Comments regarding Murray McMurray Hatchery

On March 28, 2009 the special assortment bargain package for day old chicks arrived. They arrived on Sat morining and the Post Office called to pick them up. It was snowing and blizzard like that day. The birds were alive. It was two hours before they were finally setup at home. Within a few hours we had lost 3 birds and over the next few days we were down to 11 of 25. I am not blaming McMurray or the Post Office for my loss---it was just circumstances--too cold and too much delay in getting them to proper temps.

The day after I placed them in a coop, a pack of dogs broke into the pen and now I'm down to 3 birds.

I also ordered the minimum ring neck pheasant package and it arrived on March 31, 2009. Still cold and snowing----all arrived alive. A friend of mine who has successfully raised pheasants offered to take care of them for me. Again it was cold and 2 hours of travel time to get home. The next day the losses started--by the end of the week only 2 birds survived. Again, there is no blame, just circumstances.

I am placing another order today for more birds--I will be better prepared and now that the daily temps are in the mid 70's, we'll have better success.

Anyone know where I can get ostrich chicks?

I placed an order March of '09 and got the call from my PO on a Monday morning. MM had a real run on chicks this spring so I had to fill up my order with many breeds I didn't even want. One of the 'fillers' were Red Leghorns. They were out of so many breeds that I had to take 8 of these RL's. Right off the bat, one of the 8 was down in the shipping box and it didn't live for an hour after it was placed in the brooder. I called right away to inform MM that I had lost the one and they told me to wait 48 hrs and give a total of losses. I informed them that the rest appeared OK but the RL's did seem more listless than the others.

Now for the people on here that 'have never had a problem' and acting like those of us that got chicks that died were too stupid to show the chicks to food and water; I am in my 40's, have had animals of many different species all my life, I Work with animals in my career and have for the last 27 YEARS, so for you who posted comments assuming those of us who lost birds are idiots, all I can say is that you need to go through this yourself to fully experience what it feels like to get birds that fail to thrive NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO! In the next 24 hours ALL of the RL's slowly gave up, laid down and died!

My Buff Minorcas, which I also didn't want, were happy, lively and thriving, eating and drinking and climbing all over the RL's who had to remain in the brooder for heat even though they were obviously dying, I didn't want to compound the suffering by removing them from the comfort of the heat lamp.

My Silver Gray Dorkings ALSO did Great! Stayed lively and happy, not near as hyper as the BM's but very happy and thriving. My Blue Cochins did great for two but one did try to die but I caught it in time and helped him to remember to eat. My Frizzles were doing great on night two, only for me to wake and find 2 dead and one dying! 2 others were doing great. I force fed the one who was trying to die and he lived in spite of himself but he is way behind in feather development from the two thrivers and I thought he may even have some defect in his crop. Who knows, he is alive today and nearing 2 weeks so I am sure he will be fine if he doesn't develop the 2 week disease.

Because they force you to take 25 birds whether you need them or not, it kind of forces you to go into the chicken selling business and to read that comment about the "2 weeks and dead" disease is very nerve racking and I Hope they figured out where that was coming from and were clear of the problem this year. I would not want people coming back to me telling me their chicks died.

Anyway, the remedy that MM wanted to give me was to ship out new chicks immediately. After having a brooder full of babies lined up in every stage of death, I just couldn't deal with more chicks and I felt that the survivors had been thru enough stress and that I would not invade them with either 25 more chicks or more dying chicks.

My big problem with MM is that IF I want to fill the order with more breeds that I would like to try, they will charge me full shipping! Otherwise, they will send males that I will either have to cull or to hold onto until I can find takers for them. I don't want to see another dead chick for as long as I live.

I also had a sneaking suspicion that since the birds dropped off by BREEDS instead of just run of the mill, I theorized that maybe it depended just where in the hatch they were born as opposed to the shipping time. I wondered if the RL's had been born very late, just before shipment, or else very early and had to wait longer than the rest to get to food and water. Of course MM would not say when each breed had hatched opposed to the other breeds.

So since I had 14 dead bodies, I can either get 11 roosters or if I want the extra breeds that I want, then I have to pay all shipping. To me, this is not fair since I paid shipping already for birds who had no life to ship. Why should I have to take birds that I may have to cull after experiencing that much loss already?

I had a great experience with this hatchery. This is my first time ordering, so I have nothing to compare it to, but there hasn't been a single hiccup so I don't know if a comparison would be warranted. The birds arrive on time, were healthy and active, and they sent me two extra birds in case any were lost in shipment. The only question now will be how accurate was the sexing? I ordered 25 female pullets; I'm crossing my fingers there isn't a rooster in there, but they did say sexing was 90-95% accurate.

Received 51 rainbow layers yesterday. I didnt loose and of the babies in shipping.
They were in very good condition and started drinking water and eating as soon as i showed them the water and food.
36 hours later no babies lost they seem to be getting more active everytime I check on them.
The only bad thing I would have to say is the policy of shipping on saturdays, lucky for me the postmaster called me Sunday morning to tell me the package had arrived and would wait for me to pick them up.
All in all I have a very good experiance and will order from McMurray again.

This was my first ever hatchery order. I ordered 25 of the brown assorted layer pullets and 25 of the ornamental layer pullets. They arrived a few days late but I had received a phone message telling me that would be happening due to some low hatch rates, and advising me if I had a problem with it to call them. I didn't have a problem with it. I chose McMurray partly because they are in Iowa and I knew the chicks would have a short trip. The label on the package said they were hatched on Friday evening and the post office downtown called me Saturday to pick them up. They were all healthy and well, and it is now 1 week later and they are all still healthy and well. There are quite a few really cute Polish in the ornamental mix. There were lots of birds in the mix. I am not intending to show birds, but I do want them for eggs. I think the chicks I received are excellent and seemed very healthy and all are developing well and feathering well. No splayed legs or bad feet or any other sort of issues. I am very pleased.

We received our first shipment on Feb 10. There were 2 boxes for chicks coming one was meat chicks and the other was my children's Christmas presents that they had been waiting on. The chicks were 4 days old by the time they got to us, it was a very cold weekend, and shipping took a day extra (not McM fault). Of course one whole box was dead...the kids. Only a couple died from the meat chicks I called McM right away and they apologized and said they would send another order of chicks the following Monday. The kids were very excited again and happy that it was only going to be a week (after waiting months since Christmas).
The new chicks arrived with only one died in the box. We had 1 WC Polish, 3 Americana, 8 Red Star, and 1 Cochin die within the first 48 hrs out of over 40 chicks. We called and they shipped more out 2 wks later + some Red Star roosters to keep them warm.
Now our meat chickens are growing like weeds (of course), what's left of the second batch is very healthy, and the third batch got here today. We have lost 5, but it was cold again.

The customer service has always been absolutely great and they always are caring with the losses. I have to tell you after the first shipment I had a lot of anxiety about more dying, McM made me feel better. Even when they had to add roosters for warmth they used a breed we had.

Now we have had quite a bit of chicks in our time, so we know how to take care of them...no shoe boxes here. I think when we order again it will be later in spring so they will travel better.

Thanks for your services McM

Wow.. looking over these negative responses seems as if most of the negative reviews have been posted by either inexperienced people or folks that have thier feathers in a ruffle about showbirds...
1st you MUST be PRESENT and ATTEND to your chicks or they'll die! dip thier beaks ASAP!
keep them COZY but NOT TOO HOT...
in short READ the FREE instructions available online at murraymcmurray's site, and familiarize yourself with what you'll need to do. Don't expect to pick up a box of chicks at the PO, put 'em in a box in the garage with some cornmeal and a waterbowl and have great success raising your birds. It's not difficult but attention is required. I've had nothing but the best experiences with this hatchery, I raise a variety of meat chickens every year, and I've gotten some BEAUTIFUL birds here!

On Feburaby the 2nd we recived our first order of baby chicks from M&M. Was very happy and pleased to find all birds alive upon arrive. In the first 48 hours I lost 11 chicks and since has lost another 10 chicks. The little blue grayish ones seem the weakest and die first. I have called M&M and they agreed to replace the 11 birds that I had lost within the first 48 hours. They replaced them with another 17 chicks I recived on the 9th of February didnt get them till almost 5 pm. Because M&M had put 2 postal tags on the box 1 for me and the other for a lady in new york. Out of those 17 as of today the 11th of Febuary only 5 are alive. M&M has agreed to refund me the price of the few that died.Today the 11th of Febuary I recived a phone call from my post office to come pick up a box of chicks and they also informed me that they had peeked in the box and they were all dead. When I picked them up again the box had 2 postal tags on it 1 for me the other for the lady in new york. I called M&M to let them know about the ones of mine that died and of the ladys in New York that were all died. Asked them if they wanted me to ship them back to them and I was told to dispose of them. I didnt want a refund I want healthy chicks in the first place. I have bought 60 chicks this year from local backyard hatcherys with the loss of 2 chicks the other 58 are now on the ground very beautiful and healthy. In the future I will order from other companys, as my family and I decided that with todays economy that we need to go back to raising our own meat and veggies. P.S I found coustomer service to be un caring that so many chicks died and that 2 customers did not recieve what they should have due to neglegence.

i am shocked at the amount of negative comments in here about McMurray Hatcheries. I have had nothing but the best experience with them. I order from them every year and will be ordering again this year. My chicks have always been very lively when they arrive. One time a chick died shortly after being delivered and I was reimbursed immediately. I ordered female chicks and ended up with a couple roosters and, again, I was promptly reimbursed. I will always order my chicks from McMurray.

I always raise my own broilers and order about 30 chicks every year. They have always arrived alive and healthy. You must dip their beaks in sugar water immediately upon arrival. I will say I have also ordered many different breeds for my son's 4H projects. They aren't always grand prize winners - but he has won four grand champion and two supreme grand champion awards with McMurray birds. One more note - I always place my order for arrival when the weather is temperate here in zone 5 Michigan.

ok in my opinion, this hatchery is great for buying layers and/or yard ornaments !! i have bought many many chicks from here but only as layers. Please do not buy birds from here for showing or a 4-h project. These are NOT anything close to show quality birds. I breed SHOW quality silkies,japanese bantams,buff brahmas, and rosecombs and have had chickens since i was 2 years old. The birds that they breed have very poor blood lines and i would definately Not recomend them for show!!! Also my dad bought a few cornish/rock crosses for meat 13/20 of the birds died of typhoid by the time of slaghter!!! However, i do recommend the birds for layers but , please pay the x-tra $.14 each for the 2 shots to get them vaccanated. If you get them vaccanated these 2 diseases wont't happen.( maraks and typhoid) One last thing is i have NEVER received a dead chick from murray mcmurray!

Let me say that I have never ordered poultry from McMurray. I have, however, ordered supplies and organic feed and have always found them to deliver promptly, providing outstanding products. I would reccomend their organic feeds to anyone.

I operate a small, faith based, poultry concern - as a part of our ministry we teach youngsters from many local Churches on all aspects of our farming operation whilst providing good stewardship of our land and birds following sound Biblical principles.
Late last year we ordered 300 baby chicks from McMurray Hatchery. It was a cold day in November when they arrived - most of them dead or dying. It was a horrible experience for our young students. After contacting McMurray it was decided upon to re-send the birds, this time spread over three shipments over 4 or 5 months (to avoid further deaths from the cold). Each shipment resulted in several bird fatalities, so much so, that both the Postmaster and I resorted to taking pictures immediately upon arrival. On the last shipment once again many birds were dead...it appears that they (McMurray Hatcheries) filled the box with anything and everything they could lay their hands on....roosters, white leghorns, bantams everything in fact - except what we had specifically ordered- and already paid for (belps). To sum it all up the whole saga ended with us receiving just 249 live birds (of which over 50 turned out to be roosters, or bantams or an assortment of white chickens (white egg layers). I tried, several times, to resolve our issues with McMurray Hatcheries and they finally sent me a curt email stating "because you emailed us instead of calling us you didn't make your claim in a timely fashion"....bear in mind that with our time difference (I'm in northern California) every time I called them they had closed for the day AND THEY DON'T GIVE YOU AN OPTION TO LEAVE A MESSAGE...my only recourse then was to simply email them (the last time I heard emails were legally considered the same as telephone calls). I feel that McMurray took advantage of us knowing that, again due to our Christian beliefs, we cannot sue and also (incorrectly) thinking we wouldn't complain. I believe that they treated us very shabbily and, I am sorry to say, based on the poor customer service that I experienced, I cannot recommend this company.

I have ordered many times for McMurray and have always had great experiences, although I have lost a few chicks along the way. However, the staff at McMurray has always been very helpful and very friendly. My last order was for package deal of 'rainbow layers' and we received very healthy chicks, with a few extra added to our order by the hatchery. I highly recomend McMurray Hatchery and also Townline Hatchery in Michigan. We have been very happy with both.

ALL of our chickens have come from Murray McMurray and we've had nothing but positive experiences with them. All the chicks and ducks arrived in great condition! We've got lovely eggs from them and beautiful chickens.

If you want cross bred chickens then order from McMurray. I ordered 25 Light Brahma pullets a year ago. Upon opening the box to check out my new chicks. Right off the bat I noticed there was something not right about these very dark mostly black chicks. NOT Light Brahmas. We called and emailed pictures of these so called light brahmas. McMurray said they don't have any cross breeds and said my pictures were to dark to really tell. Which was not true. They ended up sending us 25 more and once again little dark chicks is what I recieved.

Now I'm stuck with year old hens that are lightly feather legged, speckled all over, some even have dark legs(Light Brahmas have yellow legs). I ordered these chicks for my kids to show in 4-H, so you can imagine the disappointment that they went threw. There is no way I could enter ANY of these birds in a show. I can't even sell them as light brahmas, because all they are is a light brahma CROSS.

I recently sent another email with pictures of what they look like today. I wrote in my email that I don't want a refund or more chicks. I just wanted them to respond to me and tell me what these birds are crossed with or admit that they have awful breeding stock. It's been months since I sent that email and you guessed it NO RESPONSE.

I even sent pictures to different Brahma Breeders of show quality birds and they all responded and said my birds have to be a crossbreed (to much black, tail carriage is all wrong, leg color is wrong and body lines are wrong) and to show them in a utility class which is a crossbreed class. I didn't pay for these over priced birds to show in a utility class.

As you can tell I'm very frustrated with all this. Needless to say I will NEVER order from Murray McMurray again.

I will say one thing, the chicks did arrive alive and healthy. The free exotic ended up being a Buff Cochin and he was beautiful and true to breed.

I ordered twenty-five chicks from McMurray Hatchery about a month ago. Five Black Giants, and twenty Australorps, all females. They were suppose to arrive Monday or Tuesday, because we had to wait for some of them to hatch, and I got a call yesterday saying they were here! They traveled through American Airlines and arrived the same day they left the hatchery!! My family was surprised at how fast they got here! My dad and mom had to drive an hour away to get them at an airport, because we didn't want to wait another day for them to be driven to where we live.

Once they were at our house, I opened the box they came in and saw that all of them were alive! I immeadiately put them in the large box we picked out, and put a light on them and gave them chick starter and water. We got the twenty-five we ordered, plus they gave us an extra Australorp, in case some died, and a rare exotic chick. I didn't even have to show them where the water was, or how to eat. All of them drank a lot of water, then ate their little hearts out without a problem! I was surprised!

I heard that some chicks can die within the first twenty-four hours you have them, so I'm going to keep an eye on that. I've also heard that, even though I ordered all females, some of them could be males. So I'll just have to pray that a good sum of them are females...if not all of them.

Thank you McMurray Hatchery!! This is my first time ordering chicks from out of state and I'm glad to start off with professionals!

P.S: One downfall though. I wish I knew what breed the rare exotic chick is.

Every Time I have ordered from Mcmurray Hatchery they have always messed up some way. My frist time they sent dead chicks and one who be was crossed over the other side (he was my favorit he sat on my shoulder he died in a bad storm).The second time I ordered blue silkies they turned buff. So I called back and they sent me more (they were blue this time) 2 were black the only promblem is they sent the blue ones dead and one was sick so I just gave up.
My favorit hatchery is DUNLAP HATCHERY
DUNLAPHATCHERY.NET They are very nice and sent me real healthy brids( gave me 5 free ordered 55 they sent 50 extras they were all alive till about october and the nebories dog got in the pen)

I have nothing but GREAT stuff to say about Mcmurray hatchery! They sent me 4 more chicks than I ordered and they were all in healthy shape and on time. Laying like crazy today. I buy all of my supplies from them and get very good service.
It is IMPORTANT to note that when a person buys chicks through the mail they choose a ship date. YOU MUST BE READY AT THE DOOR WITH A PLAN FOR THEM. I always have antibiotics and quick chick ready for them. YOU MUST TEACH THEM TO DRINK AND EAT, you are the new moms! Please do not blame the hatchery.
Dip the beeks of the chicks in water, and with your fingers pick at the starter chick feed and teach them how to eat. My first delivery of chicks from the hatchery has brought me atleast 40 more chicks from hatched eggs on our farm.
Save your really negative comments for the nurseries that send you dead plants.

I received my thenty-five chicks, plus one exotic. Three were deceased when I received them, I also lost three within the next twenty four hours. All the rest are doing excellent. There was no pasting during shipment. Your personell was very professional on the phone, and gave me credit for those that were lost. I'am very happy with the chicks and the service. I will be ordering more soon. Thanks.

We have been ordering large amounts of chicks for years from McMurray Hatchery, and normally would not have a problem, besides the fact that we would occasionally get a bird that we could not identify, and seemed to be a mixed breed, but we bought our birds for show. This would mostly happen if we would purchase the "package" type of deals from the hatchery...go figure. Well this last year we ordered 5 pullets of a few breeds, and upon their arrival we were informed we would not be getting one of the breeds we had ordered, and that WE would need to inquire about a refund. Lovely. Most of those chickens ended up dying, when we had never had a death rate like that any year before. I now have almost no show birds for this years fair. We are not sure why they died, but I have a feeling it must be the disease they had going around that a man had talked about in an earlier review.
We normally have no problems with the hatchery (just beware if you get one of their 'package deals'...we always received some mixed breeds with the lot). This may have just been an off year for them, but I don't think I'll be ordering from there in a while. Not to mention, their birds and eggs are pricey, which is funny because I know of other hatcheries that sell their eggs for about half the price, or can give you a better deal, etc.
Thanks for your time!

I've ordered from McMurray before and received my latest order this morning. The Post Office called me at 7:15 AM and told me my chicks were in and to come and get them. All were alive and active in the box. Even though the outside temperature was in the 40's a poke with my finger between several bunched up chicks was very warm. As I released each one into the brooding area after dipping their beak into the water, they immediately began to feed on chick starter crumbles that I had scattered. They also seemed to have no trouble finding the water fount again. It's always been a good experience receiving chicks from McMurray and I have nothing but positive things to say about them. I worry more about the Post Office contacting me in a timely manner, but they have never failed me either. This is one of the Pittsburgh PA post office branches and I'm pretty sure that handling chicks is not a very common thing for them. All involved in this delivery process performed admirably.

does this hatchery have show quality silver spangled hamburgs.

My wife and I ordered 27 Barred Rock chicks which arrived on the specified date. All appeared healthy and active. One started to act a bit lethargic, a little wobbly with no interest in food or water. My wife hand/force watered and fed it and within a day or so it was fine. We have had them three weeks now and all are doing well, flying up on the edge of the brooder and out on occasion. Very friendly breed. We are very pleased with McMurray's.

MM cancelled my order without contacting me after encountering a problem w/ payment processing.
A very rude young woman, Macy, in MM's customer service department informed me that I was a day too late to have my order re-instated for the original shipping date. She said MM's had left a message with my young son informing him that the order would be cancelled. Now I have no birds for the customers I have promised chicks to for resale.

One should NEVER leave a business message with a child.

My family and I had been customers of McMurray for over 30 years, probably longer. We had been pleased with the quality in the past.

I ordered over 100 chicks from MM to be picked up at the hatchery on 2/9/08. The chicks appeared healthy but 5 of the 11 breeds started to die off at about 2 weeks of age. Although I was a very experienced chick raiser, these breeds were new to me and I contacted the hatchery for advice. I was told that I was raising the chicks wrong and the customer service person was rather rude. Two days later, I called back again and got a much better customer service rep that agreed to replace the sick chicks. I also added an additional 12 to the order for 3/1/08 to also be picked up. These 50 chicks appeared very healthy at first. Again at 2 weeks of age, the chicks started to get sick and die. McMurray would not acknowledge they had a problem at their hatchery, but offered to replace the chicks again. I demanded my money returned and they did give me a full refund.

The problem is this...I didn't know what was wrong with the chicks so I had them tested at the University of MN diagnostics lab. I was concerned for my existing flock that was not part of the MM order. It turns out McMurray had a flock borne illness called Avian Encephalomyelitis, a virus that has affected thousands of McMurray chicks across the United States and Canada where the virus is primarily passed from the hen to the egg. This could not have been a situation I created. My veterinarian contacted MM and let them know of their problem. I spent the money, and it was NOT inexpensive, to have them tested, and I drove over 135 miles away from my home to deliver the chicks to the Lab. I fed infected chicks for two weeks before they died, and although it didn't affect my other chickens, it certainly could have. I have had the unpleasant task of destroying infected chicks that have not fully recovered.

I am not upset that MM had a biosecurity problem, it could have happened to any hatchery. I am very angry that they put the burden on me to find out what their problem was. McMurray is supposed to be one of the best hatcheries in the business. I am a lowly backyard flock owner. I also have issue with the fact that they have done nothing to remedy my financial burden when I am the one that told them what was wrong with their flock. I didn't even get a thank you, nothing except "we will replace your sick chicks" that will probably die again anyway. Although their catalog and website clearly state they won't refund above the price of the chicks, I feel this case is extraordinary and unusual. An aknowledgment would have been nice.

Perhaps the company should spend more time and money on quality chicks that are bio-secured and less on their fancy catalog. I will never order from the McMurray again and certainly will not recommend them to any of my friends.

hi everyone!, just wanted to let you all know that i recieved a shipment from mc murray hatcheries for 25 chicks. I was truly in awe of the overall experience. From the kind receptionists, (Peggy and jackie) , all the way to my door, which my mailman delivered right to me! W'ell!, I recieved 32 chicks and every single one of them alive and strong! they looked so good that they almost appeared artificial when standing still! If i ever recieve a shipment in the future not as good as this one, it still wouldnt sway my opinion in any way for this truly wonderful hatchery! Bye the way, 19 of my chicks were barred rocks/ 12 were rhode island reds, and one gray/white/brown mystery chick (feather footed), which im guessing to be a buff cochin! Thanks guys!!!! Sincerly, Nick Citarella

I am very surprised by all of the negative feedback on Murray McMurray!

We have ordered from Murray McMurray for several years and have never had a problem...caused by the hatchery that is! Yes, I have traveled the learning curve of raising baby chics and not all have survived, but the ones that survived ME are well and healthy and have lived long properous chicken lives.

It sounds like some customers have really awful post office service. All of our chics have arrived soundly every time. The post master calls several times on the delivery day worried sick they won't be picked up! (We pick them up at the post office rather them have them dropped off at the house.)

It is also worth mentioning that the rare and exotic chics seem to be the ones that always require the most care and attention. (Most likely to be weak or get trampled when a bug makes the mistake of flying into their corral.) They seem more fragile than the more common breeds. Then it occured to me...That's probably why they are rare...

I did have trouble with one batch that started to go "lame" and this was again my own fault. I used shredded newspaper instead of the pine shavings recommended. (The store was out of pine shavings for the week.) Once the bedding was replaced all was fine.

My family and I have chalked it up to experience and not the fault of the company. Sometimes that would be easier, but if the instructions are read and followed...and your postal workers are not "postal", all should go well with this company.

I should also mention the customer service has always been well humored, professional and courteous and we have always received the sex of chickens we requested when selection was possible. Good luck!

We ordered 32 chicks of various breeds and got 3 free ones in with the order. They arrived Mar 3. We lost 4 the first day, 4 the next day (8 in 48hrs) and 2 more since. They are three weeks old and several look rather sickly.

This is my first experience with mail order and it was very difficult emotionally.

MMH did refund us for the first 8 that died in 48.

all my experiences with mm have been great! i placed an order fro 25 chicks,got 4 extra.the sexing was right on, we never lost even one and when there was a problem with filling my order because of a late hatch for the variety i needed they immediately called my cell phone to let me know and reset my pick up date.they even paid the difference in cost. the lady i talked with was polite ,professional and a delight to talk to.( we swapped chicken jokes while she fixed my order) today my chickens are 1 year old ,i am getting 2 DOZEN EGGS A DAY!! we are working on a third hatch of chicks from these buff orpingtons and even our own hatch has been 100%.(we let our chickens hatch their own).they are the greatest mothers and have not lost any of these chicks either. i made sure the post office knew we had chicks on the way..a must..since they arent notified ahead of time...this gives them a heads up..and helps you cover all the problems that can happen in transit..this year we are ordering buff orpington ducks....cant wait!!!!

I have ordered twice from McMurray hatchery. Last year I ordered 10 White Chinese geese. They sent 1 extra and they all lived. I've had them for a year and they are now reproducing just fine. I lost 4 to predators, but that is not McMurray's fault!

After the fine order of goslings proved to be healthy, I ordered a group of 25 mixed pullets. These were 15 Americaunas, 5 Australorps, and 5 Silver Laced Wyandottes. All of these chicks were healthy upon arrival, even though they had been riding around in the back of a metal mail truck with temperatures near 100. They all needed a drink, but they settled down nicely with no mortality. I split this order with my brother and his chickens are laying nicely. Mine are also laying nicely. One Australorp turned out to be a rooster, but the rest were pullets that I ordered.

In their favor, I have to say, the thing that has impressed me the most is the beautiful color of eggs that these Americaunas lay. It's a wonderful shade of blue green. My older Americaunas lay an olive green that is not nearly as attractive as the color of the McMurray hen's eggs.

I have not experienced any difficulties with any order thus far and will continue to order from McMurray.

A month ago, i ordered 25 straight-run barred rock and 25 Straight run rare breed special chicks. I was told that they would arrive Mar 3 and at 7:30 AM on Mar 3, i received a call from my Post Office saying that my chicks were ready to be picked up. I picked them up at 7:50 AM and found them to be in perfect condition. They were packed in a sturdy little box that had litter in the bottom and a cardboard shield around the inside to protect them from cold drafts. The chicks were bright and healthy and warm.

I had them vaccinated for Marek's disease and coccidiosis at the hatchery. Also, i ordered Quick Chick vitamins and minerals and Gro-Gel Plus to get them off to a good start. They were ready to eat and drink are really chowing down. I haven't had chickens in 30 years and am delighted to have such a good experience with McMurray Hatchery.

I must admit that i was worried about the Postal Service getting them to me in good condition. Some postal staff are less than caring about the quality of job that they do, in my experience. However, this time the Postal Service did a fine job.

Thank you, McMurray for your job well done! :-)

I work in a post office and have seen chicks mailed "Priority" (3-5 days until delivery). This is outragious! I started to raise chickens, because I did not want to contribute to factory chicken farms. PLEASE! Pay the extra money and only order an animal "Express" delivery. Animals should not needlessly suffer.

We received our first order of chicks from Murray McMurray on Feb 11th as promised. They all arrived healthy and warm. We ordered 5 Ameracaunas, 5 Rhodies, 5 Dominiques, 5 Cuckoo Marans, and 5 Pearl White Leghorns. In addition to those, we were given an extra Pearl and an Eqyptian Fayoumi exotic (roo I think). Our only issue the first week was excessive pasting on the Dominiques and Marans. Otherwise, the chicks are very friendly and seem very hardy. They are coming up when called and will eat out of our hands now. I would order from MM again.

I bought 50 chickens from McMurray last year. They did OK but not spectacular -- about 20 percent died over a year. I tried them again this year. The first batch of 25 arrived -- all dead. Every last one. I called and asked them to send more.

They sent the second batch to the wrong post office over a long holiday weekend. I don't know how many of them lived, because they went missing between the time the post office called and the time I got there (a 30-minute drive). I called McMurray and told them I'd blown three hours of work and a half-tank of gas, and I still didn't have any chickens.

I told them they'd have to work a little harder to make this right -- two bad deliveries in a row had wasted too much of my time and money to be happy with just a refund or another order. I was thinking something along the lines of 10 percent off my next order, five free chickens, some modest gesture for my time. They were completely uninterested in doing anything above and beyond a refund or third delivery. I told them I'd take the basic refund and that they'd lost a good and potentially steady customer. Didn't concern them at all.

Which is OK with me. I suspect their chickens are inbred as hell, and the deformity rate is higher than other hatcheries. I've gotten chicks from other hatcheries, and they're usually a very diverse bunch, even though they're the same breed. They're also a lot more chicken-like in their behavior, with much more scratching and socializing.

Bottom line: I'd go with Cackle or Stromberg.

I just received my first shipment from McMurray on Tuesday this week. I had previously called the PO to let them know that they were arriving and had spoken to McMurray last week to ask about the details of the shipment. They had told me that they would be shipped on Sunday from Minnesota. Monday was a post office holiday, but my postmaster told me that she would be in on Monday morning and if they came in she would call. They did not arrive on Monday, but we got the call at 6:30 am on Tuesday. I must say that I was very worried as the Midwest had a storm over the weekend with bitter cold weather. I had feared my chicks might be caught up in this and stranded or too cold. Turned out my fears were baseless. My chicks arrived in perfect condition, all beautiful and energetic, thirsty and hungry and WARM. I had ordered 26 chicks and McMurray had included a couple of extras of varieties that I had ordered as well as the extra rare breed chick promised. The package was prepared for cold weather with insulation along the sides. All chicks were in the proper #s ( I had many varieties and sexes) and the ones I had asked to be marked were marked perfectly with little leg bands! I couldn't be more happy with my McMurray experience! I am sorry for some of the previous purchaser's experience, but if McMurray is making it all right, I think you should be pleased. If they were packaged properly and the chicks were healthy when shipped, I would think that was all they could do.

The varieties we purchased were Black Australorps, Brown Leghorns, Lakenvelders, Speckled Sussex, Light Brahma and Golden Campines. As mentioned previously, all were vigorous and perfect. I think my extra rare chick is a buff cochin. The extra chicks included (and marked as extra on the invoice) was a buff orpington male and a australorp pullet.

Thank you McMurray. You may not be the cheapest, but you may be the best value for the small grower with all your extras! (multiple varieties and sexes and identity banding for no extra charge) I will certainly purchase from you again.

I received my shipment of chcks from McMurray's today.
Yesterday was a Federal Holiday. Post Office was closed.
In my box of 26 chicks were 13 dead at the bottom of the box and 13 chicks standing atop the former. By evening today I lost another 2. Down to 11. I rang the company straight away, once I returned from the Post. They were very apologetic. Informed me that they guarantee the birds for 48 hours from arrival. Sad thing is that the wee birds died. I believe that they will honor the purchase. Just don't know if I want them to ship anymore to me. Cut my loses and take a refund. I can not trust that the next box will have all live birds.

On Feb 11th, I received my first McMurray order. I was disturbed to see a flattened dead chick at the bottom of the box. It appears they must have either miscounted or knew this one was going to die since they sent 26 plus my free rare chick. The very next day, another chick died off. I don't think sending them Priority as opposed to overnight is a good idea. I noted these chick have EXCESSIVE rear end pasting. This is caused by the stress of transit according to the web site. I don't think this is healthy for them as it plugs them up and I have to constantly pull doodie from their rear ends.

I have more babies coming this week and I am very nervous about the way these will arrive. Monday is a postal holiday and I am afraid my babies will be dead when I get them. Not so good practice. I am curious as well how many roos I will end up with. I bought them all sexed so only time will tell. McMurrays prices are outrageous if you ask me. This is a sad price to pay if you want early birds I guess. I don't think I will be purchasing again from them in the future. This was a definate learning experience for me.

Local hatcheries are recommended if you have any in your area.

Nothing but great experience with this company. Fast shipment. only time I ever lost chicks was the post offices fault and McMurray made it right.