Hatching Eggs
How much do you charge to ship eggs?
We can ship up to two-dozen hatching eggs for a flat-rate of $25 anywhere in the continental US. There is no minimum order for shipping eggs. If you’d like us to request the post office hold your package to reduce its transit time and get your eggs to you faster, please let us know.
How many eggs should I order?
When we first started hatching, we followed the conservative assumption that only 50% of shipped eggs hatch successfully. However, that’s typically a worst-case scenario, and we’ve actually had great success with shipped eggs and found ourselves with more chicks than we needed. If our goal was to have a flock of 5 hens, we’d play it safe and order 20 hatching eggs. Assuming 10 eggs hatch and half are cockerels (males), we’d end up with 5 pullets (hens). We know plenty of hatchers who take a more dialed in approach and would only order 10 eggs if they wanted to end up with 5 hens. Assuming all 10 eggs hatched, they’d likely have 5 cockerels and 5 hens. Regardless of the approach you take, be sure you have a brooder and supplies prepared for however many chicks come out of your incubator. Nothing zaps the joy out of hatching—or puts a newborn chick at risk —as quickly as an under-prepared brooder.
When do you ship eggs?
Our hens begin laying regularly in the spring and we start checking for fertility in early April and ship through October. Once fertility is verified, we’ll email you about your order and confirm a shipping date based on when your order was received. All orders are shipped on a Tuesday. You can always push your ship date back, but you cannot move it forward.
What should I do with my eggs when they arrive?
Carefully unpack your eggs and place them in a clean egg carton pointy side down, large side up for 24 hours before putting them in your prepared incubator. This allows eggs to slowly come to room temperature and for each egg’s air sac to settle back into position after a bumpy journey. Now is also a good time to candle your eggs and discard any that may have been cracked in transit.
Do you offer refunds on unhatched or damaged eggs?
We do not offer refunds on unhatched or damaged eggs, but we do insure all of our shipped eggs through USPS. If eggs arrived cracked or damaged, please let us know immediately, save all packaging, and take photos of the damaged product. You can file a claim through USPS here using your tracking number, shipping label, receipt, and proof of damage.
Do you guarantee hatch rates?
We guarantee your eggs will arrive fresh and fertile, but because so many variables can affect hatching success (ex. fluctuation of temperatures, different incubation practices, USPS handling, etc) we cannot guarantee a specific hatch rate.
Which incubator should I get?
It depends what your hatching goals are. There are many incubators to choose from, but below are a few we are most familiar with. If you’re just starting out and aren’t ready to fully commit to the hatching life, the Nurture Right 360 is a popular budget-friendly choice for beginners. This is the first incubator we used, and we appreciated both the ease of use and many of the automatic functions it offered. For regular hobby hatching, the Brinsea Ovation has many bells and whistles that can make a significant difference in controlling your hatching environment. If you’re planning on hatching larger clutches, the GQF Sportsman has a great reputation and is known for its reliability. We’ve linked to the Amazon page for these products for ease of use, but please consider sourcing them from a local supplier or farm store near you.
Day-old Chicks
Do you ship day-old chicks?
At this time we do not ship chicks.
Can I order only female chicks?
We do not offer any auto-sexing breeds at this time, and we cannot reliably identify a chick’s sex until around 6 weeks of age. All of our chicks are sold as straight run (unsexed). A good rule of thumb is to assume that half of all chicks are males and half are females. If your goal is to end up with 5 hens, we recommend ordering 10 chicks.
When are chicks available for pickup?
We begin hatching chicks in April and continue through August at our homestead in Shoreham, Vermont. After placing your order, you will receive an email with a tentative date and time for pickup. Orders are filled based on when they were received.
Can we return unwanted chicks?
For the health and safety of our flocks, we cannot take a chick back once it has left our homestead. If you need to re-home a chick or young bird, consider reaching out to a local poultry club or chicken swap (many of them have Facebook groups) or contact your local FFA or 4H chapter.
Do you offer a health guarantee?
If a chick dies within 48 of leaving our care, we will offer either a refund or a replacement chick if one is available. You must contact us within 48 hours of picking up your chick in order for the health guarantee to apply. While we breed only the hardiest birds in our flock, baby chicks are extremely fragile and highly susceptible to stress. We cannot emphasize how important it is to bring your chicks home to a well-prepared brooder with adequate space, heat, water, electrolytes, and food. Ensuring those needs are met will go a long way in successfully raising a happy, healthy flock.
Our Flock
What do your chickens eat?
All of our birds are on age-appropriate Green Mountain Feeds Organic Pellets or Crumbles and Scratch Grain. In the spring, summer, and fall, they rotate through our pastures and get to forage for bugs. In the winter, they get barley fodder, scratch grain, and plenty of fruit and veggie scraps. Their diet is also supplemented with herbs, garlic, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and electrolytes throughout the year.
What do you do with your extra roosters?
We let them grow up! Unlike the feed store and big hatcheries, we don’t slaughter our male chicks. Depending on our breeding needs, we begin looking for homes for our young roosters when they’re between 10-20 weeks old. We do our very best to find pet or breeder homes first. Any rooster that is deemed unsafe for families or unfit for breeding based on temperament is offered to farmers who practice ethical culling methods and intend on eating the meat. We do not sell to cull sites, auctions, or for bait. If you are interested in giving a young rooster a home, please reach out. There is no fee for rooster adoptions.
Do you vaccinate your flock?
We do not vaccinate our flock or our chicks. We are fortunate to be able to provide our birds with plenty of space, fresh air, sunshine, clean water, and a wholesome diet to support their health. This approach has worked well for us, but it requires extra time and planning to ensure clean facilities, proper pasture rotation, and close monitoring. We also have a rigid biosecurity plan in place to help prevent the spread of disease from off-site locations or between flocks. As we work on our NPIP certification, part of the process is having our flock tested annually to ensure they’re free of disease. There are many ways to manage the health of your flock, and we support you in finding the approach that’s best for you and your birds.
Policies
Cancellations & Refunds
If you cancel an order at least 7 days before your pickup or ship date, we will issue a 60% refund, plus the cost of shipping. The other 40% can be applied as store credit for a future purchase. Orders cancelled within 7 days of expected ship or pickup date are nonrefundable.
Because we’re working with live animals, lots of unforeseeable circumstances can impact our flock. In the rare event that an order cannot be filled, we will let you know immediately and issue a full refund.
Do you offer refunds on unhatched or damaged eggs?
We do not offer refunds on unhatched or damaged eggs, but we do insure all of our shipped eggs through USPS. We take special care to package our eggs safely and securely for their long journey ahead. Once eggs leave our hands, there are many factors that can impact their viability (ex. temperature extremes, different incubation practices, USPS handling, etc). If eggs arrive cracked or damaged, please let us know immediately, save all packaging, and take photos of the damaged product. You can file a claim through USPS here using your tracking number, shipping label, receipt, and proof of damage.
