Comments regarding Cackle Hatchery

I have ordered everything from meatbirds to exotics over the last 3 years from Cackle Hatchery. Always it was an excellent and positive experience. My chicks always arrived on time exactly when they told me they would. Chicks were always in excellent condition upon arrival, and were provided with gro gel and heat packs. All of my chicks were robust, healthy, bright eyed, and grew into lovely birds. My last order was an expensive order of Splash and Lavender Ameraucana's, very beautiful and friendly birds as always. Staff and customer service have ALWAYS been accomodating and helpful. I will be the first to criticize a business, but I have to give Cackle the best recommendation I can because they earned it. I will only buy from Cackle.

Very happy with this order! I had ordered in the past and due to a bad snowstorm lost all those chicks so I was hesitant to order again but I'm glad I did. I ordered 5 bantam cochins, they are super tiny and they sent 2 extra (they are the most active of the bunch), ordered 5 blue silkies and got 2 extra, ordered 5 black silkies, received 5. I ordered 10 Easter eggers and received 1 extra. They are all different colors, from white, lavender, chipmunk, black, dark brown, all have fuzzy cheeks and the variety of colors was a nice surprise.

A friend and I placed an order with Cackle this spring. It included included both meat birds and heritage breeds. Prices were reasonable; service was concise; chicks arrived healthy and strong. Every chick survived and grew well. The quality of the birds as they are now maturing is very good, reflecting breed standards. The cornish rock meat types are the best I have ever raised. I have worked with these meat types from other hatcheries with varying success--the usual leg problems. With this strain, however, I have had only one encounter this problem. Am saving a half dozen of these for later fall butchering in place of turkey; they are over 10 pounds and no leg problems. The Buff Orpingtons and the Light Brahmas are very uniform and correct. I will definitely be ordering again.

I placed a combined order with three other Chicken moms with Cackle Hatchery and was So happy with the quality of the chicks when they arrived ... They shipped out on the Monday that I was told they were going to ship and they made it to my PO in Southern Utah in only 2 days! All the chicks were bright eyed and active and very healthy! We ordered Silver Spangled Spitzhaubens, French Black Copper Maran Pullets, Austra White Pullets, Welsummer Pullets, Red Shouldered Yokohamas, and an assortment of standard Cochins, they all started eating and drinking right away and are still thriving and happy little peepers. I was so happy when I did a head count and say that they had thrown in an extra Welsummer Pullet, 2 extra Austra White Pullets and an extra Spitzhauben!
I am absolutely overjoyed with Cackle Hatchery and will most definitely be ordering from them again in the future!

My first experience with Cackle was in June 2015 when I ordered 25 guinea keets from them. It was the hatchery choice batch, and I received nearly equal numbers of pearl, purple, white, and lavender, so I was very pleased. However, the white guineas started dying after the first day and I lost all but two. I did email them to let them know, in case there was either something wrong with that flock or the incubator that was used or something, but I did not request replacements since they had already included extras and I was planning to sell all but ten anyway.
After buying chicks through a few other hatcheries over the next year I decided to return to them for my chick order in Feb 17. Once again, I had a great experience. They got to me in Maryland overnight and all were healthy and well. The only losses I had were with the Egyptian Fayoumis. I ordered three and received four and three ended up dying. Hopefully the one I have left is a girl!
The downside to this company is their communication. I did not get the tracking number until the morning after they shipped.
I do like that they use pictures of their actual birds and you can see pictures that customers sent in of the birds. They also have a great assortment of youtube videos of their breeder flocks and the chicks.

Have been ordering from Cackle Hatchery for 2 years now and all rare breeds and regular breed chicks + 2 rouen and cayuga ducks I ordered survived with no problems. Their colors are exactly as advertised and they are oh so beautiful! I must say that the line of breeds they carry are pure with no defects. I have done my research and they are the only hatchery with the best breed lineup and the best service. Will highly recommend.

Have ordered chicks ducks geese and turkeys from cackle. Have never had a problem at all.

I ordered 15 chicks and two Rouen ducklings from them last February and all arrived at my doorstep in Palmer AK in great condition. They sent me a extra chick as well which covered the one I lost the day after..Shipping was great except for the post office on my end..All birds are in great condition and had no problems hatching out 22 chicks 3 days ago from their stock. As a matter of fact I am awaiting 20 chicks from Cackle that are due to arrive next week..I will continue to do business with Cackle.

Ordered 15 Welsumers to be delivered Feb 6 and received 16 birds. 5 were dead or dying due to piling in the shipping container. I managed to save the 2 who were still breathing but the other three were dead and cold. I DONT blame CH for this, as it was 9 degrees the day of delivery. I called CH two hours after delivery and told them of the situation, I didn't want reimbursed for the two weak chicks but they said to call the next day to make sure they made it. Very professional. There is NO way this was their fault something I think people forget, you can put healthy birds in a box but they have to travel hundreds of miles being treated God knows how before they make it to your door, NONE of which is under the hatcheries control. Will use them again

I've ordered a range of 15 - 30 chicks from Cackle annually for the last 3 - 4 years, mostly pullets, but also dual purpose meat birds. Only once did a majority of the chicks arrive dead, and Cackle made good ASAP. Oddly, it was the one time that the chicks arrived in 24 hours, from MO to ME. Customer service is EXCELLENT and the birds have been beautiful, productive and ... yummie! Sexing has been mostly spot on too. Unfortunately, this year I need to find another hatchery as they are not hatching Dark Cornish, my go to meat bird; otherwise I'd reorder from them -- ALWAYS!

This spring I ordered 30 of the Ancona ducklings, straight run, to raise for meat purposes. They arrived in 2 days but out of the 30 only 9 were alive. This was very disheartening as I've never had more than 1 or 2 casualties from shipping.
They were piled on top of each other like they were cold (even though temps in both places were well above 60).
I called cackle and they offered to refund me or send a new batch. I opted for the second shipment as I have never had this issue before.
The second batch arrived the following week. They had sent 21 as replacements. All arrived in perfect condition. They even sent them in 2 smaller boxes taped together with some of the holes taped rather than 1 large 2 compartment box like the previous batch.
I was very saddened that this happened but glad they have excellent customer service and corrected the problem as quickly as i was hoping for!

My first time experience ordering from Cackle has gone great. I ordered 15 golden duckwing phoenix chicks from them, and they sent one extra. I didn't lose a single one and they are all very healthy, active chicks. I did have to order these weeks in advance, but I had no problems communicating via email or phone calls when I had a question about the order. I would recommend them- they have a good selection, fair pricing, and fair shipping charges on orders of 15 chicks or more. I would recommend them and would order from them again.

As far as some of the negative comments go- wow. ALWAYS keep new chicks/chickens isolated for the first few weeks no matter where they come from. Give the new chicks plain warm water when they arrive but NEVER microwave the water to warm it up. As soon as we think we know everything there is to know about raising chicks, karma will always throw us a curve ball- so take the same amount of care with each brood as you did your very first time. Lastly, make sure to plan ahead if you're looking for a specific breed- good things are worth waiting for :-)

We just ordered 33 chicks of several different breeds and were very pleased with our order. All of the chicks arrived healthy and there were extras. We live in NV so that is more than a two thousand mile trip. The chicks are true to type and color. I can't rate them highly enough. They are the only online hatchery that shows actual videos of their breeding stock--every chicken breed they carry. Further, their breeding stock is beautiful and true to breed type. They are all healthy and kept in very clean pens. The chicks have good dispositions and are very gentle and calm. The hatchery communicated with us throughout the process. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Great company! I ordered a mix of ducks and chickens, all arrived happy and healthy, and are doing great! I LOVE Cackles 15 chick minimum (you can even mix different species of birds like ducks, turkeys and chickens all together in the same box!) I also love the fact that they are family owned and operated, and i love that you get emails from Nancy herself (thank you Nancy!) They also answered all of my stupid, annoying questions with patients and kindness! A+ Will order again!

Placed 2 ordered with cackle this year. Both mixed orders of 60+ sexed chicks of various breeds. Love the variety in easter egger colors, they send both dark and light variants which is great. Haven't had an too many turn out to be roosters which is a nice change from the other hatchery I ordered from this year. I don't know what people are saying about sick chicks, all the ones I received looked very healthy and very few died. Yes if it's very cold (Nov-Feb) you risk them getting chilled in the mail but I've had no disease problems or apparent genetic defects like some people are saying. I will definitely be ordering from them next year.

We received our order from Cackle they were great, we will order agin, and thanks Zack he was very helpful. Allen

Ordered 25 straight run chicks (5 Buff Orpington, 5 Black Australorp, 5 Barred Plymouth Rock, 5 Easter Eggers, 5 Delaware) online back in January, asking for delivery on 4/18/13.

Received my email confirmation and invoice same day I ordered. Received email that my chicks were on their way 4/17/13 along with a link for tracking them. Received them morning of 4/18/13. Impressive, seeing as I live in Alaska!

Received all 25 (plus 2 extra) chicks alive, all looked healthy. 1 died the following day with no obvious symptoms, just flopped on his back and expired. But the others are all still completely healthy!

So far a completely awesome and easy experience ordering from Cackle, will do so again :)

I ordered 25 Golden Comet chicks, to be delivered in mid-April. In late March the hatchery called and said they had some ready to go and they coud send them early if I was able to take them. A few days later I received 26 GC chicks. They arrived in great shape and after a week and a half in the brooder I've had no problems. I have subsequently placed another order.

Ordered New Hampshires from Cackle twenty years ago..The absolute best looking and laying Hamps seen since 40's and 50's...Also got several other chicks from them at different times over the years...This hatchery and these people are FIRST CLASS...Seems that most of the negative comments are from people who may not really know how to raise baby chickens or are whiners,PERIOD.

I ordered the Frypan special from Cackle Hatchery back in February. I recieved 26 chicks all alive and well. I got Barred Rocks, RIRs, Buff Orpingtons, and White Leghorns. They are now about 6 weeks old and all 26 are happy and thriving. I will definatly order from them again.

Posted on March 20, 2013, updated March 20, 2013
Well I was so pleased with the order of chicks I recieved today!!! For one I want to say that I live in New York and it was definitely with a wind chill close to 0 degrees today and they all made it to me safe and sound no injeries I ordered 25 silkies they gave me 28 (3 extra) which I am so thankful and like I said they are all doing great this was my first time ordering from cackle and let me tell you I will never order from anywhere again! I previously have tried a few hatcheries and never again will I! I will admit that I really didnt care for cackles website or being on the phone with them great people but I was shuffled on the phone for awhile but it was so worth it in the end and on top of it I got 28 silkies and they ALL have beards come on now I cant even believe it still but either way great place to try would recomend to EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!

All chicks arrived happy, healthy, and vigorous! Will order again. I ordered 23 Marans chicks and they all did great.

I ordered 30 Pekin Ducklings and 30 Khaki Campbell's all were strait run and they sent 2 extras. All arrived healthy and alert. I have ordered from them several times due to there very reasonable prices and each time was a pleasent experience and all chicks and ducklings arrived healthy. I am currently awaiting the arrival of my 3rd order this year of Welsh Harlequin ducklings. I will continue to order from Cackle Hatchery anytime i am in need of poultry or supplies. I usually recieve my orders within 2 business days with the exception of my last order in which i received my ducklings only 26 hours after they shipped them.

I ordered 5 speckled sussex, 5 buff orpingtons, 5 silver laced wyandottes, and 5 gold laced wyandottes, from Cackle Hatchery, totaling twenty. They sent me 22 chicks, the extras were 1 buff orpington and 1 silver laced wyandotte. Four were very lethargic on arrival, and despite my efforts, 3 of the four died, leaving me 19 chicks. I have absolutely no complaints, the hatchery contacted me to let me know that the chicks were on their way, they sent the tracking information, i contacted the post office to let them know and have them call me when the chicks arrived, arrival day, USPS called at 6am to tell me they were in. I went to the post office, and checked them, and brought them home. The hatcheries send extras with the shipments, because they know there is a potential for some loss in shipping. The three chicks, just didn't make it. I emailed Cackle, and they were very kind. They asked how I felt about the shipment process, and wanted to make sure that the post office had followed through on their end, and they offered to credit me for the loss. They were very friendly and professional. I will buy from them again, and I would recommend them to others.

feb 28 2012 i order 14 barred rock hens 1 rooster i got 15 and 0ne. great . cackle hatchery they where so nice to deal with it now jan 27 2013 i still have them all with eggs acomeimg and good hatching at 100 percent i have been in this all my life. seen all things from hatching too growing them to lost dont blame them for all bad they do a job.thanks allen laurel de give them a 10

I put in an order of 30 ducklings this past spring. When I had problems with my order they were quik to correct the problems. I was very impressed with thier service and thier obvious concern for the ducklings welfare. Before I ordered from them I had been in contact with another hatchery that when I asked about the long trip up here (Alaska) and the welfare of the ducklings I was told just to order extras as thats just how it goes. Cackle wanted to do what they could to ensure the ducklings had the best success. That speaks volumes in my mind. I believe every animal is just as valuable of a life as the next.

As far as the reviews where others state that they could not get through on th phone or through e-mail, I must say that they even called me back on thier own accord and I can not imagine that they would ovoid the phone all together as they would have no idea who was on the line trying to reach them. As a business woman this just doesn't make sense to me.

A++++ My family ordered from McMurray before & got who knows what breeds and they just kept sending replacements for the numerous deaths-it was a bad experience. However, we tried again w/ Cackle & have been extremely pleased. The lose was min. & they were very quick & nice about any problems which were few. Highly recommend....healthy chicks, few deaths and not so domestcated they can't forage. I did my research and it paid off, thanks Cackle.

Ordered 15 Guineas (hatchery choice) and 5 Americauna pullets. All arrived in excellent condition -healthy and hungry. They're 3 weeks old now and all doing great.
Cackle was easy to deal with and I would do it again.

ordered 16 chicks , got 17- 4 months old and all are doing great.really big , really nice , begining to lay eggs .ordering from this company was very pleasant . ordered 5deleware xhamp, 5black australorp, 6barred rock would buy from them again.

I purchased a Hatchery Suprise from Cackle and so far this has been the best experience that i have had with a hatchery! I recieved 36 baby chicks and 4 Turkey. I recieved my birds on July 25 and it has been 6 days and everything i got was alive when i recieved them and they are still doing great! I will for sure be ordering the Hatchery Suprise again and any other breed i may need! Thanks Cackle

We ordered our second batch of chicks from Cackle, and couldn't be more pleased. This was our first mail order of chicks and were hoping for the best, and we were not disappointed. They are all doing great, except for one we lost due to our dog. The customer service department was friendly, and timely in notifying us of our chick's arrival date. The only thing I would have changed is the ability to pick our ship dates. But they came in the time we were hoping for anyway. I like the fact that you can order a smaller number of chicks,15 instead of 25, and their shipping rates were fair. We will most likely order again.

As for all the negative comments I have been reading, it seems as though most of you have a problem accepting any responsibility for what your part in the problems were. If this hatchery is so bad, then how is it they are still in business after all these years? And if their chicks were diseased, the state agency would shut their production down until all traces of the contamination were cleaned up and gone. So make sure you follow the directions sent to you, and if you're not absolutely sure about what to do to properly care for your chickens, then swallow your pride and ask someone who has had experience raising chickens. They are your most helpful and best source of information.

Keep up the good work Cackle Hatchery, and we hope to be doing business with you again soon.

God bless you all

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 ESV)

As a past customer of Cackle Hatchery, I would like to add a comment. I have dealt with them before and find the the transactions to be very fair. The one thing that some people don't seem to realize is that ordering poultry through the mail is different than ordering say- a book. While books are stored in warehouses and can be replenished whan the supply gets low, so that everyone can receive their book the day they were promised; the same cannot be said for poultry that is booked sometimes months in advance. The old term 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch' applies here. There are many variables here (power failures, infertile eggs, equipment failure, weather, packaging flaws, etc). All hatcheries have to deal with these problems. The people at Cackle do an excellent job to deliver as promised.

I ordered 15 pheasant checks. The ordering experience was very nice. The company rep was very helpful on the phone. The chicks were shipped on the date they gave me. Then the Post Office lost them. I called Cackle and they promised to make it right with me. I found them in another city the next day. Went and picked them up, expecting all of them to be dead or dying. I had a total of 6 lost, thanks to the postal service, not Cackle. I called Cackle to let them know and within a few days they had credit my account for my lost chicks. Great customer service! The remaing chicks are doing absolutely great at over 2 weeks of age now. I will order from Cackle again!

On June 1,2012 I placed an order over the phone for 15 Easter Egg Pullets, 5 Black Australorp pullets and 5 Speckled Sussex Pullets ( they was the only place that could ship all 3 breeds the same day). When I asked when could I expect to get them I was told I could get them on Wed. June 6. The Post Office called me on June 6 to let me know my chicks was in. I received 27 chicks ( my extras was 1 each of the breeds I had ordered 5 of.) All of my chicks are doing great and will be put on the ground in the next week because they are out growing my chick coop , They are almost fully feathered now and come running when I feed & water them.It has been many years since I ordered from them the last time but I am very happy with my order.

this was my first time ordering from cackle hatchery, they were very polite and eager to take my order, i ordered 25 americaunas/easter eggers, i received my order in less then a week! this was the quickest i had ever received chickens from a hatchery. i live in Maine and was curious as to how the baby chicks would take the long trip but there was 26 healthy chicks all peeping when i picked them up at my post office! there was not one single casualty! the chicks also look exactly as cackle had pictured them on their site with nice tuffs/beards and a great variety of colors. i just wanted to post my experience with cackle because i think maybe not many of the positive experiences make it here, when everything goes good most people will not post here, but when something goes wrong they probably will

"On Jun 20, 2012 12:03 PM, Cackle Hatchery responded with:

thank you very much... What you said is very true. We get many, many emails about the happy experiences but of course they don't make it to the forums. Again, Thanks"

Hi. Just wanted to say that 2 weeks ago i placed an order , over the phone, for 13 naked neck ´turken´ (or as we call them here ¨Piroco´)pullets and 2 roo. I was told my order would be ready to ship on june 11, 2012. That day i received an email confirming shipping. Today, june 13, 2012 i received a call at 6 am from the post office, telling me the chicks had arrived. I drove to the post office and all the chicks were great. The even sent one more, so i ended up with 16. Almost 8 hours after receiving the chicks they are all right. This is great considering the chicks traveled from Lebanon, Mo to San Juan, Puerto Rico! Thats a lot of miles if you asked me!!

I would like to add that the person i talked to when placing the order was very friendly. If nothing tragic happens in the next couple of days, i think i will be doing business again with Cackle!

Ric.

All I can say to everyone is that I am TOTALLY PLEASED and 100%satisfied with my business with Cackle for the past TWENTY YEARS+. I have ordered everything from silkies to guineas and never had a problem, and even when I would change my mind three times on an order they were polite, to the point, and never disrespectful. So, with some of the reviews I have read I am not sure what happened or who they talked to, but my experience has been nothing but professional. Further, their stock is not inbred and weak, the Ameraucanas in particular are VERY much to the national standard and have great tufts and pea combs, and the guineas have proven themselves over and over to be the toughest I have ever bought. I have ordered "sale" guineas from another hatchery only twice to have them either die of the cold or whatever disease they came with. Guineas from Cackle were turned LOOSE after only three weeks, went feral, and we lost perhaps five to predators out of 50 of them--they all made it to maturity in the wild here in northeastern Colorado. My silkies I ordered once in 2000 I had for over ten years until the final white hen breathed her last after many many eggs being laid. I still have decendants from those birds running around! Thanks Nancy and staff--I could not be more pleased. Reverend Mark Shaver, Colorado.

"On May 30, 2012 12:20 PM, Cackle Hatchery responded with:

Thanks to everyone who are posting the positive messages here. We do appreciate it. Our staff works very hard to please the customers. and our breeding program people stay on top.....The most problems we have are with postal delivery.... you all know what the post office is doing....you can help by going to usps
site and voicing your complaints. or fill out the form at your local post office....It is the only way we can ship chicks..There is a great need for backyard chicks and
poultry as more and more people are realinzing that
they need to raise their own for health purposed, hobby, teaching their children where their food comes from and i could go on and on...thanks again everyone. Nancy

People I know that helped me get started in poultry get most of thier stock from Cackle. I also picked up a dozen chicks and 8 cornish X's from Orshelins who carry Estes Hatchery stock. All have done well and are growing out nicely. From first hand and reviews there were a number of positives for good/superior (hatchery) type for several breeds I was intereested in.

Since I live less than an hour from Cackle I stopped in on a Wed. afternoon to make purchases directly. The sales person was polite, friendly and helpful - not to mention patient with my decision making process.
The facilities were clean. There was a seperate room stacked with loaded brooders of "older" chicks on SALE. Again, clean, not stanky, no evidence of ill or dead chicks. It's early for keets and I missed out on the few that were available.

I purchased heritage turkeys - 4 Blue Slate (got 5) and 3 Royal Palms (all on SALE). A trio of Black Asuralorps. A trio of RIRs (also on Sale). 2 Pullets SL Wyandottes. 2 Pullets EEs. 5 Pullets and 1 Cockeral Cuckoo Marans. They freebied 3 more chicks but the lil critters are so active I'm having a hard time figguring out what the extras are other than one is a EE. The clerk automatically marked the males which was helpful. I have to say I am pleased to see that the EE's are bearded/muffed and of more Americuna type than the EE's from Estes. The RIR's that are also supposed to be of superior type will have to wait and see how they develop. A few of the chicks (3or4) were smaller but seemed to be a younger hatch and not weak at all.

ALL are healthy, extremely vigerous and active 48 hours later. 8 heritage turkeys and 19 chicks, 3/4ths considered rare, for $80 I thought was VERY reasonable.

Providing they continue to thrive (other's negative health experiences in reviews noted), I will definately recommend Cackle to others and will purchase from them again.

Posted on April 16, 2012, updated April 26, 2012
Posted on April 13, 2012, updated April 16, 2012
Ordering was pleasent, ship date right on, all chicks arrived alive and well. So far are thriving, active and growing. A little frightened by the negative issues posted here regarding infected stock.I have 3 brooders going from 3 different shippers, never mix until all have no issues and get moved to outdoor housing. We handle as little as possible ( ocassional pasty butt)and disinfect between batches when changing water and feeders. Will keep posted on health of birds. So far a very positive order of giants.Thanks