McMurray Hatchery Blog
Hatchery News, Updates and Information on Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and Other Poultry
The Pros and Cons of Keeping a Rooster With Gail Damerow
Whether or not to keep a rooster in the flock can be a challenging decision for first-time chicken owners. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to discuss the pros and cons of keeping a rooster. What is...
Gail Damerow Offers Tips on How to Keep Guineas Home
Guinea fowl are notorious for wandering away from home and never coming back. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her for tips on how to keep guineas home. Why are guineas so difficult to keep home? Usually...
How to Brood Guinea Keets With Gail Damerow
Most poultry keepers know how to raise chicks in a brooder. But brooding guinea keets is a little different from brooding chicks. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to explain how to brood guinea...
Coffee With The Chicken Ladies Breed Spotlight: Houdans
The quirky and beautiful Houdan is the kind of bird that the Chicken Ladies love. From their exuberant crest to their striking mottled feathers, you don’t have to be Cruella DeVil to appreciate how gorgeous these black and white chickens are. And their personalities?...
Are Autosexing Chickens and Sex Link Chickens the Same? Gail Damerow Explains
The terms "autosex chickens" and "sex link chickens" are often used mistakenly used interchangeably. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to explain the difference between autosex chickens and sex link...
2025 APA Certified Breeds
As part of our ongoing commitment to Standard bred poultry and preserving Heritage breeds, we are excited to share that we have expanded our number of APA Certified flocks for the third year in a row. This season, certification has been renewed for our Buff,...
Five Reasons I Love Keeping Ducks
My love of ducks started with my stomach. As a young girl, I vividly remember my dad, grandpa, and uncles coming home with colorful mallards hanging upside down in their hands. We’d fry up the hearts and livers in butter right away, and a few days later, we’d enjoy a...
Why Do Chickens Need a Dust Bath? We Ask Gail Damerow
Chickens always find a way to take a dust bath, whether indoors in the coop bedding or outdoors in dry soil. Even baby chicks instinctively dust bathe in the brooder. Here, we continue our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we...
Nutritional Needs of Cornish Cross Meat Chickens with Gail Damerow
Cornish-cross meat chickens eat almost constantly and they grow fast, resulting in unique nutritional requirements. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to offer tips for meeting the nutritional needs of...
When and Why Would You Need to Replace Your Poultry Flock
Raising poultry, whether a backyard flock or free-range birds on a homestead or farm, does come with the fact that the flock will need to be freshened at some point. Of course, when new hens are brought on is determined based on your needs. As a small family farm that...
Top 5 Reasons Your Hens Stop Laying, Explained by Gail Damerow
Once your hens start laying eggs, it’s easy to get used to gathering fresh eggs every morning. Then gradually, or suddenly, the eggs stop coming. What happened? Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to...
Coffee With the Chicken Ladies Breed Spotlight: Rhode Island Reds
The Rhode Island Red is the quintessential American chicken, and is arguably one of the most famous breeds in the world. A true dual purpose bird, they were a mainstay of homesteads and small farms throughout most of the twentieth century. Rhode Island Reds are...
Gail Damerow Discusses Eggshell Imperfections and Anomalies
Alarmed backyard chicken owners report all sorts of shell irregularities in the eggs their hens lay. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to discuss eggshell imperfections and anomalies. Why are we...
Raising Backyard Meat Birds
Last Thanksgiving, we had our first pasture raised turkey … and it was life-changing. My husband said it was the most delicious Thanksgiving meal he had ever eaten. And thus, a dream was born. Because we had moved to our small suburban homestead just a few months...
Poultry Red Mites
Poultry red mites are a type of external parasite that infests chickens. Learn how to prevent and treat poultry red mite infestations.
Shop Day-Old Baby Chicks
Day-old baby chicks, ducks, geese, turkeys, and other poultry now available for the 2025 season — always with FREE SHIPPING on all full orders of baby birds!