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It’s hatching season! Are you looking to expand your backyard flock? While incubating eggs or buying from local farm and feed stores are options, many find the best way to get healthy chicks and poultry is through good hatcheries. But with so many choices, how do you find the best hatcheries for chicks and poultry ordering? This guide offers both local and national suggestions to help you grow your flock.

Why Order from a Hatchery?

While the local feed store offers a convenient option, their selection can be limited. You might find yourself stuck with Cornish Cross broilers when you’re dreaming of high-producing layers. One of the biggest advantages of ordering from a hatchery is the sheer variety. Whether you’re seeking cold-hardy breeds for a northern climate, prolific egg-layers, or specific heritage breeds, hatcheries offer a wide selection to match your poultry goals.

Beyond breed selection, hatcheries prioritize the health of their birds. They employ biosecurity measures and best practices for raising healthy chicks. Furthermore, they’ve perfected the art of shipping chicks safely and minimizing stress during transport, ensuring you receive healthy, vigorous birds ready to thrive in your backyard.

How is Poultry Shipped from Hatcheries?

From the moment they hatch, day-old chicks are handled with care. Chicken hatcheries use specially designed cardboard shipping boxes, complete with ventilation holes to ensure proper airflow. Inside, you’ll typically find a soft bedding material that helps keep the chicks clean, comfortable, and secure during their journey.

To minimize stress and ensure swift delivery, chicks are usually shipped via overnight or next-day air via the postal service. This means your precious cargo will arrive at your local post office, where you’ll receive a call to come pick them up. It’s crucial to have your brooder area fully prepared before you leave to collect your chicks. This includes setting up your heat source, ensuring it’s at the correct temperature, and having fresh shavings, food, and water readily available.

Once you’re back home, gently transfer your new arrivals to their cozy brooder. A helpful tip is to briefly dip each chick’s beak in the water to help them quickly learn where to find it. This simple step can give them a great start in their new home.

Hatcheries Across the USA: A Regional Guide

No matter where you live in the United States, there’s likely a hatchery nearby. We’ve compiled a regional overview of some of the leading hatcheries, making it easier for you to find a source for healthy chicks and poultry close to home whether you’re looking for egg production or dual-purpose birds, this list will help you find what you need. Explore the options in your region below!

Pacific Northwest

• Jenks Hatchery – Tangent, OR: Established in 1910, Jenks Hatchery holds the title of America’s oldest hatchery. They offer a wide variety of chicks, including broilers and layers, as well as poultry feeds and supplies.
• Dunlap Hatchery – Caldwell, ID: Looking for poultry in Idaho? Dunlap Hatchery has you covered with chicks for chickens, turkeys, game birds, and geese, plus hatching eggs. They also offer a 100% live arrival guarantee for peace of mind.

Western States

• Whiting Farms – Delta, CO: Known for their unique Whiting True Blue and Whiting True Green egg layers, Whiting Farms offers a colorful twist to your flock. They’re also praised for their excellent customer service. This hatchery is designed for local pickup; they do not ship. Whiting Farms specializes in using the tail feathers for fly fishing lures.
• Belt Hatchery – Fresno, CA: This wholesale hatchery offers a convenient feature: shipping costs are included in the price of each chick.
• Lovelace Family Farm – Pahrump, NV: Serving the Las Vegas area, this small business specializes in day-old chicks that lay colorful eggs. They offer delivery within their service area.
• Alchemist Farms – Sebastopol, CA: This hatchery focuses on being plastic free and having zero waste. They provide heritage and rare breed chicks and ship throughout the United States.

Great Plains States

• Heartland Hatchery of South Dakota – Hitchcock, SD: This South Dakota hatchery offers a variety of chicks, with a focus on straight run options. They are NPIP certified and deliver chicks via Spee-Dee Delivery Service.
• Rare Treasures Hatchery – Oskaloosa, KS: This family-owned and operated hatchery specializes in rare breeds, including the impressive India Gigante. They offer local pickup or can meet you at a pre-arranged location.

Midwestern Region

• Cackle Hatchery – Lebanon, MO: Ideal for smaller flocks, Cackle Hatchery has a low minimum order size of just 3 chicks, making them a great option if you’re not looking to order dozens. They also have Pharoh Coturnix Quail that many hobby farms purchase to develop breeding stock.
• Murray McMurray Hatchery – Webster City, IA: One of the largest hatcheries in the United States, Murray McMurray is a long-time favorite among homesteaders. Their free catalog offers a wide selection of breeds to suit every need. They carry day old chicks, juvenile pheasants, juvenile waterfowl, and supply farms with high-quality chicks.
• Townline Hatchery – Zeeland, MI: With over a century of experience (since 1913!), Townline Hatchery provides a variety of day-old poultry across the country. They reportedly hatched an impressive 5 million chicks in 2024. Download their app to save 10% on your order!
• Meyer Hatchery – Polk, OH: A well-respected name in the poultry industry, Meyer Hatchery offers a diverse range of birds, including exciting new additions like the Silkie Easter Egger (introduced in 2025) and juvenile birds.
• Valley Hatchery – Multiple Locations (Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri, California, Montana): What started as a 4-H project in 2009 has blossomed into a multi-state hatchery offering an impressive 210 varieties of poultry! Valley Hatchery ships nationwide, making it easy to get your chicks delivered right to your door. They offer ducklings and started pullets year-round and have a low minimum order of only 3 chicks for day-old birds. Valley Hatchery also has a Guinea package of assorted keets (great foragers!), ideal for free range options on your homestead.

Eastern States

• Freedom Ranger Hatchery – Lancaster, PA: Focusing on providing high-quality, free-range birds for backyard flocks, Freedom Ranger Hatchery is a great option for homesteaders who prioritize space for their chickens. This family of hatcheries offers a wide variety of poultry, including waterfowl, guinea keets, silkies, broilers, turkeys, layers, and hatching eggs.
• Chesapeake Farm and Hatchery – Preston, MD: Located near the Maryland coast, Chesapeake Farm and Hatchery offers chicks, started pullets, and hatching eggs. They boast a diverse selection of different breeds and don’t charge a small order fee, unlike some other hatcheries.
• Dragonfly Farm – Franklinton, NC: Specializing in rare and specialty breeds, Dragonfly Farm is the place to go for unique poultry. They offer local pickup for chicks and hatching eggs but do not ship.
• McChicks – Denmark, ME: McChicks offers over 20 different chicken breeds, including broilers, as well as poultry supplies. Local pickup is required.

Southern States

• Valley Farms Hatchery – Muscle Shoals, AL: This family-owned hatchery, established in 2012, offers day-old broiler and layer baby chicks. Valley Farms Hatchery guarantees 100% live delivery and ships orders year-round via USPS.
• Ideal Poultry – Cameron, TX: Established in 1937, Ideal Poultry Breeding Farms is a family-owned and operated business and one of the largest backyard poultry suppliers in the United States. With 50,000 breeders, they offer an impressive selection of over 70 standard chick breeds, more than 50 bantam varieties, and many other poultry options.
• Bob’s Biddies, LLC – Ray City, GA: Bob’s Biddies is a chicken hatchery that prides itself on raising poultry the old-fashioned way – “backyard-grown and backyard-hatched,” just like our grandparents did. They feed their parent stock a non-GMO, chemical- and additive-free diet. They also ship broilers year-round!

For white eggs, brown eggs, colorful eggs, turkeys, quail, ducks, or guineas, these are some of the best hatcheries for chicks and poultry ordering! Don’t forget to also check out local hatcheries and family farms in your area for even more options. What are your favorite ordering spots, local or otherwise? Share any hidden gems we might have missed in the comments below!

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