we are interested in getting birds chix, ducks etc. what makes me nervous is mail ordering or buying off the internet . has any one done this . or is their some where you can buy them from. would realy like to pick out my own . if anyone can help me out. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] <font color="green"> </font color> [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
See if you can find a local flea market. Around me, they always have a few vendors selling chickens and ducks
At the end of the county fairs here they give away a lot of the chickens entered in the contests. You can also buy really good stock there for a small amount of money, and you'll know what breed you're getting. If that doesn't work:
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html
They're reputable.
We've bought chicken chicks from Murray McMurray Hatcheries several times. The chicks come by mail, we've never had any problem, all come healthy, and they usually give you a few extras. The post office calls you when they get them, and you have to go to your local PO to pick them up. The hatchery tells you the day they will arrive way in advance so you can be ready to get them. We've been very satisfied with this hatchery.
They have a website, and a very informative catalogue.
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
I have ordered quite a few chicks and ducklings from http://www.idealpoultry.com/ and been extremely pleased. They are shipped overnight and they arrive healthy and happy. They are shipped day old, so they are still feeding off their yolk sack (inside their body). I do not live in the country, so our postmaster is always tickled when they arrive. My co-workers are always amazed that I "mail order" poultry.
BTW: if you want my preference for chicks, I prefer "Production Reds". They are prolific layers of a real pretty brown egg. If you are going to have yard eggs, might as well have an egg that looks like a yard egg, and not a white egg like the store sells [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Here is another hint, if you are looking for layers, order all pullets (female) , and at least one will be a rooster. The rooster is absolutely a beautiful bird and good protector of his hens.
Have fun!
We got our ducks from cacklehatchery.com. They have nice pictures on thier sites. I love my ducks, Cayuga and Rouens. They are messier than chicks because they play in the h20- but they are so cool. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
its 5 o'clock somewhere
The big mail order places do a good job, I've used them before with no problems. You might also check out the local farm store(s). Some of them have birds in the string time to early summer.
Most feed stores, and I know Tractor Supply for a few weeks in the early spring(before Easter) will stock chicks and ducklings. We got half dozen layer chicks from TS and the ladies of the house wanted two Pekin ducks for the pond. The ducks turned out to be a hen and a drake so an early spring project was to hatch our own duck eggs. Five eggs were incubated, with three hatching, 2 more drakes one hen, the average hatch rate I understand is around 70%. It's a neat experience to watch the hatchings.
Are you letting the hen sit on them or are you using a incubator? We would like to get some ducklings from our ducks come spring but I'm torn how to go about it. Inside in the incubator is cool but then you have to deal w/ the messy baby stage inside... Outside (I read, haven't raised any naturally) we have to fence the area off and still have to worry about hawks and our cats. The nighttime we put all the animals into secure barns....
Any advice or war stories???? [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]
its 5 o'clock somewhere
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