Frequently Asked Questions

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...

Well, first remember that if you hatched these babies at home, chicks don't actually need to eat or drink for the first two or three days... so the fact that your home-hatched chicks aren't eating or drinking immediately isn't always a cause for concern. Strange but true. Hatching is hard work, and with the yolk that they have just absorbed to sustain them, sometimes they just take time to rest and recover. That said, if you've had chicks shipped rather than hatching them at home---or if your home-hatched chicks are a couple days old or seem weak---they will definitely need...

Unfortunately, no. USPS does NOT guarantee overnight Express delivery for live animals, as much as we would like them to. We agree: it seems a little crazy that the MOST important packages aren't subject to the same guarantees that much less sensitive packages have... but that is their policy. Even though the Post Office won't refund your postage, as a part of My Pet Chicken's 100% Live Arrival Guarantee, in addition to refunding the cost of lost chicks, we do cover shipping costs in some circumstances (out of our own pockets). Read details of our 100% Live Arrival Guarantee here...

Well, we can tell you HOW the different colors are made, but as to WHY the different colors are produced, there are just theories. There are guesses, but no one really knows for sure. It's intuitive to think that the colors and patterns of bird eggs should help provide camouflage for the eggs while they're in the nest. However, it's been problematic to show a relationship. For instance, one scientist, Gotmark, painted eggs different colors (brown, white, blue, spotted) and placed them in nests with varying degrees of cover, then kept track of which eggs suffered predation. The color didn't...

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...

Some chicken breeds lay year round (save when they go broody). One of our employees who's at a mid-latitude in the US reports that any girls who stop laying during the winter begin again regularly--and surprisingly precisely--on February 1 or 2, about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. If you live in an area where day length doesn't change much, your chickens may begin laying sooner (or never stop). If you live in an area where winter days are very short and cold, they may begin laying again later in the year. While it's the increasing light...

Power loss can happen at any time due to storms, fallen trees, traffic accidents, construction, lightning, and more. A prolonged power outage can be a real problem if you have baby chicks or waterfowl in the brooder and are depending on an electric heater to keep them warm. You don't want anything to happen to your babies, so it's important to be prepared in case the power goes out on you. Here are some ideas to help keep your chicks safe in the event of a power outage: Hot Water Bottles - One of our customers from Vermont told us...