Having farm fresh food every day is a dream come true, but chicken can be very expensive to raise, especially on a farm. Eggs don’t hatch efficiently in the coup and accidents can take place.
So if you’re farming chicken, you will need to invest in expensive incubation equipment. Fortunately, there’s a way around this. Purchasing livestock from chicken hatcheries is not only a cost-saving alternative, it also gives you access to a variety of breeds to raise at home. Here are the 8 best quality hatcheries for buying chicks online.
What Is a Chicken Hatchery?
After the fertilized eggs are taken from hens, they need to be kept under ideal conditions for them to hatch. A chicken hatchery is a special facility that creates an artificial environment to ensure successful and efficient incubation. Waiting for them to hatch under a hen can take too long, and some eggs don’t make it.
An incubator controls the temperature, humidity, and airflow inside it precisely. This allows eggs to hatch more efficiently and on a much larger scale than farms would be able to accomplish. Some hatcheries prefer to keep things natural and follow the seasons.
Hatcheries, for the most part, exist only to hatch new animals for consumption but some of them are also built for the purposes of breeding new species or conserving endangered ones.
List Of Best Chicken Hatcheries
#1. Cackle Hatchery
Image source: Cacklehatchery.com
Cackle Hatchery is a Missouri-based US hatchery that offers a selection of over 202 varieties of poultry online. It has an 80-year history of producing pure-bred chicken and focuses on genetic selection to eliminate diseases and increase productivity. Cackle Hatchery ships all across America including Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii.
One of the things that set Cackle Hatchery apart is that they use natural production methods without artificial lights or unnatural simulations to hatch chicks. To get the healthiest chicks, they allow natural incubation and let the chicks hatch around chick season that starts in Spring.
#2. Meyer Hatchery
Image source: Meyerhatchery.com
Meyer Hatchery is located in Ohio and offers 160 varieties of poultry including geese, ducks, turkeys, guineas, and game birds. They also offer a complete set of all the feeding supplies you may need to raise the birds. You can purchase all kinds of chicks here ranging from stunning exotics to standard chicks.
You can purchase both hatched chicks and hatching eggs if you want to see them come out of their shells yourself. However, egg-sexing is not available. The best part is that you only need to order a minimum of 3 birds with Meyer so it’s ideal for people trying to run a farm in a small space.
#3. My Pet Chicken
Image source: Mypetchicken.com
My Pet Chicken is the ideal hatchery to purchase chicks from if you’re absolutely new to farming chicken because they provide all kinds of resources to help you get started. If it’s information and help you’re looking for, My Pet Chicken is the best place to start.
The minimum order is 3 chicks, and they don’t have to be the same breed. My Pet Chicken sells everything from poultry feed to brooder heaters, diapers, saddlers, and even fencing and netting. It’s a one-stop destination for all the supplies you will need for raising chicks.
#4. Ideal Poultry
Image source: Idealpoultry.com
Ideal Poultry is the largest supplier of backyard poultry in the United States. They sell standard breeds, bantams, and waterfowls. It’s located in Cameron, Texas, and has an over 80-year history of producing and delivering high-quality poultry including broilers, bantams, ducks, geese, turkey, pheasants, chukar, and guineas.
Ideal Poultry ships close to 5 million chicks every year throughout America. Once again, the minimum order you need to place is only 3 chicks. Most breeds are available almost year-round.
#5. Moyers Hatchery
Image source: Moyerschicks.com
Moyers Chicks is located in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and has been in the business of hatching quality chicks for farms and families throughout the year since 1946. Moyers Chicks has expanded its annual output capacity to over 20 million chicks and fertile eggs, so there’s never any shortage of supply.
They use the same sustainable farming practices as backyard, free-range poultry farmers. Moyers hatchery is a member of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.
#6. Murray Mcmurray Hatchery
Image source: Mcmurrayhatchery.com
Murray Mcmurray is a high-quality producer of Poultry Chicks located in Webster City, Iowa. They have a 100-year reputation of hatching the highest quality chicks in America and providing all kinds of supporting products and services.
They have a wide selection of breeds and have recently also added the stunning French Black Copper Marans to their list.
#7. Stromberg’s Chicks and Game Birds Unlimited
Image source: Strombergschickens.com
If it’s the variety you’re looking for in a breeder, Stromberg’s Chicks and Game Birds Unlimited is your ideal choice. They breed and sell over 200 varieties of chickens and game birds like quails and pheasants of all ages including fully-grown, baby birds, and while they’re still in the egg.
They also sell all kinds of egg supplies, poultry feed, medications, feeders, and farming equipment. You can essentially purchase your entire farm here.
#8. Purely Poultry
Image source: Purelypoultry.com
Purely Poultry is a Wisconsin-based hatchery that sells over 300 breeds of birds across the United States. Some of their best-selling varieties include cornish cross broilers, ISA brown chickens, and Easter Eggers.
You can buy birds at all ages from their egg and incubation period to fully grown adults, and there are no shipping restrictions. However, you need to place a minimum order quantity of 8 birds.
