100% Live Delivery Guaranteed
We guarantee that you will receive full count of live, healthy poultry according to this guarantee. We place extra chicks in each box to help fulfill this guarantee. However, if losses should occur in shipment and you do receive less live chicks than you ordered, we will make an adjustment either by replacing poultry, (we are not able to ship just a few chicks for replacement) or process a refund for the chick price or a credit to another order you are placing for the current year.  Please open chick boxes immediately and inspect poultry. If your shipment is INSURED and you do not have a full count that you paid for (don't count any extras we may have sent), please ask the delivery agent to sign your Statement of Loss (PS form 1000) and send to us immediately.  Or go online to USPS.com/insuranceclaims/online.  If your shipment was NOT INSURED and you have a loss, then call us ASAP for an adjustment. This guarantee is only for the safe and live delivery of your poultry. 
Any loss must be reported to the hatchery within 3 days of receipt for any adjustment to be made.  We DO NOT offer any guarantee/replacements/refunds on shipments of Peafowl or Rare Ornamental Pheasants.  At NO time will Cackle Hatchery accept returns of live or deceased poultry.

                                                                                  
Quality Guaranteed. All Cackle poultry are guaranteed to be of the grade, quality, sex and breed as represented. Should any error occur we will make prompt adjustment. In producing these chicks the seller has followed approved and recommended methods of flock control and egg selection and has established sanitary and disease control standards in the Hatchery operation. Seller does not warrant poultry to be free from any disease which could not be ascertained at the time of sale. Liability is limited in all cases to replacement of damaged chicks and extra chicks must apply. Replacement good for 1 time only. Under no circumstances shall our liability, on claims of any kind, exceed the total price paid for poultry. We participate in the United States Department of Agriculture Animal Health inspection service "National Poultry Improvement Plan".

Website/Catalog Pricing:
While we have taken every precaution to ensure accurate prices, we cannot guarantee the website/catalog to be free of pricing and description errors.  Also, prices may change without notice.  The merchandise prices on this website supersede all prior prices. 

Free Shipping:  Is only for poultry specials where indicated that the poultry package and shipping is all one price.  Free Shipping is also only for products that are indicated free shipping.  Free Shipping IS NOT for any items going to Hawaii or Alaska and is intended for the lower 48 states.  Cackle Hatchery reserves the right to discontinue or change our Free Shipping offer.  We ship poultry ONLY to the United States and NOT Internationally.  We DO NOT ship poultry, equipment and supplies Internationally. 

*10% discount for Qualified Youth Organizations is for pre-ordered sales only. Discount does not apply to in-store sales from the brooder or any sales of assortments or specials. This discount is only good at the time of ordering and is void for any added or changed orders or retroactive request for the discounts. The discount also only applies to orders of 30 birds or less per qualified youth participant and used for showing. You will be requested to furnish your group name and/or leaders. Generally organized youth poultry club, FFA projects and 4H projects with the above restrictions apply for discount.

Pullet Sexing Guaranteed * 95%. We guarantee on a 100 paid pullet order that you will receive at least * 95 pullets (assuming all the chicks survived to be counted). If we make an error and we did not live up to our stated guarantee, we will refund the pullet purchase price on under 95%. In other words if you have over 5% that are roosters of your pullet order we should be able to refund at pullet price over the 5%. Claims must be sent directly to us when chicks are not more than 12 weeks old. We have one of the best rated and multiple gender selecting methods in the industry, however, still it is only about 95% accurate. We do not have any guarantees on percentages on males or females for assorted chicks or straight run chicks.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY to you as a customer is to provide healthy good quality chicks that arrive to you alive and in good condition.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY is to provide an environment with proper heat, food and water as given in our care sheet.  The care sheet is to be read at the time of ordering your birds (preparation information) and read again at time of delivery of birds.  To report any unsafe delivery to us as instructed in the above "Live Delivery Guarantee" section.  "Care Sheet - information found on the home page of www. cacklehatchery.com/page14.html and a hard copy enclosed with your shipment of birds.

10% CANCELED ORDER FEE FOR POULTRY (RESTOCKING FEE) – Any orders placed and then cancelled will have 10% of the total price deducted from the total purchase and shipping price and the difference refunded by check if paid by check and if paid by credit card will have the credit card credited back the difference. Rationale for the fee: Orders paid for/booked are taken off the market for sale and are marked sold and we potentially could have a lost opportunity for a buyer if cancelled . Cancelled orders create book keeping and labor cost to process the cancelled order, labor to recalculate deletions and adding back on the sell sheets, along with postage or credit card fees to process credits. Our chicks pricing is not formulated for cancelled order cost.  We do make exceptions for the 10% fee for emergencies and will move a ship date to another date; however, every effort should be made to be prepared to receive your chicks on your given date.  Refunds are processed ASAP, but on busy rare occasions can take up to 3 weeks to be completed.  It is common practice for customers to order their poultry 2-8 weeks in advance of the time they would like them delivered.  Because live new chicks become perishable the day they hatch, it is necessary to have them all sold well before their hatch date.  Newly hatched chicks have their 3 day supply of yolk still in their system to sustain them for their trip to your home.  We ship every Monday and Wednesday and your birds should arrive at your post office or mailing address within 2 days.  Your confirmation notice will give you your hatch/ship date.  You should be very flexible around your delivery date so you can take your birds immediately to your brooder to be warmed up so they will go to eating and drinking.  See our care sheet and preparation.

We NO longer accept orders booked WITHOUT payment. Orders must be paid at time of booking the order.

Returned Check Charge - $25.00

Boxing: All poultry will be boxed according to the weather, so the poultry will have the best chance of survival. Because of this, breeds and sexes must be mixed.  Unless indicated by you, breeds and sexes will not be marked.

Can I make changes to my order or add more birds to my order?  We are NO longer accepting additions to orders or changes to orders.  REASON: It has created too many mistakes to orders, caused double shipments, caused our bird counts to not be right for selling birds and caused shorting other customer's orders.  OPTIONS:  The best option is to make a new order for the added birds (we can ship as little as 15 birds including bantams and the overall postage cost is not that much for the added order).  The other option is to cancel the order with a 10% cancel fee (fee explained above) and start all over with a new order on a new available shipping date.  Cackle Hatchery will look at solving this issue (additions and changes without causing problems) for the 2013 hatch season.

At no time will our guarantee exceed the original purchase price.

RETURN POLICY

At NO time will Cackle Hatchery accept any returns of live poultry, sick poultry or dead poultry.  If you have encountered a problem please call our customer service department at 417-532-4581.

Cackle Hatchery's Return Policy on all products other than live birds.

If, within 30 days, you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase.   We will replace the item or provide a credit for the full merchandise: shipping and handling charges are not refundable.  Special and custom orders are not refundable, but any defective parts will be replaced.  Returns cannot be shipped C.O.D.

If outside of 30 days, we will inspect the defective product and will, if applicable, issue a credit for future purchases from our company.  The customer is responsible for all return shipping costs until the product is declared defective.  If the product is declared defective, the customer will be credited the cost of the product and the return shipping cost.  If a replacement item is desired, we will not ship the new item until we have received the defective goods.

If the product is unused, and still in its original packaging, we will review the product upon receipt and may issue a credit, minus 20% restocking fee.  The customer is responsible for return shipping cost.  Special and custom orders are not returnable.

Please send all returns to:	Postal Service	UPS - Fed X
	Cackle Hatchery Return Department P.O. Box 529 Lebanon, MO  65536	Cackle Hatchery Return Department 411 W. Commercial St. Lebanon, MO  65536

Please be sure to include at least one of the following with the product: invoice number, order number, and/or account number.

If you have any questions concerning your defective product or return, please contact our customer service department at 1-417-532-4581 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and  4:30  p.m. CST.

If you received a defective product and are within 30 days of purchase. We will issue a refund or exchange for the defective item.  The customer is responsible for all return shipping costs until the product is declared defective.  If the product is declared defective, we will credit the customer for the cost of the product and the return shipping cost.  If a replacement item is desired, we will not ship the new item until we receive the defective goods.

Frequently Asked Questions

Phone Line Is Busy/Internet Confirmed Ship Date. We are sorry if you encounter a busy signal on the phone. We have moved into a larger office, updated our phone system with more lines, and increased our staff. We do apologize if you have trouble getting through. Internet 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. It will include your order number. Please refer to this number if you call or e-mail about your order. You will receive a second e-mail in 1-10 business days that includes your ship date. If the e-mail address you listed on your order is correct and you have not heard from us in 10 days, check that your spam program has not blocked our e-mail. We are hatching 140,000 birds weekly and securing your order and hatch/ship date is done as quickly as humanly possible. 90% of your questions can be answered by going to our home page and clicking on FAQ and GUARANTEES/POLICIES.

Notice:  You've heard the expression "Don't count your chickens before they hatch".  Well, at Cackle hatchery our business demands for us to count our chickens before they hatch and to make it even harder our business demands we count (estimate) our chickens before the eggs are even laid.  We fulfill 95% of the shipping dates we give you for your orders and we apologize if you should be one of the few customers that encounter a delay in the shipment of your chick order.  We would notify you by phone as soon as any delay is encountered.  We thank you for your business and hope we earn your business.  Sincerely, Smith Family

Do the customers pay for shipping? Yes, internet orders automatically figure your shipping for you with online orders.  Mail in orders or phone orders use our shipping chart.  We do NOT charge small order fees or box fees like some suppliers. Most of our supplies, books, incubators, brooders and medications are FREE shipping.

How far in advance should I book my order of chicks? As soon as you know when and how many you want to order you should go ahead and book your order.  We start taking orders January 2nd for that current year to be booked and shipped for anytime between Feb.-Sept.  See Calendar.  You can pick the month you would like your poultry shipped to you or note ASAP.  It is common practice to order 2-6 weeks prior to the date you want for delivery.  For rush orders, we recommend to note as a comment that it is ok to substitute similar kinds in the event we are short on one or two of your requested breeds.  When we receive your order, we look for the earliest possible date for ALL of your breeds requested and are available together.  Some breeds (rare turkey, guineas, ducks, geese, and game birds) are not available for later in the year.  Customers can consider ordering the chicken orders on a separate order for a possible earlier delivery time.  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.  Newly hatched chicks have their three day supply of yolk still in their system to sustain them for their trip to your home.  Cackle hatches 110,000 -140,000 poultry per week and we do a pretty good job of counting our chicks before they hatch when we secure your order.

For RUSH orders, we recommend to "note as a comment" that it is OK to substitute similar kinds in the event we are short on one or two of your requested breeds rather than postponing to another ship/hatch date.  When we receive your order, we look for the earliest possible date for ALL of your breeds requested and are available.

When will my supplies arrive?  Supplies sometime come in separate boxes or from separate shipped locations and you may receive your supplies over a number of days and not all on the same delivery date.  Normally your supplies order from Cackle Hatchery arrive to your delivery address with 10-21 days of the time we receive your paid order.  Orders are shipped by postal service, UPS and other carriers and most generally require someone to sign a delivery receipt before item will be left at the delivery address. All supplies to be used with your new chicks purchased from Cackle Hatchery need to be ordered well in advance (3-4 weeks) of your chick ship date.

 How do you ship your chickens? We ONLY ship through the US Postal Service.  Other carriers do NOT handle baby chick shipments.

Can I make changes to my order or add more birds to my order?  We are NO longer accepting additions to orders or changes to orders.  REASON: It has created too many mistakes to orders, caused double shipments, caused our bird counts to not be right for selling birds and caused shorting other customer's orders.  OPTIONS:  The best option is to make a new order for the added birds (we can ship as little as 15 birds including bantams and the overall postage cost is not that much for the added order).  The other option is to cancel the order with a 10% cancel fee (fee explained below) and start all over with a new order on a new available shipping date.  Cackle Hatchery will look at solving this issue (additions and changes without causing problems) for the 2012 hatch season.

Pullet Sexing Guaranteed * 95%. We guarantee on a 100 paid pullet order that you will receive at least * 95 pullets (assuming all the chicks survived to be counted). If we make an error and we did not live up to our stated guarantee, we will refund the pullet purchase price on under 95%. In other words if you have over 5% that are roosters of your pullet order we should be able to refund at pullet price over the 5%. Claims must be sent directly to us when chicks are not more than 12 weeks old. We have one of the best rated and multiple gender selecting methods in the industry, however, still it is only about 95% accurate. We do not have any guarantees on percentages on males or females for assorted chicks or straight run chicks.

10% CANCELED ORDER FEE (RESTOCKING FEE) – Any orders placed and then cancelled will have 10% of the total price deducted from the total purchase and shipping price and the difference refunded by check if paid by check and if paid by credit card will have the credit card credited back the difference. Rationale for the fee: Orders paid for/booked are taken off the market for sale and are marked sold and we potentially could have a lost opportunity for a buyer if cancelled . Cancelled orders create book keeping and labor cost to process the cancelled order, labor to recalculate deletions and adding back on the sell sheets, along with postage or credit card fees to process credits. Our chicks pricing is not formulated for cancelled order cost.  We do make exceptions for the 10% fee for emergencies and will move a ship date to another date; however, every effort should be made to be prepared to receive your chicks on your given date.  Refunds are processed ASAP, but on busy rare occasions can take up to 3 weeks to be completed.  It is common practice for customers to order their poultry 2-8 weeks in advance of the time they would like them delivered.  Because live new chicks become perishable the day they hatch, it is necessary to have them all sold well before their hatch date.  Newly hatched chicks have their 3 day supply of yolk still in their system to sustain them for their trip to your home.  We ship every Monday and Wednesday and your birds should arrive at your post office or mailing address within 2 days.  Your confirmation notice will give you your hatch/ship date.  You should be very flexible around your delivery date so you can take your birds immediately to your brooder to be warmed up so they will go to eating and drinking.  See our care sheet and preparation

How do the birds survive being shipped by mail? Newly hatched poultry have a 3 day supply of yolk left in their system to provide for them the first 3 days of life.  Mail travel is usually 2-3 day delivery.  Also the first 3 days of life the chicks have a great immune system to adapt to the changing temperature during travel.  We also pack the chicks differently depending on the time of year and current travel conditions..

Where do you ship poultry to? We ship through out 48 of United States including Alaska, and Puerto Rico.  We currently do not ship to the state of Hawaii.  The White Pekin duck is the only duck that the state of Florida will allow us to ship into that state.  The state of Florida does not want any other ducks that are similar to wild ducks shipped into the state.  We do not ship anywhere else outside the USA,

What days are chicks shipped from Cackle Hatchery and what is your minimum order? We ship on every Monday and Wednesday from Feb. – Oct. See Calendar. Cackle has a minimum order of a total of 15 chicks (for warmth purposes). Bantam minimum order is 25 chicks for Feb. - March. Bantam minimum order is 15 chicks for the balance of the year. There is a minimum order per breed/variety of 5 chicks for entire year. Bobwhite Quail and Coturnix Quail have a minimum order of 50 chicks to ship. All Pheasant have a minimum of 15 chicks to ship. The Chukar Partridge has a minimum of 30 chicks to ship. No minimum on turkeys, ducks, or geese if shipped with other birds to make the 15 total minimum chicks ordered. We do have 13 options for “Small Order Special or City-Town Specials that include 3-10 chick shipped.

Will the post office deliver our chicks to us at our home or do we need to go to the post office to pick them up? Each post office has their own policy. We put on your box all the phone numbers you gave to us and we instruct the post office to call you. You should call the post office on the day you expect the delivery of the chicks. Delivery can be 1-3 days. Be sure you or someone is available for the anticipated day and days around the arrival date.

Egg Production: Egg production can vary from one person's experience to another person’s experience. The differences can be many and wide. Variables can include and not exclusive to: history of sickness, wormy, care, lighting, climate, geographic location, housing condition, crowding, feed consumptions, water conditions and consumptions, nutritional care, bedding, sunlight availability, number of cockerels with the flock, noise condition, nesting conditions, roosting conditions, winter housing conditions, summer housing conditions, predator harassment, whether or not you are breaking up setting hens and other conditions. Six months - eighteen months is considered the first laying year. The second laying year the hens usually lay a little bigger egg however, production will be 10%-20% less. The third and fourth year can dramatically decrease. Most owners will harvest the hens after 1-2 years of production and start over with young stock. This is the most economical strategy (less feed consumption) and keeps disease issue down. So one might raise young chicks each year so 1/2 the flock are young pullets and the other 1/2 are last year’s pullets keeping a diversified laying cycle going giving you the best chance at averaging/even the eggs per week you get. Generally in the late summer or fall hens will do a natural molting process and produce very few eggs during this time.

My hens are not laying yet, why is this? Most breeds will start to lay at 5-8 months of age. If not you can check several things; You need to feed them at this age with "egg pellets or crumble", it has everything they need. Maybe throw a hand full of scratch a day for a treat and make them scratch for exercise. Stay away from corn, there is already the right amount of corn in the egg pellets. There is not enough nutrition within corn to keep chickens healthy. Make sure the chickens are not sick, light weight, pale faced, wormy, lice and mite infested. Make sure the hens get some sun light and some fresh air each day. Make sure they have dry ground, wind breaks and a place to roost at night. Hens need full water and feed available all day to produce eggs. If it is fall, winter or early spring you can put one light on the birds at night with an automatic timer to turn on at 5:00 a.m. and go off at 10:00 a.m. Do not keep the light on all night, it will stress the birds and they will pick feathers, stress and get sick. Have their nest in the darker area of the coop so the hens feel good about laying in the nest. Make sure the hens are not too crowded in the pen or coop and if you have roosters with the hens don't have more than 1 rooster to every 10 hens. Sometimes the hens are laying, except you may have a black snake eating your eggs. Also, you may have a hen that is eating eggs and the shell. If you think this is happening watch for hens pecking at eggs. If you find one hen that you suspect, put her up and see if your egg numbers increase. Once a hen starts to eat eggs you very seldom can break her and it is best to get rid of her. She will also teach the other hens to break eggs and it is best to get rid of her. Generally a 7 month old pullet will start to sing, comb turn red and the vent bones become more spread apart for egg production. For a standard size pullet, 2 ½ or 3 fingers width placement between the 2 bones on the side of the vent will mean she is laying or will soon be laying. If it is 1-2 width figures then she is not laying.  

Will hens lay without a rooster with them? Yes, hens lay without a rooster. The eggs will not be fertilized and will not hatch.

I want to purchase breeds/varieties that the hens will be good setters and mothers for raising their own chicks or eggs placed under them, which are the best? Silkie varieties and the bantam Cochin varieties are real good brood mothers.

I have several hens that are not laying and are broody wanting to stay on the nest?  You need to break them up if you want them to continue to lay.  It is hard to break up a hen but you could try to keep her in a separate wire cage in light.  In other words, make it uncomfortable for her and do this for 3-5 days.

What is molting?  Chicken annually go through a molt in late summer or fall and begin growing new feathers and plumage.  Sometimes a lot of new feathers are grown and some just a few feathers.  Keep in mind in the spring and summer your ugliest hens (a lot of feathers off) are most times your best layers. Molting hens usually will not lay eggs during their molting time.

How do I know if my pullets are ready to lay? Generally if they are 5-8 months of age, they have red combs and they are singing you should have eggs.  You can pick the hen up and feel between the 2 bones of their bottom.  If 3 fingers will fit between the bones they should be laying.  If only 2 fingers fit between the bones then the hen will usually start to lay with 3-6 weeks.

How many hens do I need to keep my family with eggs?  As a guide 10 hens age 8 months to 2 years old will provide about 7 eggs a day.  Most females will go into a molt for 2-3 months each year around late summer/early fall. This is a time they stop laying and grow new feathers.  Our brown egg layers after 5-8 months of age should provide 200 - 300  eggs over  365 days per hen.

Fertile chicken hatching eggs through the mail – There are many reasons why ordering fertile hatching eggs through the mail may not produce a good hatch. First we will assume you get fertile eggs and second we will assume the eggs are not more than 10 days old and the eggs have not been to hot or too cold. Once the eggs leave our facility we can not guarantee the eggs did not freeze or get too hot during delivery. We can not guarantee that the egg case did not get shaken to the point it scrambles the inside egg and membrane. Eggs should go into the incubator or under the hen within 1-2 days after arrival. The large round end of egg standing up and the pointed end of egg goes down in the incubator rack. Do NOT dip eggs in warm or hot water to clean, this often drives in bacteria into the protective shell. Generally, eggs do not need to be cleaned spotless because of the natural protection of the egg shell. If you must clean an egg use a damp cool cloth to wipe and then dry off with a towel. Eggs to be placed under a broody hen should be at night time taking her eggs out from underneath her and slowly putting the new eggs back under her. An incubator should be turned on several weeks before the eggs arrive and checked out to make sure it runs properly for at least 2 days and regulated. Most small hobby type incubator temperature should be set around 99.5-100 degrees F. The direct or relative humidity reading should be around 50-55 % at a 99-100 degree F reading. If you are using wet bulb humidity reading it should be around 80-85%. These are recommended setting during the first 18 days of incubation. Candling the eggs is your choice and may be necessary if you need the room for more eggs. The last 3 days of incubation/hatching period the humidity can be increase by 5-10%. It is highly recommended to have an automatic egg turner for the incubator that automatically turns the eggs every 1-4 hours. It is harder to regulate the humidity and temp if you are constantly opening the incubator to turn the eggs. For best results, stop turning the eggs 3 days before they hatch and lay the eggs down flat on a tray and don’t touch or move them around until they are completely hatched out and dried completely. Our large capacity incubators hatch eggs with 70-80% hatchability. Small hobby type incubators hatch eggs with a 50-70% hatchability.  

Note: Our 2012 catalog states that the shipment is insured, however, the post office no longer insures eggs shipped through the post office. So, our fertile hatchery eggs are NOT insured. We are going to pay to have a delivery receipt on the shipment so you will need to be available to sign the delivery receipt. Before signing, open the box to see if any eggs are broken. If any are, please note it on the delivery receipt and call us within 24 hours. For damaged eggs we will do a ONE time reshipment and we will not refund or replace after the ONE time reshipment. Customers order at their own risk and depend on the post office for safe delivery.

What is the difference between cockerel, cock, stag, pullet, hen and straight run?  Cockerels are males age 1 day to 12 months of age. Cock is a male over 1 year old. Stag is a male 5-11 months of age. Pullets are females age 1 day to 12 months of age, hen is over 1 year old and straight run is a term for males and females mixed as they hatch and are not separated.  Generally 100 straight run chicks will give you 50 pullets and 50 cockerels as an average.

What birds should only be bought for butchering? The Cornish Cross, White Turkey and our Bronze Turkey will not survive long if not butchered.  They grow too fast and too big and will have heart attacks and /or leg problems.

What breeds/varieties make the best pets for kids? Cackle offers several but here is a list of better ones: Light Brahma, all of the Cochin STD varieties and Cochin Bantam varieties.

I have a small incubator, what is the range for Humidity? Incubations set at 84 1/2 for a wet bulb reading and hatching stage 87 wet bulb reading.

Why should we buy from Cackle? Cackle specializes in shipping and hatching pure bred poultry since 1936.  We offer the most competitive pricing along with the quality of the breeding bloodlines and health.  We are located in the central USA for best over all mail order distribution.

When my birds are grown how much space do I need for their pen or coop? We recommend about 4 square feet for every standard or large fowl chicken and 2-3 square feet for every bantam or smaller breed chicken.

My chickens are sick, where do I find information about common poultry diseases? Check our link page for links to poultry disease information. You might also check out our flyer on how to handle poultry safely.Highly recommended book we sell call ”The Chicken Health Handbook”

How do I care for baby chicks? We send along a care sheet with each shipment of birds. You can also look on Cackle's home page for care instructions. Cackle recommends to use brooder lamps with light bulb or infrared bulb ( up to 150 watts) for the first 2 weeks ( see care sheet for details ) allowing light and heat 24/7. After 2 weeks of age then go to a heater only type of heat source that does not have light as the heat source. This allows dark sleep time now for the chicks and reduces their stress and picking. Watch them carefully first couple of nights so they do not pile on each other and suffocate.

What do I feed my new little chicks? Feed only chick starter.  It is formulated for all the right nutrition the birds need and it's made the right size for the birds to eat the feed.

Can I mix different size chicks with each other? Not recommended because they will peck each other or be too much of bullies.  We recommend to wait until full grown to mix the birds so they can defend themselves better.

What are a few good tips for starting baby chicks? It is best to start chicks in a brooder together of same size and age or you will have smaller weaker chicks with high mortality. I recommend blending the starter feed in a kitchen blender and feeding that to the chicks for first 2 weeks. We highly recommend to use medicated chick starter feed and have a sulfa medications on hand to treat any outbreak of coccidiosis. Most use large pine shavings as a bedding, however, we have found that chicks will eat too much of the wood saw dust particles and cause some death (best to screen the shavings before use). Following Cackle Hatchery’s “Care For Baby Chicks” sheet and view our brooder video for further helpful tips for a successful raising of chicks.

How does Cackle know what are pullets or cockerels? Some of our breeds are color sexable, some of our breeds are bred so the males and females produce as chicks a long wing feather or a short wing feather for male or female and then some of our breeds are vent sexed by a professional chick sexer.

When will my credit card be charged out? The day the order is taken by phone, internet, or mail ordered received.  In order for us to book birds in advance and take them off the market we must have the birds paid for.

What would happen if some of my birds perished during shipment? Refer to the "guarantee" question.

Is it safe to handle Poultry?  Live animals and pets can be a source of potentially harmful micro-organisms, germs, (including Salmonella) and bacteria. Therefore, precautions must be taken when handling and caring for them to prevent fecal/oral transmission among people.  Children should be supervised as they handle animals and pets to make sure they don't put their hands or fingers in their mouth, nose or eyes.  Always wash your hands with soap and warm water after handling any animal or pet.  You should always hold or handle a chicken in a proper way to prevent an accidental flogging/spurring, accidental pecking in the eye or wing flapping that scratches your eye.  Check out Cackle's Safe Handling of Poultry Poster.

Do I need a permit for poultry?  Check your town (in city limits) for any restriction.  Generally no restrictions for counties.  It is always good to be a good neighbor and make sure you do not have a noisy crowing rooster bothering a neighbor or a coop that needs cleaned as the smell may bother your neighbor.

What size pen or coop should I have for grown birds? Standard size birds 3-4 square feet per bird and bantam size 2-3 square feet.

Why do my birds peck each other? By nature chickens peck each other and some is normal.  However, when they pick all the feather off or kill each other it could be brought on by a number of reasons, some are: They may be to crowded, they may be too hot, you may have too much light on them or light on too long in the night, be sure you are feeding them chicken feed (if they are not getting the right nutrients they will peck each other) or not enough roost.

What states have restrictions on mail order poultry orders? We no longer ship to Hawaii because of the paperwork and permits.  Florida restricts ducks that are mail ordered into their state.  Of the duck breeds we offer, Florida only allows the White Pekin to be mailed into their state.  Missouri Residents need a permit for Bob White Quail and Pheasant orders for pick-up or mail ordered.  Your permit number must be on your order form.

What discounts does Cackle Hatchery offer? Discounts for 4H, FFA and junior poultry clubs (write the name of Chapter club, location/membership number.)  We offer specials and surplus deals on the catalog and website.   We sometimes offer weekly specials on the web site.   Feed dealers/farm and ranch stores can set up a wholesale account.  Pick up sales for Surplus dealers from June-July (arrangements made with Clifton or Jeff). We also send out exclusive deals/discounts to our customers who have signed up via website for our newsletters.

How do I prepare for the arrival of my chicks?  ARRIVAL DATE - FIRST DAY instructions. Be sure you have some flexible time to pick up your birds from the post office.  Sometimes they do not arrive when expected.  Be sure to have your brooder area set up and heating source tested out so the birds can go straight into the brooder as soon as they arrive.  Refrain from handling or playing with the birds the first 24 hours.  We recommend for the first day to have the drinking water at 98 degrees F.  This is because the birds are small with little weight to them on arrival.  They will drink a lot of water which if too cool can rapidly decrease their body temperature and put them into shock or make them sick.  Take each chick, one at a time and with your fingers hold the chick's head and do a quick dip of the chick's beak into the water and then let go of the chick. You can add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to 1 quart of 98 degree water and shake well.  Use this mixture for the first 8 hours and then change to regular water. Normally the chicks will not start drinking or eating until they have first warmed up.  The heat source needs to be at least 98-100 degrees, measured 1 inch off the brooder floor directly under the heat source. Make plenty of room so the birds can walk away from the heat source when they get too hot.  A guide is one brooder lamp per 25 chicks using a 100 watt regular light bulb.  The bottom of the bulb should be about 18 inches above the floor (check for 98-100 degrees at floor level).  Make sure the chicks have a big area to move away from the heat as needed.  Lay down several layers of tissue paper all around the brooder floor and sprinkle chick starter on the tissue paper.  Their feet will not slip on the tissue paper and they will pick at all the sprinkled chick starter.  Change the tissue paper out as needed.  Then the next day remove the tissue paper and/or sprinkled feed and use your normal feeder.  You can also order a "Starter Kit" from Cackle Hatchery.  It should be ordered and shipped in advance of your chicks.

WARNING! Teflon coated light bulbs are toxic to chickens. The Sylvania Rough Service Frosted does carry a warning on the package, but the GE Rough Service Work light 100 and 75 do not carry a warning. When the Teflon coated bulb is heated, it emits toxic fumes that kill the chickens. Be sure you do not use Teflon coated bulbs around your fowl

SPECIAL NOTES: Sometimes chicks may have had a cold trip or extra long trip and need extra heat the first 8 hours. Sometimes it is necessary to have 105 degree F in one spot or area for them to go to and really warm up. Usually in 15-30 minutes the heat has warmed their bodies up and they will start to move around and want to start to eat and drink. Also we strongly recommend clean straw as bedding the first 2 weeks rather than large shavings. Chicks have a tendency to eat too much of the small parts of shavings and cause illness the first 2 weeks.

Does Cackle Hatchery guarantee live delivery of my order?  We guarantee that you will receive full count of live, healthy poultry according to this guarantee.  Generally we place 1 extra chick per each 25 ordered to help fulfill this guarantee.   However, if losses should occur in shipment and you do receive less live chicks than you ordered and paid for, we will make an adjustment either by replacing poultry or by cash refund at the discretion of the hatchery. Please open chick boxes immediately and inspect poultry.  If your shipment is INSURED and you do not have a full count of live chicks that you paid for (don't count any extras we may have sent), please ask the delivery agent to sign your statement of loss (PS form 1000) and send to us immediately.  If your shipment was NOT INSURED and you have a loss, then call us ASAP for an adjustment.  This guarantee is only for the safe and live delivery of your poultry.  Any loss must be reported to the hatchery within 3 days of receipt for any adjustment to be made.

What is Cackle Hatchery's quality guarantee? All Cackle poultry are guaranteed to be of the grade, quality, sex and breed as represented.  Should any error occur we will make prompt adjustment.  In producing these chicks the seller has followed approved and recommended methods of flock control and egg selection and has established sanitary and disease control standards in the Hatchery operation. Seller does not warrant poultry to be free from any disease which could not be ascertained at the time of sale.  Liability is limited in all cases to replacement of damaged chicks and extra chicks must apply.  Replacement good for 1 time only.  Under no circumstances shall our liability, on claims of any kind, exceed the total price paid for poultry.  We participate in the United States Department of Agriculture Animal Health inspection service "National Poultry Improvement Plan".

Why do some of my chicks have dried droppings stuck to their bottoms (Pasty butt)?  It is best to wash it off with warm soapy water.  It blocks the chick's vent and the chick can not eliminate itself.  It it persists you may need to consider medications, cleaning the waters, feeders and the floor area.  Chicks that have been chilled or overheated can cause pasty butts.

What do you mean by a clean-legged chicken? The chicken does not have any feathers on the shanks or legs.  Booted or feather-legged are chicken with feathers on their shanks or legs.

I have a hen that died and her butt bottom is bulging or hemorrhage? Could be the hen had a "blow out". Vent damaged caused by laying a huge egg, or could be damage caused by the pullet laying at too young of an age.

My chickens seem to fight each other? Most chicken will peck or fight a little to establish a pecking order within a flock and this is common.  If you add new birds to a pen they will fight or peck a little to establish a new pecking order and it is recommended to keep a watch on them for the first 1-2 days. 

What is "green" or "blood filled"?  Terms that mean that the chicken's feathers are still growing and the feathers still have blood in the feather shaft.

What should I do about sharp spurs that might harm someone?  Hold the bird's leg and use a hack saw to saw off the spur.  Saw 1/2 inch away from the leg so there is a blunt 1/2 inch spur left on the bird.

Why should I buy chicks from a hatchery rather than buying grown fowl from swap meets, neighbors or other places?  We recommend  buying hatchery chicks because they are disease free.  When buying grown birds that appear healthy at the time, they could have a number of viral respiratory diseases that are not symptomatic at the time and may be immune but can pass the disease to your healthy birds.

Do my chicks need a roost pole? Most chickens are more comfortable to sleep on a roost rather than the floor. As young chicks they stay on the floor, but soon start looking for a place to jump to or roost. We recommend for chicks to set up some poles about 12 inches off the floor and periodically raise the poles after all the chicks have master that height. Depending of the breed at 8 months of age you can keep the pole height about 4-7 feet high. 1-2 inch diameter round poles work good and you can use PVC or wooded poles depending on bantams or standard sizes. Metal poles are not good (metal conducts the cold too much in winter). Some chicken types do not like to roost like the silkie. Most chicken roost and a roost pole should be available for your chickens.

How do I tell if my eggs are fresh to eat?  Refrigerate eggs up to 3 weeks from the day they are laid and they should stay fresh.  You can test an egg by putting it in a dish of cold water.  Fresh eggs sink and older eggs will float.  Also, when older eggs are broken into a pan, the white and yolk will flatten or run. Fresh eggs are firm when broken into a pan.

How do I treat my chickens for lice? To see if your poultry has lice, pick up the chicken holding both legs with one hand and tip the chicken upside down.  Pull the feathers back around the butt area to look for lice.  The lice stay around the butt area for moisture and if you see any running around the base of the feathers then you need to treat them.  One easy way is to buy some "Seven" garden/pet dusting powder at your local farm store.  Use about a tablespoon of the dusting powder and cover the base of the feathers and skin in about a 2 inch radius of the butt area.  Do this every 30 days for 3 months.  Extreme cases you will find parasites in the ears and under the wings. In this case treat these areas also. It is also a good idea to treat the roost poles and ground area to maintain control of the parasites.  Chicken lice will not want to stay on humans and are different from human lice.  After treating your fowl for lice, simply take a good long shower to remove any chicken lice that might be on you or in your hair. We also offer Diatomaceous Earth for the "Green" way to treat, see under medications.

 What is the terminology "Standard (STD)" or "Bantam" mean?  In a short answer a Standard breed is the large version of the breed/variety and a Bantam breed is the miniature version of the Standard breed.

What kinds of poultry do better with just one male in the pen?  Generally speaking a pen of Peafowl, Saipan and Standard Old English do better with just one male in the pen.

How do you treat for preventing worms and parasites on growing or grown poultry?  Consider buying some "food grade diatomaceous earth" from our medication section.  A ratio of diatomaceous earth of 1-2% volume ratio to regular feed, mixed and fed on an on-going basis to your poultry is said to naturally rid all worms.

What is medicated feed for growing chickens?  Poultry feeds are available with several types of medications for preventing or treating diseases.  Coccidiostats and/or antibiotics are the two most common medications added to feeds.

Coccidiosis is hard to control by sanitation practices alone.  It is best prevented by feeding a coccidiostat, which is a drug added to feed at low levels and fed continuously to prevent Coccidiosis.  Feed broilers a ration containing a coccidiostat until the last week before slaughtering.  Feed an unmedicated feed during this last week.

Mature chickens develop a resistance to Coccidiosis if allowed to contract a mild infection of the disease.  Birds raised for placement in the laying flocks are fed a coccidiostat feed until about 16 weeks of age.  The medicated feed is then replaced with a nonmedicated feed.  Spotty outbreaks of the disease can be controlled by treating in the water with an appropriate coccidiostat.  Examples of coccidiostats added to the ration include Monensin Sodium, Lasalocid, Amprolium and Salinomycin. 

Antibiotics may also be added to some poultry feeds.  Antibiotics aid broiler performance and maintain healthy birds.  They are usually added at low (prophylactic) levels to prevent minor diseases and produce faster, more efficient growth.  High (therapeutic) levels are usually given in water or injected into the bird.  Examples of antibiotics fed in the feed are penicillin, Bacitracin, Chlortetracycline, and Oxytetracycline.

Follow the recommended medication withdrawal periods before eating meat or eggs from the treated birds.  Follow all warning instructions listed on the feed label.

What is the most common health issues raising juvenile poultry? Coccidiosis is a common and natural chick condition caused by the Coccidial protozoan organism, an internal parasite called Eimeria. These live inside the cells that line the birds intestine. As they reproduce, they cause bleeding and swelling in the intestines. Birds lose a lot of liquid and cannot absorb nutrients from their food and will soon die if left untreated. Coccidiosis normally only infects young (growing) chickens. Older birds will build up an immunity over time and has no adverse affects to their health.

Symptoms: blood or (reddish tint) in droppings is usually the first sign. Ruffled feathers, a hunched up appearance, weight loss and a white diarrhea around vent feathers are the next signs to appear. Can affect chickens 3 days of age to 6 months of age in general.

Coccidiosis Treatment:  We are aware that in the absence of licensed alternatives, veterinarians do sometimes prescribe drugs such as Coxoid under the "cascade" to treat Coccidiosis in poultry.  However, it is only a veterinarian who can advise on such use and we would be in the breach of the veterinary medicines regulations and NOAH code of practice by supporting, or encouraging the use of a product on a non-target species.

Coxoid is administered in water.  For it to be effective, it is important to do this quickly at the first signs of Coccidiosis infection.  Coxoid contains 3.84% of the drug Amprolium Hydrochloride which is a structural analogue of Thiamine (Vitamin B1).   Amprolium Hydrochloride mimics its structure inhibiting Thiamine utilization by the parasite.  It should be noted that Coccidiosis is not caused by bacteria and therefore does not respond to antibiotic treatment.

Why do blue color varieties of breeds not breed true blue color? - The color variety of the SELF BLUE breeds do reproduce true to a blue color. However, the regular blue color varieties reproduce generally offspring of 1/3 blue, 1/3 splash and 1/3 dark blue. This is a genetic anomaly that occurs with the blue feather coloring gene. You can breed splash to splash and that will produce 100% splash. You can breed the splash to the dark blue and this will produce 50% blue offspring. Our breeds of blue currently include: blue Sumatra, blue cochin standard and bantam size, blue old English standard and bantam size, blue polish, blue rose comb, blue slate turkey and blue Swedish ducks. Our breeds of SELF blue currently include: self blue old English bantam and the self blue D’uccle bantams.

How much feed does it take to raise a hen?  As a guide it takes about 15 lbs of feed to raise a white egg layer pullet (from chick to first egg), an estimated 18 lbs of feed to raise a brown egg layer pullet (from chick to first egg) and approximately 10 lbs of feed to raise a Cornish cross broiler to 7 weeks of age.

Chicken Terms/Definitions/Phrases

Broiler chicken – generally the modern day broiler is some form of Cornish cross chicken developed by selective breeding process that will produce a chicken that can be dressed out within 4-7 weeks. Usually they have the best feed conversion for the time and weight.  

Broody - A tendency for a hen to incubate a clutch of eggs until they hatch.

Chicken Tractors – Generally a portable or moveable chicken house or coop or pen design to allow chickens to be moved to new ground, grass or dirt on a regular basis. The purpose is to provide a clean area for chickens to eat grass/dirt/bugs/minerals. This process of regular movement of the chicken tractor allows the manure to fertilize the existing ground for future vegetation growth.

Dual Purpose Breed - A chicken that is used for both meat and eggs. These breeds usually do not lay as well as those bred for laying and do not grow as well as those for meat production, but are good farmstead chickens.

Egg Bound - A condition where an egg gets stuck just inside the vent, usually because the egg is too large, the pullet is fat or unhealthy, or the pullet/hen's body isn't fully mature when she starts laying.

Egg Tooth -  A small, sharp temporary cap at the tip of a newly hatched chicks upper beak, which helps it break out of the egg and falls off a few days after hatching.

Feather Picking - A form of cannibalism most common when chicks are feathering out. The newly emerging feathers are filled with blood and once chickens have a taste of it they want more. Normally seen when there is overcrowding, lights left on 24 hrs, too few feeders and waterers.

Fertile Eggs - Produced from hens that have been exposed to a rooster. Eggs are still safe to eat but kept under right conditions can develop into a baby chick.

Forced molt – a process of restricting the water and feed intake of chickens (usually in Sept) to force the timing of the natural process of molting. Generally this will stop the egg production and allow the chicken to molt off significant feathering. After 3-5 weeks of restricted water and feed, then put chickens back on full feed and water to rebuild feathering. We have good luck using a chick grower feed for this rebuilding of feather process (4-6 weeks) and then change over to egg crumbles. Molting allows time for rest of egg production and allows nutrients to be used for new feathers.  

Free Range - Technically, means chickens which are not confined, but in practical terms means chickens allowed to roam at will within a fenced outdoor area.

Grandma’s chickens – usually this term refers to heritage chicken breeds that may be pure or crossed bred among other heritage breeds.

Heritage chickens – Heritage poultry, sometime referred to traditional breeds or old time established breeds and are most often recognized by the American Poultry Association. General poultry characteristics can include natural mating, good foragers, good broody hens and good mothers, disease resistance, good fertility, longevity, alert for good natural flight or fight responses, domesticated qualities for human care and usually a good sustainable dual meat and egg producer.  

Marek's Disease - A viral infection that primarily affects the nerves of growing chickens, causing leg paralysis and droopy wings, and sometimes death.

Nest Egg - A fake egg placed in a nest to encourage hens to lay their eggs where you can find them.

Pasting - A fairly common condition in newly hatched chicks is haveing loose poop stuck to the vent area. Posting can be caused by stress due to chilling or overheating or by feeding inproper diet. Soft droppings that stick to the vent will harden and seal the vent and eventually cause death. It should be carefully removed by softening in warm water and very gently removed.

Pastured management for chickens - A process of using a movable chicken fence, pen, coop or house to new grass or ground on a regular basis. The purpose is to provide a clean area for eating grass/dirt/bugs/minerals and clean an area for manure droppings.  

Rare Breed - A breed that is not commonly used in modern agriculture but once may have been. The organizations that strive to preserve these breeds include American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Rare Breeds Canada, and the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities.

Scaly Leg - An unhealthy condition that affects the toes and legs of chickens and is caused by the scaly leg mites.

Self Sufficient Breeds - Breeds that are aggressive foragers tend to be more low maintenance than other breeds.

Splayed Leg - A condition in newly hatched chicks whereby one or both legs slide out to the side so the chick cannot properly stand and walk. Most generally caused by using a slick or smooth brooder floor causing its legs to slide.

Straight Run - Cockerels and pullets that have not been sorted as to gender and remain in the ratio that they were hatched from a setting of eggs.

True Bantam - A small breed of chicken that lacks a larger counterpart. True bantams include American Game, Bearded d'Anvers, Bearded d'Uccle, Booted, Dutch, Japanese, Nankin, Pyncheon, Rosecomb, Sebright and Serama.

Vent Sexing - A traditional Japanese method of determining a hatchlings gender by examining minor differences in the tiny cloaca just inside a chick's vent.

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