Do you want new baby chicks (or older chickens) but aren’t sure the best place to get them? Let’s explore the options! There are many places to buy chicks, chickens or even hatching eggs, including online from large commercial hatcheries, your local feed store, a small local farm or breeder, animal rescues, Facebook groups and more.
We’ve bought chicks from a mix of places over the years. There are unique pros and cons to each option, explained below. We’ll also quickly discuss the process of shipping chicks in the mail, and ordering “sexed” chicks.
This information was previously summarized as part our beginner’s guide to raising backyard chickens, but given all the nuances, I figured it was worthy of a post of its own!
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RELATED: New to backyard chickens? Don’t miss our guide onRaising Baby Chicks for essential beginner tips likehow to set up a chick brooder, the best chicken breeds, a week-by-week chick temperature chart, and more. Then you can browse our list of over 500 cute and funny chicken names!
About Mailing Chicks
As odd as it may seem, it’scommon practice to ship live chicksin the US mail. When they first hatch, chicks absorb the rest of their yolk sac, giving them enough nutrients to survive those first few days without food or water. They’re shipped as quickly as possible and with heat packs to keep them warm, though I’m sure the journey is a bit stressful regardless.
Most chicks survive shipping with no issues. However, accidents happen. Especially if there are delays in the mail, or when they’re shipped during extra cold conditions.
In all our years of raising backyard chickens, we’ve had just a couple chicks that were “DOA”, along with one that arrived in very weak condition and needed weeks of extra TLC. That isn’t necessarily entirely due to shipping however. Some chicks are just born with health issues too.
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Buying Sexed Chicks
Chicks are available to buy either assexed females or unsexed“straight run” chicks – which have a 50/50chance of growing up to be a rooster or a hen. Large hatcheries are able to determine the sex of just-hatched chicks by examining their vent (genitalia) with fairly good accuracy, though mistakes can happen!
Additionally, there are a few chicken breeds that can easily be sexed by the naked eye based on obvious physical characteristics, and then offered as “guaranteed females”. These breeds exhibit sexual dimorphism; male and females chicks look different immediately after hatching. For instance, they may be totally different color, have a chipmunk stipe down their back, a large white spot on their head, or other tell-tale signs that breeders use to distinguish without vent-sexing. Again, it’s not always 100% accurate though!
RELATED: If you buy straight run chicks or are otherwise curious, learn how to tell the difference between young male and female chicks here.
Buying Chicks from Commercial Hatcheries
There are several large, reputable commercial hatches where you can buy chicks online. Popular options including Meyer Hatchery, McMurray, Cackle, Hoover’s, and more.
Pros
- Large hatcheries generally offer an extensive selection of chicken breeds to choose from, including both common and unique breeds.
- It’s very likely you can get all female chicks (if that’s what you desire) since most big hatcheries can determine the sex of young birds with fairly high accuracy. However, it’s never 100% guaranteed! We’ve been lucky and always received females when ordering sexed chicks.
- Large hatcheries generally have very good sanitation and biosecurity practices, and can offer Marek’s vaccinations if that’s important to you.
Cons
- As with any large-scale animal operation, there is high potential for overcrowding and less humane treatmentof the birds, including the chicks and adult chickens used for breeding.
- Male baby chicks are usually culled. If you want to help reduce that practice, you can order “straight-run” (a random mix of sexes) instead of female-only, but you better have a good, humane plan for any extra roosters you don’t want to keep!
- Chickens from large commercial hatcheries may have more potential health issues or a shorter lifespan due to large-scale operation and breeding.
- You don’t get to see and select your chicks based on looks, vitality, and behavior as you could at a feed store or other in-person experience.
- Lastly, shipping causes some distress for the just-hatched chick.
Local Tractor Supply or Feed Store
There are few things more dangerous than a feed store in spring! “I’m just going to pick up some soil and chicken feed…” Famous last words.
Many local feed stores sell chicks in the spring through early summer, including Tractor Supply. Most of them have a designated “chick day” once per week, with a calendar or schedule available upon request that shows what breeds will be available on certain days.
Pros
- It’s really fun to see the birds and pick out the cutest, fluffiest, quirkiest ones in person! Kids especially love this part.
- Since many feed stores get their chicks from large hatcheries, there are decent odds that you can get all female chicks (though I’ve heard some mixed results with Tractor Supply).
- Depending on where the feed store sources their chicks, they may have endured less stress if they didn’t have to be shipped or travel as far.
- Most feed stores offer vaccinated chicks.
Cons
- Limited breed options. Feed stores usually only offer a handful different breeds each “chick day”. Our local Farm Supply mostly carries common breeds, with some more unique ones sprinkled in on a rotating basis.
- You’re at the mercy of the chick schedule. Even if the feed stores offer a variety of breeds over several months, it’s best to get all your chicks within a couple weeks of each other so they’re as close to the same age/size as possible while in the brooder together. One of my friends spent a couple days driving all over the county to visit several different Farm Supply stores so she could get the mix of breeds she wanted from each store.
Needs more research: Your local feed store might get chicks from a local breeder (described below) or possibly from a large hatchery, which we already discussed. Then all those same pros and cons to those two options would apply. You’ll have to ask them!
Small Farm or Local Breeder
Chances are, there may be a sweet little chicken farm or local breeder in your area to buy chicks from! Do some research and see what you can find. For example, we have several small poultry breeders within a few hours driving distance, that offer everything from hatching eggs to adult birds.
Even if they’re not immediately local to you, there are many small scale hatcheries out there worth supporting too. For instance, we ordered our last batch of chicks from Alchemist Farm, a small family-owned humane hatchery that’s based in Northern California but ships chicks nationwide. They follow sustainable farming practices, and don’t cull male chicks! Instead, they donate them to families in need. Dare to Dream Farms is another small local breeder here on the Central Coast of California.
Pros
- Support a small business or a local operation!
- The chickens are most likely receiving much better care and habitat than big commercial operations.
- Smaller operations often selectively breed for other important traits such as demeanor and long-term health, not just egg production or breed “perfection”.
- You can also avoid shipping stress if you can pick them up yourself.
Cons
- There may be fewer breed options to select from than large hatcheries.
- Some small breeders only ship hatching eggs, not chicks.
- You’re less likely to get female chicks only, if that is what you desire. Most small hatcheries don’t sex chicks, though they may offer older coop-ready pullets or a handful of “guaranteed female” chick breeds.
- Vaccinations (e.g. Mareks) may not be available, if that’s something you’re interested in.
Needs more research: Be sure to ask about biosecurity practices, which can vary wildly depending on the small farm. I highly recommend choosing a small breeder that is NPIP certified if possible.
Animals Rescues, Facebook or Friend
I’m a part of several local farm and backyard chicken groups on Facebook, and there are ALWAYS tons of chicks, pullets, and laying hens available to buy (and roosters up for adoption). Since backyard chickens have become increasingly trendy, there’s also been a steep rise in ones needing a new home. Beyond Facebook farm groups, you may be able to find chickens to adopt in your area on Santuaries.org or PetFinder.
Pros
- Rehoming a bird in need of a good home can be a wonderful and rewarding thing! Especially chickens rescued from awful factory farm operations, referred to as “ex-battery hens”.
- You may be helping to support a local family or micro-breeder.
- The chicks will have to endure little-to-no travel stress.
Cons
- While rewarding, taking in random or rescue birds comes with more uncertainty in regards to their health, breeding, and demeanor. An honest, responsible seller should be able to discuss the animal’s history (to the best of their knowledge) including breeding and biosecurity practices. I am personally quite leery of bringing in birds that have lived at another property.
- You’ll also have less control over choice of breed or age.
- It may be more difficult to plan in advance depending on when or what birds will be available.
- Always quarantine new birds, especially before introducing new chickens to an existing flock.
Well friends, I hope you enjoyed this discussion – and maybe learned a few new things too! Please feel free add your thoughts or ask any questions you may have in the comments below. No matter where you buy chicks, enjoy those sweet little fluff balls! They grow up way too fast.
You may also like:
- 11 Easy DIY Chick Brooder Box Ideas with Photos
- How to Set Up a Chick Brooder: Temperature Chart and Supplies
- When Do Chickens Start Laying Eggs? 5 Tell-Tale Signs It’s Soon!
