Frequently Asked Questions

We do sell chicks most of the year round, but there are a variety of reasons baby chicks aren't available for purchase at all times. Chickens naturally lay fewer eggs in the colder, darker months of winter. Some breeds stop entirely. Fertility is usually lower in the winter, too, so fewer chicks will hatch. In addition, in the fall and winter, our hens will be molting and regrowing new feathers for the coming year, so even those breeds that are good winter layers may lay reduced numbers of eggs, or may briefly stop laying until molting is over. That means...

Losses are rare (we see them happen about 1% of the time), but they do occur. For that reason, we recommend that if you have children, make sure they are not around when you open the package. If you do experience any losses, be sure to let us know within 48 hours of having received your order so your loss will be covered by our live arrival guarantee. If someone else is picking up or caring for your chicks for some reason, be sure to have them contact us within the 48-hour deadline to report any losses. When reporting losses,...

Debeaking or "beak trimming" is what it's called when a baby chick's beak is burnt or seared off. It is painful and cruel. Here we explain more about the practice and why we're against it. Why do some breeders debeak their birds? Most rare breed hatcheries and breeders do not beak trim newly-hatched baby chicks, but often trim beaks of birds they're planning on selling when they're a bit older. The reason they do this is so they can pack the birds into a very small space. Keeping chickens in close confinement naturally causes severe stress, and in response to...

We do understand that other hatcheries may do things differently than we do--did you know that chickens are not protected by the Humane Slaughter Act the way other "food" animals are?--but we wouldn't be able to sleep at night if our hatchery engaged in those practices. The majority of the baby chicks that aren't adopted are offered up for auction near our hatching facility. A portion of the unsold chicks are humanely euthanized and we are continuously looking for better alternatives.

You can check the exact shipping cost to your location by placing the items you want in your shopping basket and clicking the "calculate" link (you'll have to enter your zip code so the cost can be calculated). Small orders of baby chicks, ducklings and goslings need extra attention to ship safely, so they include high tech long lasting heat packs to keep the babies warm, plus custom amounts of nesting material and ventilation to prevent jostling or stifling, based on the prevailing weather. Due to this special attention, very small orders of chicks and waterfowl cost a good deal...

The Marek's Disease vaccination is attenuated, which means, in most cases, it's not even developed using the Marek's virus. Instead, it's developed using a different illness common to turkeys, but which causes the chickens in question to develop immunity to Marek's. This is the same way the small pox vaccine was developed for humans: the vaccine is actually based on cowpox. However, cowpox provided immunity from deadly smallpox, even though you can't get smallpox from the vaccine. We know of no reports or studies showing that nonvaccinated birds can be infected with Marek's Disease by exposure to birds vaccinated for...

No, most of the time, we do not add extra chicks. Especially with small orders, we are careful not to add chicks (although it may happen occasionally, usually only if we've miscounted!). For larger orders of 25 or more chicks, it is more common to receive an extra. We understand that most of you are ordering very small quantities of birds, and may only be allowed to keep the exact number you have ordered. Since we ship our chicks with heat packs when the weather calls for it, we don't add "extra males for warmth" like other hatcheries do. If...

In most cases, that will be because you are ordering more chicks than are available for your preferred date. When you place virtual chicks in your shopping basket, My Pet Chicken's automated checkout system takes quantity into account, so it could be that you're trying to ordering FOUR chicks when we only have one or two left on your preferred date. When that is the case, obviously, we can't reserve chicks for you that we don't expect to have, so you are offered only the date choices in which your combination of breeds--and at the quantities you want!--will be available....

There is little more beautiful than a mother hen sheltering chicks beneath her wings. And there is little more efficient! If you have the luxury of having a broody hen to raise your chicks, you should totally take it. But there are some important things to be aware of! When you are having a broody hen raise new baby chicks that have been shipped to you, first remember that your hen has to be currently broody. If she is not broody when you try to introduce chicks to her, she may try to kill them, but she certainly won't adopt...

You pay for your order as soon as it is placed; that is what holds your reservation. We don't keep your payment information on file---this helps protect you from identity theft. But for that reason, we have no way of charging your card weeks or months later when your birds have hatched---or your juveniles are grown---and are ready to ship. In addition, when ordering baby chicks in particular, if we did keep your payment information and wait to charge you on hatch day, if there were some problem with the transaction, it would create a BIG problem for the baby...

No, we're sorry. If you want specific breeds or colors, you'll need to purchase each breed you want and construct your order that way. The assortments are hatchery choice, and are not sorted by breed or color.

No, no, no... you don't want to do that. It's is a bad idea for many reasons. First, one chicken raised alone will often die of loneliness--they are flock animals and need companions. Second, baby chicks require a nice warm brooder--and by warm, we mean about 95 degrees! They will get ill and die at room temperature in an Easter basket. And third, even were you to buy several chicks and give them proper care in a brooder, generally speaking, it's still just not an ethical thing to do. It's cruel to raise a baby animal, or several, only to...

Well, the truth is that it simply depends on how you want us to handle any problems with your order. Some customers will wait many months for just the right breed, because the breed they get is the most important consideration for them. Others may not care so much what breed they receive, so long as they get the shipping date they need. So, take a few moments to consider your needs before making this choice. When you choose "no substitutions," that has to do with what day you are originally scheduled to receive your birds. Our website is updated...

You're right that some breeds like Polish and silkies can come bearded or nonbearded, but there is no way to choose which because they are not sorted that way. The same goes for ordering "blue" breeds. As you can see in the descriptions, blues usually come in a mix of blue, black and splash. When that's the case, you cannot choose which you receive. Similarly, you can't choose what color Easter Egger you get, or which birds come in a hatchery or breeder choice assortment. All your buying options are always right on the pages.

You're not wrong to be upset at the loss of your pets, of course, but if you're upset at your hatchery for suggesting that deaths weren't related to Marek's disease or asking questions about your brooder set up, your anger is misplaced. Of course it's upsetting when your pets die! However, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual, Marek's Disease can develop in chickens as young as three weeks old, not younger. Since your chicks weren't even old enough to show the first symptoms, whatever they died from couldn't have been from Marek's, whether they were vaccinated, not vaccinated, badly vaccinated...

No. If you want to purchase live birds or fertile eggs, you will need to find a local supplier to help you; we do not ship internationally. (We don't even ship non-live items internationally.) If there is no local supplier and you want to go to the effort of importing chickens or fertile eggs into your country, you should be aware that it's not an easy process. Plus, we still can't help you--we don't export or ship internationally. We get asked often enough that we can provide some advice, though. First, you will need to check to see what customs...

Our breeding flocks are very large. We can't know which chicks hatch from which eggs. Even if we could, we don't keep track of which hen laid which egg, and we can't know which rooster fertilized which eggs, either. However, if you purchase birds from My Pet Chicken or some other major hatchery, generally speaking you can probably presume that the flocks are large enough to breed your birds together at home. Hatcheries understand that's what people want to do, so they keep breeding flocks with plenty of genetic diversity for breeding future generations. If you purchase birds from a...

Breeds that are not available individually may still be used to fulfill assortments, since the assortments consist of breeds that have hatched better than we predicted on a given hatch day. In other words, assortments can certainly be (and often are) fulfilled with otherwise sold out breeds, because once we've provided for the orders reserved for that week, we can use the remaining birds for assortments. This is a function of having to literally count our chickens before they've hatched: when making our availability estimates, we are conservative so we can avoid disappointing anyone who has reserved a specific breed....

Well, that's a more complex question than you may think. If there should be a problem on hatch day, of course we will contact you just as soon as we are aware, so you'll know to expect an altered shipment, or not to expect birds that week (depending on what you've asked us to do in the case of a hatch day issue). However, keep in mind that it wouldn't be before the Monday of hatch week, since we wouldn't know that there was a shortage of females hatching (for example) until after the babies had hatched and had been...

Our breeding flocks are raised indoor birds for reasons of biosecurity. Large hatcheries and serious breeders are more or less required to raise their birds indoors, since one of the main vectors for a lot of avian diseases is contact with wild birds. Hatcheries and breeders must be able to show by testing that their birds are free of these diseases (so sick or diseased chicks aren't sent all across the country!).   However, these aren't factory farm conditions like you see in the meat or egg industry with each bird being allocated a tiny cage that they can't even...

We know you're dying to start keeping chickens--but you don't want to get a flock of beauties only to find out later that they're illegal and have to give them up! That said, determining if it's legal to keep chickens in your area can sometimes be a little complex. Here's our best advice to determine if you are permitted to keep chickens in your neighborhood: First, we recommend you contact both your local health and zoning boards to see if there are any regulations relating to keeping chickens in your area. In addition to local regulations, if there is a...

Hens of most breeds are rather quiet except for right before and right after they have laid an egg. Then they may make a loud "announcement" about it for a few minutes, usually called a cackle. They seem to be very proud of their accomplishment! Some breeds like Brahmas, Australorps, Faverolles and Mille Fleur D'Uccles are often specifically described as being quiet, but frankly I've never seen too awful much difference between a "quiet" breed and a "normal" breed in my flock. Hens of most breeds are fairly unobtrusive. Antwerp Belgian Bantam hen Young pullets who have just begun to...

I'm afraid not. The minimums are based on how many chicks are safe to ship, not how many we would like to sell. You can't give us extra money to send fewer chicks than would be safe to send you. Also, My Pet Chicken never send extra males for warmth. If you don't want to rehome extra roosters, please be careful when ordering from other hatcheries--be sure to check, first, and find out if you will be receiving extra roosters with you small order!

Normally you want to order the number of chickens you want to end up with---don't order extras with the expectation that some will die. But there are a few considerations you may want to take into account. Whether you lose any over the course of bringing them to laying age will also depend in part on the conditions you provide for them at your home. For instance, if your brooder isn't hot enough---or if it's too hot!---you may lose some chicks. Baby chicks can drown in waterers that are too deep, and if waterers or feeders are not securely seated,...

If you have a hen with wry neck, it is probably not a genetic problem... but read on, because the problem with answering that question definitively is that "wry neck" is not in itself an illness. It's just a symptom. Torticollis is the medical/technical term for wry neck; it is an abnormal head position where the bird may not be able to hold her head in a normal position. "Wry neck," "crook neck," "twisted neck," "limber neck" and "stargazing" are all common, nontechnical terms that are used more or less interchangeably to describe the symptom of torticollis. "My neck is...

My Pet Chicken's breeders and hatcheries handle all the state-level permits required to get the chicks safe and sound to you. So when you order from My Pet Chicken, there is usually nothing you will need to do with regard to state permits. Most states in the US require baby chicks and juvenile birds that ship across state lines to originate from clean hatcheries like ours, hatcheries that participate in NPIP (the National Poultry Improvement Plan). This is so that the birds will have been imported from flocks whose health is monitored. That's why My Pet Chicken's hatchery handles this...

And if there is a risk that some chicks die on the way, then how can you justify staying in business?|Of course we hate it when chicks die along the way; every bird is an individual, and every loss is a tragedy. However, when it comes to shipping baby chicks, the risk of loss is small; in fact, it tends to be less than the risk of losing baby chicks you hatched at home in your home incubator. Even broody hens lose chicks. The truth is that we see more chicks die due to a lack of adequate care at...

This is one of those questions where it's hard to tell what exactly you're asking, a question that tells us you're probably a beginner at incubation. Remember, fertility rates are different than hatching rates. Even when the eggs you place in your incubator are 100% fertile, you may get zero of them to hatch. This is because if the conditions aren't just right---if your incubator is too hot or too cold (or too humid or not humid enough, etc.)---the eggs may not hatch in those sub-optimal conditions. So, hatching rates are dependent on YOU, and how well you or your...

Not exactly, although ear lobe color seems to be related to egg color most of the time. Breeds with white earlobes usually lay white eggs... except for Penedesencas and Empordanesas, which have white earlobes and lay dark chocolate colored eggs. Chickens with red earlobes usually lay eggs in shades of brown... except for breeds and varieties like Easter Eggers, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas, which lay blue or green eggs. Then there is the Silkie. The hens lay light brown or nearly white eggs, while their earlobes are blue. Check out my lobes! So ear lobe color is often related to---but not...

In almost every case, starting a laying flock with baby chicks will be easier and less expensive than starting one by hatching fertile eggs at home. Don't get us wrong, home hatching is great! But remember that fertile eggs (supplied from any source) are not guaranteed to hatch, because shipping can be so rough on the eggs. With shipped eggs, the average hatch rate is about 50%. That's just the average, though! That means sometimes you will have higher, and sometimes lower. In fact, with eggs, it is possible to do everything right and still not have any hatch. Plus,...

We're sorry the breed you want is currently sold out, but yes---there is hope if you're diligent! It's the MUST HAVE white Silkie! Our website always has up to date availability information, because as orders are placed, our inventory of chicks is updated automatically every five minutes. Sometimes more availability dates can be added throughout the year due to updates to our flocks' expected egg production, or due to cancellations by other customers. This additional availability is usually added on Mondays and Tuesdays, so those are the best days to check for new dates. So, if out of stock status...

We do not use sexed birds as straight run. (No hatchery we know of does that--how dishonest would THAT be?!.) It does not pay us to sex all our baby chicks--the services of a chicken sexer are expensive because it is such a specialized skill and takes so many years to learn. We sex enough baby chicks to fulfill orders for the sexed birds that week, and only those that are NOT sexed are used as straight run birds. Any extra sexed chicks will be used to substitute for the same sex of another breed that had a bad hatch...

No, that's not true. First, broodiness is not tied to whether a chicken is purebred or not. Broodiness depends more on a chicken's breed, her genetic background. For instance, Rhode Island Reds very seldom go broody. Leghorns and other Mediterranean breeds are very unlikely to go broody, too, because not going broody very often is just a characteristic of those breeds. Other breeds may go broody very frequently--too frequently, some people find! For instance, orpingtons and silkies often seem to be broody most of the time. Second, as for "modern" breeds being less likely to brood, that's not true, either....

Depending on which chicken breed and color you order at My Pet Chicken, some will be guaranteed to be all Blue, Black, or Splash. At the same time, others will be hatched and sold as mixed flock colors including blue, black, and splash. How do Chickens get Blue Feathers? When a blue rooster and a blue hen reproduce, even though they're both blue, they only pass the blue gene to about half of their offspring. About 25% of their offspring will be black... and the last 25% or so will be splash. Blue: The genes for "blue" are actually more...

We want to make sure your chicks arrive safe and sound. Most of the year, your smallest minimum order could be as low as only three chicks (based on your location and on how quickly the post office tells us your package will arrive), but during the winter months, your minimum order will be significantly higher in order to make sure the chicks stay warm and safe. The minimums in winter is just 8 chicks.

Let's talk about Designer Chicken Breeds, Breeds, and Varieties, so you'll understand the differences in terminology.       Designer Chicken Breed There are two main differences between Designer Breeds and real Breeds: Designer chicken breeds will not breed true, and they are not American Poultry Association (APA) recognized. Not recognized A Designer chickens such as Favaucanas are not an APA-recognized chicken breed, the same way a Goldendoodle---crossing a Golden Retriever and a Poodle---is not an American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized dog breed. That is to say: they are recognized in the sense that you've probably heard of them, but Favaucanas and Goldendoodles...

Frizzles and sizzles are not breeds of chickens so much as they are words describing three very showy feather types that chickens can exhibit. Most pet chicken aficionados, for example, know what Silkies are. They are a breed of chicken with a feather type that is lacking in the barbicels that help the feather keep its tidy shape. So, silkie feathers end up looking very much like fur--and their feathers feel a lot like fur, too! The Silkie chicken breed is named after its feather type. This White Silkie is showing off her unique feather type. There are other unusual...

We will send you an email with the tracking number for your order when your chicks "fly the coop," and you can use that to follow their progress. We mark our shipments "CALL ON ARRIVAL," and most post offices ask customers to pick up their peeping packages right at the post office. The phone number(s) you provide will be on the shipping label so they can contact you. (Some post offices deliver them right to your door instead of asking you to pick them up, however.) We recommend that you go to your local post office, let them know you...

The definition of "heritage" in relation to chicken breeds is a bit flexible, but when we use the word, we're referring to breeds that have been around a long time, are non-hybrid, genetically stable, naturally-mating, and outdoor-hardy breeds that have proven valuable for generations. Heritage breeds are ones that have been around long enough to prove their usefulness as either egg layers, meat breeds, or dual-purpose breeds, and to become genetically stable--able to reproduce offspring true to the breed. As such, heritage breeds cannot be hybrids ("mutts" - the offspring of two different breeds), because hybrids do not breed true...

You knew this already: that depends on many different factors. Most importantly, it depends on what type of eggs you're buying at the grocery store. If you're buying the pricey, organic and/or pasture-raised eggs, then yes, it's possible to save money with a flock of your own. If you're looking to save money by keeping chickens.

Here's what the CDC says about COVID-19, as of November 2021: The risk of animals spreading the virus to people is low; the virus can spread from people to animals during close contact. More studies are needed to understand how different animals could be affected by the virus; people with the virus should avoid contact with pets, livestock and wildlife. The CDC also recommends that since all animals can carry germs that make people sick, that you should follow these healthy habits when you're around pets and other animals: Wash your hands after handling animals, their food, waste, or supplies....

We'd like to answer this question, "dozens and hundreds!" because keeping chickens is so wonderful--but for the health and safety of the birds (and the financial and psychological well-being of our customers!) it's best to actually plan and strategize before you start your flocks. In light of that, here are some factors to consider when deciding how many birds to get: The social needs of chickens Chickens are flock animals that interact with on each other in various ways including dust bathing, grooming, broodiness and sharing egg boxes, chick-raising, warmth, protection, and perhaps even chicken friendship. Because of this, it's...

Because of our special packaging methods, we are able to ship smaller orders of chicks to meet the needs of our awesome small-flock backyard chicken enthusiasts. But for the safety of the chicks in shipping, we do have a minimum order which is based on time of year (our minimum orders go up in winter to protect the chicks from the cold).  We are not able to make exceptions to our minimum order amounts, as this is the fewest number of chicks we can safely ship to your zip code. We want to make sure your chicks arrive happy and...