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...

Winners for the Female Poultry Photo Contest

First and Second Place Michael McLaughlin won first and second place. His first place photo is of a Buff Brahma hen. Michael received a $100 gift certificate as a first place prize. His second place photo is a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen.  Michael received a $50 gift...

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Winners for the Egg Photo Contest

We have really enjoyed seeing the amazing variety of photos in this contest. First Place Lisa Beth Steele won first place with her photo showing a pastel array of duck, Americauna, Cuckoo Marans, Australorp, and Buff eggs. As first place winner, Lisa wins a $100 gift...

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Winners for the Male Poultry Photo Contest

First Place Jennifer May Bryant won first place with this photo of her Royal Palm Tom Turkey. As first place winner, Jennifer has won a $100 gift certificate. The turkey in the  photo is about 2 years old and is one that Jennifer purchased from Murray McMurray...

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Poultry Coop Photo Contest Winners

First Place The first place winner is Maria Beason. She won a $100 Murray McMurray Gift Certificate for her photo of "The Chicken Mansion." To see photos of the inside of Maria's chicken coop, along with more information about the coop, visit the link below: Chicken...

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Poultry Open Class Contest Now Open

Poultry Open Class Contest This contest is for photos of all types of poultry that we carry in our 2011 catalog or on our website. This includes chickens, ducks, guineas, geese, partridge, peafowl, pheasants, quail, swans, turkeys, and several other types of fowl....

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Female Poultry Photo Contest Now Open

Female Poultry Photo Contest Our fourth photo contest of the year is now open. It is for photos of hens, female ducks, female geese, female turkeys, and female poultry of any other type that we offer in our 2011 catalog or on our website. For the most current...

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At What Age Will My Chickens Start Laying?

Introduction The age at which your hens will begin to lay depends on their breed type.  Hybrids are the earliest birds to start laying, starting about 1 month earlier than non-hybrids. Non-hybrids, which include our rare and heritage breeds, typically begin laying...

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Egg Photo Contest Now Open

Egg Photo Contest This contest is for photos of poultry eggs. The eggs can be from chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, swans, quail, guineas, peafowl, pheasants, or any other type of poultry that we offer in our 2011 catalog or our website. Assortments that contain more...

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Online Tour of Murray McMurray Hatchery

Do you want to learn more about our hatchery? Would you like to see how we hatch eggs? Or where our eggs are produced? This 5 1/2 minute video will take you on a tour of our hatchery. See some of our phone operators.  Visit one of the farms where our eggs are...

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Male Poultry Photo Contest

Description of the Contest Our second photo contest of the year is the Male Poultry Photo Contest. It is for photos of roosters, drakes, ganders, tom turkeys, and male poultry of any other type that we offer in our 2011 catalog or on our website. For the most current...

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How Can I Get My Hens to Lay in their Nest Boxes?

Sometimes hens lay their eggs on the floor of the coop, which can be a problem because the eggs get soiled from their manure, and the eggs are more likely to get cracked, broken, or stepped on. Hens will also sometimes find hiding places outdoors to lay their eggs,...

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Poultry Housing Photo Contest

This is our first photo contest of the year. Photos for the Poultry Housing Photo contest can include any type of housing for chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, or any other type of poultry that we offer in our 2011 catalog or on our website. Examples include: chicken...

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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!