OK, here are my three recommendations (and none of them were via eBay but more by googling on the specific breeds I wanted):
Keith's Orps, Bracknell,
http://www.keiths-orps.co.uk/Found through googling for South-East suppliers of Gold Laced Orpingtons
LF and Bantam Orpingtons in a huge variety of colours
Collect by appointment or by post. I have collected and seen the breeding stock and it's all beautiful - the buff cockerel was the biggest chicken I have ever seen!
Customer service is excellent and I have asked lots and lots of questions by e:mail and phone and Keith has always been very helpful.
Keith is a real specialist in Orpingtons and develops new colours. He doesn't show himself but sources birds from the best breeding stock (he runs two lines of LF buff from top show stock and utility stock) and although I'm no expert and don't show, even I recognise the names of people he's sourced from.
I hatched this batch by broody (hatch wasn't great but that wasn't his fault, the fertility over three colours was 16 from 18 eggs).
Chicks are still tiny so hard to comment on final bird - the colours look about right (they're blue and lavender and the chicks are all some shade of grey/yellow).
South Yeo Farm East, Okehampton, Devon
http://www.southyeofarm.co.uk/Googling for West of England geese (which I haven't actually got from them but then saw the other breeds they do).
Lots of rare breed chickens (over 20), Cayuga ducks, Aylesbury Exhibition ducks (I think), Swedish ducks and West of England geese (no hatching eggs though, not many will send genuine WoE hatching eggs, they're too rare)
Can collect, I sourced by post
Gillian has been really helpful, the eggs were sent when she said and packaged well - all good. She is very busy though, especially around lambing time, so it was easier to e:mail her than phone.
I sourced Cayuga ducks eggs which were hatched in the incubator and Marans and Aracauna chicken eggs which went under a broody
All lovely birds (although I'm no expert in any of the breeds). Chicks are now five weeks old and fully feathered, very pretty birds. Cayugas are four weeks old, big birds, not yet fully feathered but the feathers that are in are looking good.
Six out of six Cayugas were fertile and hatched. Three out of three Marans were fertile and hatched (pity broody stood on one). Two out of four Araucanas were fertile and both those hatched (but one was very weak and then the cat got it when I had it inside for some extra TLC
)
South Yeo Farm West, Okehampton, Devon (
http://www.southyeofarmwest.co.uk/) - neighbours to above
Link from South Yeo Farm East
Utility Aylesburys, Black Indian Runners, Black LF Orpingtons, Pilgrim Geese
Collect or post
Debbie was very helpful, had to link to dispatch from their neighbour so I could set all the eggs together and that was no problem
Incubator hatching
Lovely looking big Aylesbury
Five from six eggs were fertile but only hatched two and one died shortly afterwards (think I moved him too soon from the brooder). Three non-hatchers died in shell late on so not a fertility issue from the farm.
Hope this helps -interested to see other recommendations,
H
Topic: Positive feedback for hatching egg suppliers (Read 5356 times)
