How to Order Chicks From a Hatchery: Timing, Minimums, Shipping

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How hatchery ordering works

Mail-order hatcheries hatch chicks on a set schedule and ship them within a day or so of hatching. You choose breeds, quantities, sex (pullets, cockerels or straight run) and a hatch week, and the hatchery ships them by express or priority mail. Chicks can travel because the yolk they absorb just before hatching feeds them for a short time. The University of Kentucky's poultry extension notes that this yolk reserve lasts about 48 hours, which is why hatcheries ship fast and why feed and water need to be ready the moment chicks arrive.

The whole process comes down to five decisions: which hatchery, when, how many, which sex, and which options. Then you prepare for arrival.

Step 1: Pick a hatchery

Look for three things:

• NPIP participation. The National Poultry Improvement Plan is a federal-state program that tests breeding flocks for certain diseases, including pullorum. Most established hatcheries participate and say so on their site.
• Breed selection and hatch calendar. Check which weeks each breed is available. Rare breeds may hatch only a few times a season.
• Minimums, fees and guarantees. Read the policy page before you fall in love with a cart full of breeds.

Well-known U.S. hatcheries include Meyer Hatchery, Cackle Hatchery, Murray McMurray, Hoover's Hatchery and My Pet Chicken. Local feed stores also take chick orders in spring, often from the same hatcheries, which can be a good way around shipping minimums.

Step 2: Order early

For spring chicks, the ordering season is winter. Many hatcheries open their calendars months ahead, and early hatch dates for popular breeds, especially colored-egg layers, are often the first to fill. If you want specific breeds, order in January or February.

Pick your hatch date backward from when you'll be ready:

Also think about the outdoor side. Chicks usually need several weeks in the brooder before they're feathered enough to move outside. Your extension service or hatchery can tell you what to expect for your breeds and climate. Plan the move to the coop for a time when your weather cooperates.

Step 3: Understand minimums

Minimums surprise first-time buyers. Chicks can't regulate their own body temperature for the first part of their lives, and in a shipping box they keep each other warm. The University of Kentucky's guidance explains that this is why hatcheries have historically required larger orders.

Policies now vary a lot:

• Some hatcheries still expect larger minimum orders for standard shipping.
• Others, such as Cackle Hatchery, list a low minimum (Cackle's is three birds, with per-breed minimums) but add a small-order fee for orders under a set number of birds.
• Some ship small orders only in warmer months, or add heat packs or packing material.

Check each hatchery's minimum page, and look at the per-breed minimum as well as the per-order one. If you only want three or four hens, your local feed store may be the easier route.

Step 4: Sexed or straight run?

You'll choose between pullets (females), cockerels (males) or straight run (unsexed, roughly as hatched). We compare them in detail in straight run vs sexed chicks.

Sexing isn't perfect. University of Kentucky guidance says to expect up to about 10% of the opposite sex when ordering sexed chicks. Hatcheries sex chicks by vent sexing or by feather or color traits, and some breeds are easier to sex than others. Autosexing breeds, like Cream Legbars, can be sexed by down color at hatch.

Here's a worked example. You want six hens in a town that bans roosters. If you order six pullets and one turns out to be a cockerel, you'll have five hens and a rehoming job. Plan ahead: know where a surprise rooster would go before you order.

Step 5: Choose options at checkout

• Marek's vaccination. Marek's disease is a common, highly contagious viral disease of chickens. Hatcheries typically offer vaccination at hatch, and it's hard to arrange later. Discuss your flock's situation with a poultry vet or extension office if you're unsure.
• Other options. Some hatcheries offer coccidiosis vaccination or probiotics. If you choose coccidiosis vaccination, ask the hatchery whether it affects which chick starter to feed.
• Shipping extras. Some offer heat packs or extra packing for small or cold-weather orders.

Step 6: Get ready before ship day

Set up and run the brooder at least a day before the chicks ship, so you can confirm the heat source works and the space is draft-free. You'll need:

1. A brooder with enough floor space and a secure top. See best brooder setups.
2. A heat source. A brooder plate is the safer choice. Heat lamps are a known fire risk. Read brooder plate vs heat lamp.
3. Chick feeder and waterer, filled and in place.
4. Chick starter feed appropriate for your chicks.
5. Bedding, plus paper towels over it for the first days so chicks can find feed.

Step 7: Arrival day

Most hatcheries ship chicks to your local post office, which usually calls you when the box arrives, often early in the morning. Give the post office your phone number and let them know you're expecting live birds.

• Pick them up right away and bring the box home in a warm car.
• Check the box before you leave, and follow your hatchery's instructions for reporting losses. University of Kentucky guidance advises opening the box at the post office to document any losses, since claims can be hard to make later. Policies differ, so read your hatchery's guarantee first.
• Dip each beak in water as you place chicks in the brooder, so they learn where it is.
• Watch behavior. Chicks huddled under the heat may be cold. Chicks crowded at the far edges may be too warm. Evenly spread, active chicks are comfortable. Follow your hatchery's or extension service's guidance on brooder temperature.

Our raising chicks day one guide covers the first 48 hours in detail.

Common mistakes

• Ordering in spring for spring. By then, many popular breeds and hatch weeks are gone.
• Ignoring minimums until checkout. Plan breeds around per-breed minimums, or you'll end up with more birds than planned.
• Assuming "pullets" means all hens. Budget for an occasional rooster.
• Setting up the brooder on arrival day. Run it for a day first.
• Using a heat lamp without thinking through the fire risk.

Pullets or chicks?

If raising chicks isn't for you, many hatcheries and farms sell started pullets that are older and closer to laying. See chicks vs pullets vs started layers. And if you're still choosing breeds, our guide to chicken breeds by egg color is a good place to plan a colorful egg basket.