McMurray Hatchery Blog

Hatchery News, Updates and Information on Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and Other Poultry

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...

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...

Coffee with the Chicken Ladies Breed Spotlight: Cochins

Cochins are the OG fancy chicken. They originated in China and were further developed in the UK and US, gradually becoming the gorgeous, super fluffy, feather-footed beauties that we know and love today. They’re foundation breeds for so many chicken breeds and color...

Ringing in Our 107th Hatching Season

One of my favorite book series is coming out with a new title. It has been quite some time since I’ve read these books, so I get to re-read them now and catch back up. These days, I find that I’m re-reading more books than I’m reading new ones. I might know the...

Gail Damerow Discusses Winter Health Considerations for Chickens

Cold stress in winter can affect a flock’s health. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we query her regarding winter health considerations for chickens. What is cold stress? "Cold stress occurs when a chicken...

2024 Catalog Photo Winners

The 2024 Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog will start landing in mailboxes across the U.S. and Canada over the holidays. Each year's catalog features photos submitted by our customers. Our 2024 catalog is our most comprehensive issue to date, featuring 132 pages of...

5 Reasons to Raise Waterfowl

I have been known to swim against the current, do things my way, and voice my reasons loudly. Not in a bossy way, but in a way that makes you wonder if you should have taken my advice. This rings true for my beliefs on intentional gardening, how and what I choose to...

Iowa State Student Chicken Coops

Last week I took a ride down to Ames, Iowa to see the creations of many students from Iowa State University.  As reported on KCCI: "Chicken coops designed by new architecture students at Iowa State University are on display. The 20 coops, with names ranging from "The...

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INTEGRATED SYSTEMS by Joel Salatin

Today's food and farming system is distinctly segregated.  Following the local food tsunami, however, urban and back yard poultry rearing are on the upswing.  City poultry ordinances are popping up everywhere, a welcome sign toward self-reliance and better food....

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Baked Eggs

There are so many things that Grandparents pass along to us - the many life lessons, the calm gentle suggestions derived from years of experience and the sweet perfections from tried and true experiments in the kitchen.  The last category is of course where the baked...

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“How Do You Chicken?” Video Contest Winners

We just concluded a very fun and entertaining video contest entitled "How Do You Chicken?".  I'm happy to announce the three top video winners!   Thank you to everyone who submitted videos.  If you would like to see all the finalists, check them out at...

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2013 Easter Photo Contest Winners!

What an amazing photo contest showcasing some adorable and downright heartwarming photos during this past Easter season. Thank you to everyone who participated by submitting photos and/or rating the photos to determine our winners. Without further delay, here are the...

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Where to Begin?

With so many developments and activities going on at Murray McMurray Hatchery it's hard to know where to begin. Our 2013 season has been going very well!  We feel so blessed to hear the positive feedback from our thousands of customers as they receive their baby...

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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!