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Chicken Breeds that Are Exceptional Foragers

Foraging Chicken Breeds

Some chicken breeds thrive better on forage compared to others. Breeds that have been kept in confinement for many generations generally forage less aggressively than breeds that have continued to exercise their foraging instinct. If you want a low-maintenance flock, and you have space for them to roam, consider these chicken breeds that are exceptional […]

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Breed Spotlight: Lovely Longtail Chickens

Longtail Chicken Breeds

A longtail chicken is one of several breeds selectively bred for growing particularly long tail feathers. The roosters have two specialized genes that allow their tails to grow longer than those of other breeds. One is a nonmolting gene that causes some of their tail feathers to not molt. The other gene produces rapid tail-feather […]

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Chicken Embryology Video Series Offered on YouTube

Photo Credit: The Livestock Conservancy

Because of school closures during the pandemic, elementary school embryology programs are not presented in classrooms. To fill the gap, The Livestock Conservancy, of which Cackle Hatchery® is a member, has teamed up with North Carolina 4-H Extension to develop a virtual learning experience. The series is called “From Embryo to Chick” and is offered […]

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Mini Glossary of Chicken Terminology

Chicken Wattles

One of the great benefits of keeping chickens is that it gives you an opportunity to expand your vocabulary. The world of chicken keeping is full of odd or potentially confusing words and phrases, like those in this mini glossary of chicken terminology. Bloom: The moist, protective coating on a freshly laid egg that dries […]

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Why Are Some Egg Yolks More Yellow Than Others?

How Egg Yolk Gets its Coloring

Egg yolks get their golden yellow color from the same plant pigments that result in the skin color of yellow-skin breeds. These pigments are also responsible for beak and bill color in chickens and ducks, and for their brightly colored feathers. The pigments are of two main types— carotene and xanthophyll. Carotene is orange to […]

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French Black Tailed Red Marans

French Black Tailed Red Marans
  • French Black Tailed Red Marans  – Sold as Baby Chicks Only
Minimums –

Not Sexed = 3

Female = 3

Male = 1

Total of 3 birds to ship

Seasonal/Shipped Feb thru mid August

Limit of 24.

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5 Things To Know Before Building A Chicken Coop

Building a chicken coop can be an extremely easy, fun, and educational experience for your family. However, it can also be a challenging and stressful experience if you don’t know where to start. There’s a lot to keep track of when building your own chicken coop, and every step is extremely important for keeping your […]

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Media and Resources

  Periodicals Raising Backyard Chickens: How to Start a Flock – Fox News Backyard Poultry Magazine Poultry Press  An international newspaper devoted to breeding, raising, conditioning and showing purebred exhibition poultry. Poultry Health Report Poultry Times   Cackle Hatchery® In the News From The Tailgate – Season 3 – Episode 14 – Cackle Hatchery […]

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Cackle Hatchery® History About Us

We are a 4th generation family-owned and operated hatchery offering over 230 varieties of poultry shipped directly from our facility here in Missouri. It’s our mission to enhance your life by providing you with quality poultry for showing, meat, enjoyment, eggs or pets. We specialize in hatching purebred poultry and shipping day old chicks right […]

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