McMurray Hatchery Blog
Hatchery News, Updates and Information on Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and Other PoultryPoultry Show Season is Right Around the Corner
Showing poultry can be a fun hobby enjoyed by the entire family. With the show season knocking at the door, we wanted to share some simple tips to help you maximize your experience and hopefully bring home a ribbon. BATHING — It is important to thoroughly bath your...
The Winners of the McMurray Spring Chicken Photo Contest
A lot of really great photos were entered into our Spring 2016 Photo Contest. The contest is now over, and here are the winning photos: First Place First place goes to Nora Lantagne. As a prize, she will receive a $100 gift certificate. Second Place Second place goes...
Spring 2016 Chicken Photo Contest Now Open
Now that you've rated the photos to select the 10 finalists, it's time to rate the finalist photos in order to choose the winner. Click the link below to see and rate the finalist photos: >>> Rate Finalist Photos Contest Schedule You can enter...
2016 Photo Contest #1
We're excited to announce our first photo contest of 2016! For this contest, we are looking for photos of people working with their chickens -- feeding and watering them, gathering eggs, moving portable coops on pasture, or similar things. Please include a good...
“Noah’s Ark Project” — An Update
Background: As we've mentioned previously, in May of 2015, Murray McMurray Hatchery brought a truckload of 3,700 newly-hatched chicks to Joe Claborn's farm in Texas for safekeeping as Avian Influenza was spreading in the U.S. and in Iowa. The project has informally...
Resources on Raising Chickens
Getting Started Why Do You Raise Chickens? How to Start Your Flock Brooding Day Old Chicks How to Introduce New Chickens into Your Existing Flock Water and Waterers Don't Let Your Chickens Run Out of Water The Importance of Water Keeping the Chicken Water from...
How to Wash Chicken Eggs
What's the best way to clean dirty eggs? Should they be washed when you first gather them, or is it better to wait and wash them just before use? Before we answer these questions, let's go over some basics. Bloom Protects the Contents A nearly invisible waxy substance...
Reduce Stress for a Healthier, More Productive Flock
Reducing or limiting stress is one of the best things you can do to keep your flock healthy and productive. Similar to how stress affects us as humans, in poultry it can lead to many problems. Reduced egg production, poor rate of growth and development, greater...
What type of poultry feed should I use?
The nutritional requirements of chickens differ somewhat at different stages of growth. Also, broilers have different nutritional requirements than layers. When selecting a feed, it's important to understand how the manufacturer intended the feed to be used, and make...
7 Ways to Get Cleaner Eggs from Your Chickens
Raising your own flock of layers is a great way to get fresh eggs, but particularly during wet, mucky weather, the chickens will tend to get their eggs dirty. Here are a few things you can do to minimize that: 1. Encourage hens to lay in the nest boxes Put nest boxes...
How to Start Your Flock
In this article, we'll discuss several different ways to start your flock. Buy Day Old Baby Chicks Most of our customers buy day old baby chicks. They're called "day old" because they're shipped to you the day that they're hatched. Amazingly, newly hatched chicks can...
Q&A on Preparing Your Chickens for Winter
Photo by Vera Ting 1. Should I heat or insulate my coop? With their thick coat of feathers, chickens are naturally much better insulated people. As long as they can stay dry and out of the wind, they can tolerate very cold temperatures. If you live in an area with...
Keeping Eggs Fresh
Obviously, the freshest eggs are the ones that come straight from your chickens without being stored at all. But often, you do need to store eggs for a few days, or even a few weeks. So, what's the best way to store them so that they'll stay fresh the longest? Should...
How to Tell if an Egg is Fresh
When your chickens are laying well, sometimes you can start to get more eggs than you're able to use. When you go to use the eggs in your recipes, it's good to be able to tell which ones are getting old and which ones are still fresh. Although it's not obvious to the...
An Interview with Joe Claborn, Part 3
Background: Joe Claborn has worked with McMurray Hatchery for many years and currently raises started chicks and started pullets for McMurray. Joe is also involved with a project that Bud Wood, president of McMurray Hatchery, initiated to start backup flocks for many...
Shop Day-Old Baby Chicks
Day-old baby chicks, ducks, geese, turkeys, and other poultry now available for the 2026 season!