FAQ
Featured Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
The Chick Hatchery replies to all your question
For immediate assistance send your questions or comments to Chicks@thechickhatchery.com
As soon as you know when and how many you want to order you should go ahead and book your order. It is common practice to order 2-6 weeks prior to the date you want for delivery. The earlier you order your birds the better your chances are of getting them when you want them. When we receive your order, we look for the earliest possible date for ALL of your breeds requested and are available together. We then secure that date and take those birds off the market for sale and send you a confirmation of your hatch/ship date. Because live newly hatched chicks become perishable the day they hatch, it is necessary to have them all sold well before their hatch date.
Due to our new paperless inventory system, once an order is placed you will not be able to make any partial cancels, however you will be able to add on. Because of system limitations there will be NO EXCEPTIONS made on this rule. Please be sure of what you want to order before ordering it.
Regulations vary from state to state especially with Game Birds and some Turkeys. Be sure to check your local regulations.
The term ST RUN refers to chickens that are boxed as hatched. Generally an order of 100 ST Run chicks will have 50 males and 50 females. The smaller number of chicks you order, the less likely you are to have the 50/50 ratio. An example would be an order of 6 chicks could have 2 pullets and 4 males reducing your ratio to 33% females. There is no guarantee of the ratio of females to males when you order st. runs.
If you are just wanting fresh eggs, you do not need roosters. If you are wanting to breed, we recommend about 1 male for every 10 females. Some breeds may need more or less but the 1:10 ratio is a good starting place.
We hatch 52 weeks a year. However, not all breeds hatch each week. Some poultry are seasonal. Check the Breed descriptions to identify availability.
Marek’s Disease is a common viral disease that affects chickens. People who already have a backyard flock can assume their chickens have it. Some birds never develop the symptoms, but still carry the disease and can infect others. People with a few pet chickens may not think they need to have their chicks vaccinated, but to insure the best prognosis for chickens, buyers should consider it. The Marek’s vaccination is an optional service that we offer for all bantam & standard breed chickens. The Chick Hatchery recommends this service because the disease is easily spread.
Payment & Shipping Questions
We ONLY ship through the US Postal Service. Other carriers do NOT handle baby chick shipments. Newly hatched chicks have their three day supply of yolk still in their system to sustain them during shipping. Shipping is usually a 2-3 day delivery. We also pack each order different depending on the time of year and the current travel conditions. We can pack different types of fowl together safely. We also add Gro-Gel to our shipments to give the chicks so extra nourishment along the trip. If the weather is cold we may add a heat pack to your box to help keep your chicks warm. Not all shipments will require a heat pack. Cornish Cross Broilers do not require a heat pack because they tend to be warmer chicks.
Orders are processed in the order received. When ordering through the website you will receive an immediate e-mail response notifying you that your order has been received. The email will tell you that your order is on hold until we have fnished processing it. You will receive a second e-mail in 1-3 business days that includes your confirmed ship date or estimated date of arrival. If the e-mail address you listed on your order is correct and you have not heard from us in 7 days, check that your Spam/Junk folder has not blocked our e-mail.
Availability is updated weekly and does not represent a guaranteed ship date. Keep in mind when ordering multiple breeds, some breeds may sell out faster than others. We need to find a common available hatch date for all breeds selected which may cause a desired ship date to be different from what you have selected.
We ship to the entire United States except Alaska & Hawaii (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) We do not ship outside the USA.
We do Charge Shipping for Alternate Meat Birds, Chickens, Bantams, Chukar, Ducks, Geese, Guinea Keets, Pheasants, Started Pullets, & Turkeys. Cornish Cross Meat Birds, Quick Chicks and Hatching Eggs Ship for Free.
Yes, We coordinate your hatch/ship date based on the availability of each of poultry you’ve requested so that your entire order will come in one shipment.
We do not advise or recommend that your order is delivered to your home because this guarantees that they will spend more time in an unregulated area. Chicks are shipped to your local Post Office. You will have to work something out with your Post Office if you want them to be delivered to your home. We put your phone number on the shipping box and we instruct the post office to call you to come and pick them up at the post office. Delivery can be 1-3 days. Make sure you are available for the anticipated day and days around the arrival date and that you have someone to care for chicks the first 24 hours in the brooder.
We offer a 100% Live Arrival Guarantee on all poultry from The Chick Hatchery. We guarantee that when your shipment arrives you will receive a full count of live, healthy poultry that you ordered and paid for. Poultry are shipped USPS Priority Mail on the day of hatch. We put a lot of care in making sure that your order is filled correctly and that it is prepared for shipment according to the weather. Poultry Breeds and sexes will be mixed to ensure that your chicks arrive to you in optimum condition. Generally, we try to add extra chicks when available to help fulfill this guarantee so be sure to count your live chicks when they arrive. We do NOT guarantee that every order will receive extra chicks, especially if your order is just for a few chicks or we have a less than expected hatch rate. We guarantee the amount of birds you ordered will arrive alive and safe. Our guarantee does not include the extra birds put into your order, only the total amount of birds you ordered. We do not guarantee the quantities of specific breeds you ordered, only the total quantity of chicks in the order.
Unfortunately, We do not offer Local Pick Ups. Due to Biosecurity Measures set forth by the National Poultry Improvement Program (NPIP) & the Animal Plant & Health Inspection Service (APHIS), we are unable to allow general public and non-employees on our farms or in our hatcheries. We would be happy to arrange a shipment directly to your local post office.
Hatch Day is an extremely busy day for our Hatchery. Generally we don’t hear from our packers regarding orders and shipments unless there’s a problem. We will email you shipping confirmation (including Tracking Information if you request it) by end-of-day the day your order ships out or early the following morning. We do not Guarantee you will receive Tracking the same day your order ships out.
We Encourage you to sign up for Email or Text Alerts on the USPS Tracking Page when your Tracking Number is sent.
The Tracking ID system that the USPS uses is NOT a complete, real-time report of the package’s location. Please do not panic if the Tracking information shows that the package has not moved, or doesn’t appear to be making progress. Rest assured, most packages arrive in 1-2 days, some may take 3 days. USPS delivery date estimations may vary, and may sometimes reflect inaccurate delivery estimations.
Tracking Information is provided by the USPS. The Chick Hatchery is not responsible for the content, accuracy or availability of Tracking Information.
Tracking Information is provided by the USPS. The Chick Hatchery is not responsible for the content, accuracy or availability of Tracking Information.
