I'm not sure but I would rather go to a trade day and get some there. I feel sorry for them when they are shipped to places. What kinds are you going to get?

My inquiry is actually for a long ways off. We are moving in a year and in my excitement to have some land, have just been dreaming of fresh eggs, LOL. I'm getting the Storey Guide for winter reading. Some varieties that I was looking at are the Red and Black Stars. They appear to be sturdy brown egg laying machines. Eventually I would like to raise our own meat but thought to just start out with some egg layers. I think even 5-6 may be too many. Lori

oh ok...they are really cute when babies..

You normally have to order at least 25 chicks at once from any mail order hatchery's like McMurray"s. There is a place in PA that will let you get 20 I belive. When you order from a hatchery they will send a couple extras normally. Straight Run means you get what you get. What ever comes out of the egg, they don't sex them. Hope this helps. Maureen

Most commercial hatcheries ship in quantities of no less than 25 chicks at a time. This way the chicks keep each other warm, which helps them survive the trip--newly hatched chicks need to maintain a certain body temperature until they reach you and your nice, warm brooder box. :) Expect some losses, shipping is tough on babies.

'Straight run' is a term hatcheries use to denote an unsexed batch of chicks. Straight run chicks usually cost less and will be at LEAST 50/50 male and female--usually weighted more towards male though, since they'll most likely throw in a couple of extra chicks 'for warmth' (guess which gender these free chicks are!). Sexed chicks cost a little more because someone has had to sex and sort them.

If you want to get fewer than 25 birds, you can arrange to split an order with another person in your area (or possibly the local feed store). Also, sometimes if you are lucky enough to live near a hatchery you can go there and pick up your own order of fewer than 25 if the hatchery sells them that way.

Some hatcheries that have great websites with tons of info are: Murray McMurray, Ideal and Belt. There are lots of others, though. If you'd like chicken breed (with many pictures) info try feathersite.com, loads of pics there and links to breeders too.

Of course, make sure to thoroughly educate yourself on the care and feeding of chickens beforehand, so that you are prepared. Keeping chickens is very fun and rewarding. :) Also, if you click on my 'My Page' link, there is more chicken info there that may help you.

Have fun!

Velvet ~:>

A 'straight run' means male and female mixed in no particular ratio. 'Pullets' means females only. 5-6 hens for laying and a rooster means you'll get fertilized eggs. Do you want fertilized eggs for breakfast and cooking? You don't need a rooster for the hens to lay eggs if you're just going to eat them.

Generally speaking you don't need to order extras for losses, since the shipper should replace any losses for you. If you provide them with the basics - a clean, draft-free environment with a warming lamp, chick starter and fresh water, you shouldn't expect death losses.

Thanks for all the info. I knew you could get eggs without a rooster but had my heart set on one. If the eggs are gathered daily, would it be a problem? Lori

Eggs are supposed to be gathered daily, so what potential problem are you worried about? Don't understand the question.

You asked if I intended to use fertilized eggs for cooking/eating. I guess I have to show my complete ignorance here. With a rooster around, are the eggs not edible then? My grandmother had hens and roosters and we ate those eggs. Did we happen to get the unfertilized ones? I know, these questions are tiresome. Lori

Unless you want to get straight to the business of butchering, then do order sexed chicks and get pullets. I've found a run of pullets often includes a free cockerel. But if it doesn't........most people who order straight runs or incubate their own have roosters to GIVE away. I give my extra cockerels away so I don't have to winter over extra mouths to feed.

I have always had a rooster in my flock for every twenty chickens. I like their presence and so do the hens. But if you get a straight run, don't even think about keeping a rooster for each hen, or your hens will end up injured from the constant breeding and you'll loose them. It's not a pretty sight. Keep your rooster population down to the minimum.

Any time you have a healthy rooster in the flock the eggs shall be fertile. Many people who eat "organic" foods insist the eggs be fertile. They are quite edible either fertilised or not.

No, not tiresome, I just wasn't following what you getting at.

Some people eat fertilized eggs, but I consider them inedible. It's a matter of personal taste since, nutritionally, there's nothing wrong with fertilized eggs. I just can't stomach seeing them cracked open, don't know why. If I ocassionally get one from the grocery store, I won't eat eggs for months - it's just a weird quirk my stomach has :-)

I'm wondering if that little white matter in some eggs mean they were fertile? That doesn't bother me. I had read on several hatchery sites comments on "noisy" roosters but that is really why I want to include one, LOL. Not a must if it is at the expense of the eggs but very desirable to me. Lori

The white thing is always there whether the eggs are fertile or not, and that doesn't bother me. Blood streaks are what I don't want to see.

I never thought roosters were particularly noisy, but I've only had one or two and didn't keep them for long once I recognized them as roosters. Their crowing was loud, but they didn't do it often enough to be really noisy.

There is a great page from the Univ. of Georgia on fertile/infertile eggs here, tons of info, some of it a little heavy on the science... :)

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1166-w.html

The presence of a blastoDISC indicates infertility, the presence of a blastoDERM indicates a fertile egg. Both are essentially white spots, but the fertile Blastoderm is more defined with a 'donut' shape to it.

The blood spots in eggs, contrary to popular belief, have nothing whatsoever to do with fertility. They are just a broken blood vessel that occurred when the egg was forming. If you see blood STREAKS, that's different--the blood ring indicates a dead and probably abnormal embryo from a fertile egg. You don't want to eat these eggs, as they have been outdoors for a while and partially incubated. Great site here from UC Davis, lots of pics:

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs32.htm

The thin strings you sometimes find attached to eggs yolks are called Chalaza--ropey strands of egg white which anchor the yolk in place in the center of the thick white--kinda like shock absorbers. :) They are neither imperfections nor beginning embryos. The more prominent the chalazae, the fresher the egg. Chalazae do not interfere with the cooking or beating of the white and need not be removed.

Fertile or infertile, eggs will taste the same--as long as they are fresh. Old eggs of either persuasion are going to be just plain bad food that can make you sick. *L* The taste difference comes when you compare supermarket eggs--from battery hens kept in cages--to your own free-range chicken eggs. Your own eggs will have a richer, more golden yellow yolk that stands up higher and a less watery white, and will taste AMAZING. Also, if you have fed your hens correctly, your hens' egg shells will be stronger and thicker than supermarket eggs.

Velvet ~:>

So you want less than 10 chickens....Would it be possible for you to buy them from a store, not mail order? You have a lot of time before you move, so, I think you could find a place to buy chicks "in person", so to speak. From a store, you can buy as few as you want, and you can hand-pick the chicks who look most appealing to you. The feed-store chicks are not expensive, definitely under $3.

I bought my small flock this year, from 2 local feed stores, in the spring. They offered baby chicks mid-March thru late-April. I just impulsively picked the ones I thought were cute, and got a variety. Now that they are older, I realize it's good to have a variety of breeds, because they look different and I can tell them apart. (with a small flock you'll probably want to differentiate, so you can keep track of who's doing what, who's being a troublemaker, etc.).

Three of my chicks were .99 clearance specials (1 straight run Barred Rock, 1 straight run Polish Crested, 1 pullet Leghorn) Two chicks were .50 bargain basement (2 straight run Barred Rocks).
5 chicks for $4! Well okay 3 of 5 turned out to be roosters, but, still...a good deal for me, in my opinion.

"straight run" means at least 50% boys, who knows...
"pullets" means they are PROBABLY going to be hens.
"cockerels" will most likely grow up to be roosters.
Mistakes are often made in sexing baby chicks.

A rooster is fun for the socialization part, so why not have a rooster! Even if you buy only "pullets", you just might end up with a rooster anyway...

75% of the benefit of having a small flock, in my opinion, is entertainment. Chickens are so amusing. They are surprisingly dumb and surprisingly smart, like no other animal I can think of.

By the way, you can also check out Eggbid.com, they sell fertile hatching eggs, chicks, adult birds, etc. Good source for buying birds in small numbers.

Velvet ~:>

There are many benefits to having your own backyard flock of chickens as has been previously mentioned. To me, not having a rooster to cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning would be akin to having breakfast without eggs. IMHO of course.