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...

It’s County Fair Time!

Congratulations to Seth Terwelp who was highlighted at this year's Illinois Adams County Fair. How is everyone else doing this year at the Fair? http://www.whig.com/story/19156348/payson-teen-shares-passion-for-raising-showing-poultry

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A bit of history…

Was handed a very cool piece of history this morning. From the Grinnell College Newsletter, Vol. 7, 1928, No.5, it reads "Murray McMurray, (class of 1910) of Webster city, recently shipped nine purebred Bourbon Red turkeys to Ozaki brothers poultry farm, Tokyo Japan....

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My Girl Photo Contest Announced!

My Girl Photo Contest Announced! http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/p/mygirl2012 Send in your best/favorite photo of your hen chicken for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate and other great prizes! We want to see our prized girl and give away some great prizes. Send...

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4 Weeks – Bigger Chicks

It's been approximately four weeks since we got our baby chicks and the change they have gone through has been quite interesting to watch.  I never realized how interesting chickens could be to watch and now I often find myself simply sitting and watching them move...

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The First Order

I remember walking a trail in one of our recent trips to the Smokey Mountains, Pigeon Forge,Tennessee to be exact.  The promise of our friends and guides, experienced visitors to the area, was a tremendous waterfall nearly a mile and half from our starting point.  If...

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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!