I have heard rumors that you shouldn't order from murray mcmurray because the chicks often get sick or something. I am looking to order chicks, and they have a good selection but i don't want diseased chicks.
any help would be great

thanks
Rachel
p.s. if you know of another cataloge i can order chicks from, that would be good too.

HI I ordered chicks from them and all are doing fine after a few died. They arrived in bad weather and all were alive when I got them. All hatcheries have duds and some chicks are not strong enough to take on this harsh world. Understand that they ship out day old chicks and that if there was a incubation problem that they didn't know about it can often cause them to be sick. McMurray was extermly easy to work with to get the money back from my losses. If you still do not want to order from them try www.welphatchery.com they have a fairly god selection but I have never ordered from them. Hope this helps.

We have ordered from them in 2000 and this year. Each time we ordered about 25 to 30 bantam chicks. We have had an over 90% sucess rate with their chicks. Shipping chicks is difficult and I think they do an outstanding job. As far as quality goes......it is a matter of luck, really. They buy their fertile eggs from farmers who either do or don't work on upscaling their flock....if you know what I mean. This year our BLACK COCHINS bantam chicks are doing the best. Flashy, feathery, and with so much character. I give Murray McMurray an A+ for GOOD quality show birds. If top notch is what you want......you need to go directly to the top breeders(even then...you're taking a chance).

Just do a search and you will find lots of hatcheries.I have used McM many times and never a serious problem. Just beware, the chickens probably wont look like the pics.They are servicable chickens but not of exhibition quality.

Rachel, Murray McMurray would not still be in business (since 1917) if they sold diseased chicks. Please remember that chicks are really very delicate. While hatched under best conditions and sent out as quickly after hatch as possible, that trip is extremely hazardous. Most chicks make it just fine. The worst risk is not only temperature changes during shipment, a chick just can't handle that (and that is why there are minimum numbers in the box--they have a better chance of keeping warm,) but the care they are given after arrival. A large percentage of chick loss is due to inadequate care after arrival--those first few days are crucial. And MMcM makes good on even those errors. I don't buy chicks from anyone, but do shop for supplies from all the catalogs! And MMcM are very nice to work with. CJR

Yep. I really think people take delivery too early in the colder climes, and no one likes to take the blame for their mis-management. The last time a friend and i ordered 350 chicks, wh. rocks , blk australops, silver l. wyandottes, r i reds, and something else i cant remember. I kept 25 wyandottes, he kept 25 blk aus. and we sold 300 started chicks and gave 5 chicks to a neighbor boy.

Mercy, I just remembered how long ago that was. 1974

I ordered 25 chicks from McMurray and they threw in 2 extras. (One was their advertised "mystery chick." Another was just a freebie.) They were all very healthy.
I think sometimes it's just the stress of the shipment and problems with the postal service, beyond McMurray's control. (And oftentimes, beyond the postal service's control.)

thanks you guys, i didn't know if those rumors were true or not, thanks. i will probably order from them sometime in the future. i am interested in japan. bantam. also quails and bobwhites.

again thanks for your help, i really didn't want to look down upon them if they weren't really like that.
rachel

I concur with the above posts. I was a 4H poultry leader for several years. We used the FREE MurrayMcmurray catalogs because of the beautiful color pictures,written descriptions, the low prices, good selection, option to choose pullets, & guarantee. I suggested each child order at least 5 chicks.We had a very good survival rate with chicks from M.M. Also, EVERY year we entered our birds in the Ventura County fair EVERY child won at least 1 ribbon! It was a wonderful experience. Curlee