Trusted hatcheries

[NatJ]

The chicks at Tractor Supply are sexed by the hatchery so it's about the same accuracy as ordering from the hatchery directly.

That should be true when the chicks reach Tractor Supply, but it doesn't account for the possibility of the chicks getting mixed up at the store.

Chicks can get mixed up by employees at the store, or sometimes chicks can mix themselves by getting out of one bin and into another. Some mixups would be obvious to anyone who knows anything about chickens (white vs. black chicks) and others are almost impossible to sort out until they grow for a while (White Leghorn vs. Cornish Cross, or pullet vs. cockerel of many breeds).

Ordering directly from the hatchery means that your chicks don't have a chance to mix with any other chicks after they are put in the box at the hatchery.

 

[FrostRanger]

I also have had a good experience with Meyer hatchery. You have a roughly 10% chance of getting a cockerel when ordering pullets no matter who you order from. I agree with waiting until you know how many pullets you have right now before ordering. You could get really lucky and they're all pullets or you could also get really unlucky and they're all cockerels, most likely though around half of them will be boys but you just won't know until they get older.

In any case, care to share a picture of the cuties?

 

[redinator]

I also have had a good experience with Meyer hatchery. You have a roughly 10% chance of getting a cockerel when ordering pullets no matter who you order from. I agree with waiting until you know how many pullets you have right now before ordering. You could get really lucky and they're all pullets or you could also get really unlucky and they're all cockerels, most likely though around half of them will be boys but you just won't know until they get older.

In any case, care to share a picture of the cuties?

These pics are a few days old. The chicks were 9 days old. They turn two weeks on Monday. From here on out I plan to get pics weekly (you know what the say about plans though). I'm working on getting a list of breeds carried by the hatchery I got the eggs from so I can narrow down which I may have.
I'm pretty sure the yellow chick is a White Leghorn male. I'm guessing male because he feels sturdier than the rest of the chicks and is a bit of a jerk. The slight size difference could also mean the others are bantam breeds and he/she is a standard breed.
I've gotten several guesses on the other four, but nothing solid. At what age would the size difference be more noticeable between bantams and standard sized chicks?