Waited too long!

[journey11]

Different breeds have different personalities. There are a few I will never have again because of aggressive behavior. My Welcomer roosters were so vicious, they ganged up on the hens 3 on one-very brutally. Now the hens are egg eaters. I am done with them. I had a bad time with RI Reds also.

I've stayed away from the white egg layers and light breeds since many of them have a reputation for being high-strung. I had Black Australorps one year and sent them to freezer camp since they didn't live up to my expectations. A lot of times those hatchery chicks don't come out to standard anyway, since they put out so many of them.

 

[thistlebloom]

I just think that there are bad apples in every breed. Obviously not everyone will have the same bad experience with one breed.
My favorite one to despise is Black Copper Marans. I bought 4 from a breeder and every one had an abbreviated life span. Someone else has probably had great success with them.

But I liked my RIs and my Black Australorp has survived many cullings because of her sweet personality.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I just don't put much faith in breeds. Each chicken is an individual but a whole lot of whether or not a flock of a certain breed follows the trends they are supposed to depends a lot on the person selecting which chickens get to reproduce. Each hatchery has a different person selecting which chickens go in the breeding pen so it stands to reason there would be some differences. You have to have enough of a certain breed from the same hatchery for averages to mean much anyway.

I've had the same breeds from different hatcheries. There are trends, my Black Australorps tended to go broody whether from Cackle or Meyer, but there were some differences between them too. I've had good and bad individuals of the same breed from the same hatchery.

I go a little by how they are supposed to be when I order them but mostly I'm just going by color and size, figuring I'll keep the ones I want and eat the ones I don't.

 

[journey11]

I'm still waiting for my chicks to get here. They usually come first thing Monday morning, but I am thinking they came Tuesday morning last time (2 years ago, so my recollection is foggy).

The Post Office still hasn't called me, so if they don't deliver them with my regular mail around noon, I am going to have to call them. Surely they can't overlook a peeping package though. I wonder if the cut backs with the Postal Service has caused the delay or if MMH is shipping on a different schedule. They send you a text now when they ship out, and I got that on Sunday. Getting a little bit worried here...

 

[thistlebloom]

I hope they arrive safe and sound.

 

[Smart Red]

I don't know about a big city post office, but it is obvious when chicks are being delivered at the little one in 53576.

 

[journey11]

The mail came and still no chicks. I called to check and she said, of course, they would have called me right away around 8am. I checked the confirmation number online and they were shipped on Saturday, last seen in Saint Paul, MN. I thought they could only go 3 days without food and water. If they come tomorrow, it may be too late.

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh no. Have you called the hatchery? That will be a shame for those chicks if they die en route.

 

[journey11]

I guess I'll call them tomorrow. I should know something by then, I hope.

 

[buckabucka]

I hope they make it!