Does anyone else here get new chicks in the spring? What varieties do you like and why? Chickens for meat or eggs, maybe both?

SQUEAM ALERT:
For several years at our busiest here, yes, when we had hungry teens motivate to feed them in exchange for the full bellies. Farmer Cress Simpson over near you, if he is still doing it, did a clean kill and pluck for uys one "peak" year with about 48 meat birds....

The best chick supplier and best deal all-around was.....[strokebrain....] it will come to me... but they also had the prettiest catalog, with a gallery of oil paintings accurately depicting each breed, and they have them ALL. They have assortments, too, to make it easy to get the ratio of meat/egg you decide you want.

The farmer I learned from (IL) ran a demo farm/outdoor ed place, and his flock was all ornamental varieties to teach inner city kids about the diversity of life. Pretty birds lay almost as good as their plainer cousins, unless you want to sell commercial. I dunno how the pretties do for meat-- we went for classic meatbird breeds there.

I'll post the name when it comes to me, but the main thing is, their chicks (except the fragile banty's) always arrived strong, and healthy-- we never lost a one but the banty's, till the rats got at 'em one year and even then no reg. chicks lost. Atall. I think I ordered such a small banty lot that they did not cushion each other well i the carton-- legs were not strong enough to survive loose packing.

MCMURRAY, that was it: http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/feather_footed_fancies.html Check out the pix at the bottom of that page-- typical of the ALL of the catalog illustrations. Don't be afraid to try assortments-- there will be no lemons in the lot whether yer an old customer or a new one they never shipped to before. Worth the tad-higher price, because you will have less heartbreak when you open your box to start the brooding. Main thing there is to be able to get them from a post office when they arrive-- work with the local postal inspector to arrange night-time pickup when they phone to say yer chix iz in. Some will, some won't. You can find one who will. Arnot and Covington are small enough, each with a lady inspector, who might know which POs are big enough to have night staff. Arnot's is Pete L's daughter-- he was inspector there till he retired.

Acourse for pre-colored Easter eggs you'll want Araucana's. We glazed them one year as gifts, but we never could get the Shrove Tues. folks to cook 'em. No courage! :~)

Have fun and TAKE PICTURES,

~Susan