Buying poultry from a small, biosecurity-focused operation is a bit different than ordering from a large hatchery. We put this page together to explain how availability, pricing, deposits, pickup, shipping options, and policies work so there are no surprises. When birds or hatching eggs are available, listings include everything you need to claim them.
Before you buy
New to raising poultry or brushing up before adding birds? Our Poultry Care Guides cover how we handle housing, feeding, health basics, and what to expect at different life stages.
We share all current poultry availability on the platforms below.
If there’s no current post, nothing is available at that time. We typically begin incubating eggs in March depending on breeder condition and weather, with chicks and hatching eggs becoming available as the season progresses. We don’t maintain a waitlist for birds, and we may not be able to respond to general availability inquiries – between animal care and full-time jobs, response time can be limited. If something is available, the listing will include everything you need to claim it.
Want to learn about each breed before you buy? Start here: Chicken Breeds and Pilgrim Geese.
Pricing reflects breed quality, age, labor, and biosecurity costs. Individual birds may be priced higher or lower based on quality, temperament, or breeding potential. Shipping and transport aren’t included in animal pricing.
Discounts are available for educators and bulk orders – contact us to learn more.
Sex and quality estimates aren’t guaranteed. Please review the Important Details below before reaching out.
Ameraucana, Buckeye, Chantecler, Svart Hona
Deposit details and pickup timing are always confirmed before payment is requested. This system helps us manage availability fairly and keeps cancellations to a minimum for everyone.
Local USPS office hours, weather, fertility checks, and our work schedules can occasionally delay shipment by a week or more. We’ll communicate if timing needs to shift.
We don’t currently ship live chicks through USPS due to ongoing reliability issues in our area, but we’re happy to work with the following alternatives when available:
All live bird transportation is the buyer’s responsibility. We’re glad to help coordinate pickup or handoff once details are confirmed.
Thank you for your interest in supporting our (tiny) business! Below is some info we’ve compiled to answer common questions:
All sales are final. No refunds or returns of any kind will be accepted. We stand behind our animals and products and want every buyer to be satisfied, but once an animal or item leaves our care, its condition and handling are beyond our control. For biosecurity, safety, and welfare reasons, we do not accept returns under any circumstances.
Why do hatching eggs cost more than table eggs? Hatching eggs require significantly more labor and monitoring. We regularly test fertility, which involves opening and discarding eggs to check for development. Hatching eggs are turned daily to prevent embryos from adhering to the shell and are selected for freshness and fertility. Table eggs, by contrast, are sold oldest to newest and are not sorted by fertility or breed.
We're approved to ship hatching eggs to most U.S. states. Please check your state's requirements ↗ before ordering. When required, we provide VS Form 9-3 and maintain AI Clean status.
Hatching eggs ship Monday through Tuesday after payment is received. Shipment may be delayed due to extreme temperatures, hen health concerns, or fertility issues – these decisions are made to improve the likelihood of a successful hatch.
Hatchability is not guaranteed. Shipped eggs can hatch anywhere from 0% to 100% depending entirely on how they're handled in transit. Even short car rides can cause enough jostling to disrupt embryo development. A poor hatch does not mean eggs were infertile or old – only that they experienced stress during transport. Shipping eggs always carries inherent risk, which is reflected in their pricing compared to live birds.
Packaging varies depending on egg size, quantity, and material availability. Eggs ship in either foam shippers or individual bubble wrap with wood shavings for cushioning. If you have a packaging preference, let us know and we'll accommodate when possible.
Shipping costs are based on current USPS rates and packaging materials. Priority shipping with packaging typically runs $25–$35 and fits 1–2 dozen chicken eggs. Priority Express generally runs $75–$100. We do not use fragile stickers or special labels – USPS handling practices do not reliably honor them.
Sales Policy
All sales are final. No refunds or returns of any kind will be accepted. We stand behind our animals and products and want every buyer to be satisfied, but once an animal or item leaves our care, its handling and condition are beyond our control. For biosecurity, safety, and animal welfare reasons, we do not accept returns under any circumstances.
Deposits, Reservations & Marek's Vaccine
We do not accept reservations far in advance of a hatch. Deposits are only accepted to hold a bird that already exists, a bird that is expected to exist based on confirmed hatch progress, or to purchase the Marek's vaccine.
The Marek's vaccine is optional and available by request.
Deposits are optional. However, birds without a deposit will continue to be advertised and remain available to other buyers until pickup.
Deposits are nonrefundable except in the following situations:
In these cases, you may choose a refund for the unavailable birds, substitution with birds of equal value, or application of the deposit toward a future hatch.
Hatch timelines typically run 21–35 days depending on species.
Interstate Transport & Health Requirements
Our birds are approved for transport to most U.S. states. Please check your state's requirements ↗ before arranging transport. We provide VS Form 9-3 documentation and maintain AI Clean status.
Shipping & Delivery Options
We do not ship live birds via USPS due to repeated delivery delays and reliability concerns.
Live bird transport is available through:
Pickup, Boarding & Delivery Fees
The buyer is responsible for arranging transportation of all live animals. A boarding fee of $1 per day applies if a purchased animal is not picked up at the agreed-upon time.
We're happy to meet within 30 minutes of Mishicot, Wisconsin at no charge – typically Green Bay or Manitowoc.
Delivery beyond this area may be available for $2.00 per loaded mile, calculated one-way from our property to the delivery location. If we're already traveling in that direction, we can often waive or reduce the fee.
Long-Distance Transport
For transport beyond our range, we've worked with several trusted livestock transporters. See our recommended transporters.
We do not routinely vaccinate our own birds, but we do offer the Marek's vaccine as an optional add-on for buyers purchasing chicks. It is not administered by default, and our parent stock is not vaccinated.
The Marek's vaccine is available for an additional $75 per hatch, which covers the vaccine vial, overnight shipping to us, and injection supplies. When multiple buyers request vaccinated chicks from the same hatch, we make every effort to group those orders and may be able to partially refund vaccine costs accordingly.
Experienced breeders and poultry advisors often recommend the Marek's vaccine given the severity of the disease and its widespread presence – particularly for birds that may attend shows, swap meets, or other events where exposure risk is higher.
Our decision not to vaccinate our own flocks comes down to personal management preference. Current Marek's vaccines reduce the likelihood of clinical symptoms but don't fully prevent infection or transmission. We prefer to monitor our birds closely for visible signs of illness rather than rely on symptom suppression – an approach that keeps us transparent about the health of birds leaving our care.
We also have access to several additional poultry vaccines and are willing to administer them upon request. These require full, nonrefundable payment in advance. Available options include Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, Fowl Pox, Coccidiosis, Newcastle, Salmonella, and Coryza. Some vaccines are not safe for use around turkeys – buyers are responsible for researching compatibility before requesting vaccination.
We make our best effort to estimate sex, but we cannot guarantee gender accuracy. Even in autosexing breeds, day-old chicks can be incorrectly sexed approximately 10–20% of the time. We do not vent sex chicks, as the procedure carries a significant risk of injury or death even when performed by trained professionals. For these reasons, we cannot offer refunds, replacements, or returns if an animal is incorrectly sexed.
Some breeds may take several months to reliably confirm sex, and certain breeds may require DNA testing or observation of egg-laying to determine sex with certainty.
If you receive an unwanted male and processing isn't preferred, we recommend reaching out to local livestock communities, farm families, or specialty animal owners who may be able to rehome him. Rooster rescues are also an option for males you'd like to see live out their natural lives.
We participate in the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) and complete annual testing for Pullorum-Typhoid and Avian Influenza. Due to the nature of livestock sales, we cannot guarantee the health or viability of any animal once it leaves our property, and all sales are final.
To maintain our NPIP status and uphold strict biosecurity standards, we do not allow visitors into poultry areas or permit buyers to select birds directly from brooders. We're happy to provide photos or videos of available birds upon request. Our flocks are primarily closed, with occasional additions from other NPIP-certified operations to prevent inbreeding. Any incoming birds are strictly quarantined for a minimum of one to two months.
We do not have routine access to an avian veterinarian for on-site blood draws and do not conduct additional disease testing unless there is a specific cause for concern. If illness or unexplained loss is suspected, samples are submitted to an accredited laboratory for diagnostic testing. Documentation from prior testing is available upon request.
We carefully select breeding stock from strong, well-established lines, many with exhibition winners in their pedigrees, and strive to adhere to the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection and applicable breed club guidelines. Even so, this does not guarantee that any individual animal or its offspring will be show quality or earn awards.
Even among elite breeding programs, only a small percentage of birds will meet true exhibition standards. This variation is an inherent part of genetics and cannot be predicted or guaranteed.
In the interest of transparency, we openly list known faults and areas we're actively working to improve on each breed's individual page. Our breeding goals focus on long-term improvement and responsible stewardship of each breed rather than guaranteed show outcomes.
We cannot guarantee specific egg color, shade, shape, or size. Each breed produces a range of approved egg colors, and individual birds may lay slightly different eggs. Egg characteristics can vary by season, age of the bird, diet, and even day to day.