silkie,lol.
egg color has nothing to do with showing at all in any way. showing has everything to do with the look, quality, breeding, ect of the bird it's self and how good of stock the judge is seeing. i beg to differ with a maron not being showable for 1 because i have seen them at every show i have shown and not shown at but also because even if it is not a recognized breed or color it still can be shown in an all other breeds class or they can special make a class for it.
take for instace the one above mentioned as a turken x silkie that's called a showgirl i not only raise a flock of them but also show them. there is no class for them and they will not enter them in a bantam feather leg all other class because so many want the breed to be recognized which as of yet the aba has not accepted it. so instead they place them as section 811 bantam feather leg showgirls, they make the class for them. that is how new breeds get shown so people know what they are and eventually get excepted into the standard of perfection. that is my goal with my showgirls and me and my partner breeder are stiveing so hard to get to. we are now on F12 sg's. most are not past generation 6 yet with them and they are not as new as most people think they have been around for some time now.
showgirls lay white and ivory eggs also and ya can't tell them from a silkie egg they look identical. here is a pic of some of my show winners they have always taken first for the girl on the right, 1st for the boy in the middle and 2nd for the boy on left in all their shows as well as some of my others. everyone shown has gotten 1st and 2nd places. i have them in white, partridge, splash, blue splash, calico, gray and buff so far.
here's a few pics for those that haven't seen the breed yet. i'll pop up a baby pic too they are so neet to see and a pic of one of the entry tags and ribbon to show ya that although not a recognized breed a showgirl still can be show same way a maron can be also.
hope these things help answer some of the questions,
silkie
a baby partridge in the brooder.
to answer the origion question there is nothing wrong with ordering from hatcheries just watch when is the best time for weather beause they get so cold when traveling. i have ordered from mc murray and never lost anything and had great looking stock but i have seen others post they had off colored birds and such or advertised as pures and where really crosses. i personally have never seen it. i didn't like haveing to order 25 or more chicks at a time to only get what small selections of each breed i wanted.
ideal from tx to pa we lost a few but they replaced them and we could small order that was a huge plus there. if we didn't order enough they send 9 warmth chicks which where always rir males for some reason but usuallay 1-3 ended up pullets. my only real complaint with them is d'uccles are to weak especially the males and i had gotten a polish from them that had crook neck but the others where all fine.
can't think of the name off hand but one in ohio we ordered off of the babies where week and so sad looking. lost alot of them. couldn't tell who was what breed till like 15 weeks or older almost all looked like mutts will never buy from there again, stock was aweful. our local feed stores are like yours all basics. my birds are all considered exhatics here. i buy or trade hatching eggs to get mine in or have adult birds shipped in usually. then there is also eggbid, ebay and things like that to get them in also.
silkie
Thanks Silkie, I am going to start showing this coming year and bring my marans and silkies. Your showgirls are beautiful!
LoraK, Just because something is written negatively about a chicken ..... it is not a personal attack on any reader. It is also not required that everything be written to be complimentary of whatever breed(s). There are bad traits and those bad things are equally as important as the nice things for contributors to write. It may be that the negative things are what help the forum members to make choices and decisions better. The chickens or plants sure don't care. People share opinions .... you do not need to feel insulted by what others write or feel, especially when you're not the subject. Life is too short to get worked up emotionally about peoples opinions .... especially so on a forum where you're so removed. We're all terminal and in that way dear Carol's advise is precious. Regrettably she will be leaving sooner than some. I loved my Marans when I had them. Now I don't so much. My suggestion is to lighten up and enjoy the nice comments and consider the negative thoughts. You might not be surprised how many people just hate the idea of others having Game Fowl chickens ..... as if owning them means you are involved in the cruelty to animals. I used to think like that till some of them wandered into my yard. Now I adore them for what they are and I am careful as well about what they can do. Gaining a better understanding of anything is part of life. Merry X-mas &Happy New Year.
A last note
http://www.marans.co.uk/
Carol
your welcome would love to see pics of your babies sometime and thrilled to hear someone else is wanting to get into showing. i show with my hubby and 5 kid's it's a blast to see that our hard work has paid off and so much fun to do together as a family.
Heres my black hen when she was about 13 wks old and I have a good looking partridge. I am going to get a some turken next year I LOVE the look of one crossed with a guinea. http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Guineas/BRKGuinHybrid.html
i love your black girl i hope my black sizzle turns out as black as her she is beautiful!! i was thinking of starting up a small flock of blacks this spring to work on some showgirls and sizzles but i only have the one and noone else here has them that color even in silkies.
omg that is just awesome,lol!! i have heard guineas could cross with chickens but i have only ever seen one at the petting zoo this summer at one of the fairs(can't remember what mix she was now), that was a treat to see, thanks for sharing and the pea guineas are gorgous too!!!