McMurray Hatchery Blog
Hatchery News, Updates and Information on Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and Other PoultryCochins
History Cochins arrived in England and the United States in 1845. Originally, Cochins were called Chinese Shanghai Fowl, after the district in China where they originated. Later the name was changed to "Cochin China" and finally shortened to "Cochin". The Cochin is...
7 Reasons To Raise Chickens
There are many good reasons to raise chickens: 1. Fresh Eggs There simply aren't any eggs fresher than those that you can get if you raise your own chickens. 2. High Quality Eggs and Meat When you raise your own chickens, you manage their food supply, water supply,...
Shatter Resistant Bulbs: A Potential Danger to Your Chickens
Shatter resistant or safety coated light bulbs are a potential source for toxic fumes that can be dangerous to your chickens and other poultry. There are a number of shatter resistant light bulbs on the market today. These include heat lamp bulbs, work lamp bulbs,...
Rare Breeds of Chickens
The American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) lists a number of rare chicken breeds. We carry many of those rare breeds at McMurray Hatchery — below is a list grouped by the ALBC status for each breed. Each listed breed contains a link to the appropriate page or...
7 Myths about Urban Chickens, Myths 4 – 7
by Patricia Foreman [This article is part of a series, to read the entire series, visit: 7 Myths about Urban Chickens.] Myth 4. Chickens Attract Predators, Pests & Rodents. Fact: Predators and rodents are already living in urban areas. Wild bird feeders, pet food,...
7 Myths About Urban Chickens, Myths 2 and 3
by Patricia Foreman [This is the second in a series of articles. To see the first article in this series, visit 7 Myths About Urban Chickens.] Myth 2. Chickens are too Noisy. Fact: laying hens — at their loudest — have about the same decibel level as human...
7 Myths About Urban Chickens
by Patricia Foreman The local foods movement is not only gaining ground, it is here to stay; and that includes family flocks of chickens. Chickens are the mascots of local foods because of the many talents and skill sets they innately bring to small scale food...
Dominiques
History Dominiques are one of America's oldest chicken breeds. They were originally brought here from England and were common on American farms up through the 1800s. Qualities of the Dominique If you're looking for a sustainable breed of chicken, and particularly if...
Favorite Poultry Articles of 2010
How to Keep Your Chickens Safe, Part 1 and Part 2 by Bud Wood, McMurray Hatchery president. These posts give some important and useful tips and ideas on how to protect your chickens from predators. The Self-Perpetuating Flock - an interview with someone who worked...
Season’s Greetings from McMurray Hatchery
We wish all of you a joyous and safe holiday season. Your friends at McMurray Hatchery
The Mpemba Effect | Which Freezes Faster — Warm Water or Cold?
Several people who read our recent article, Keeping the Chicken Water from Freezing, brought up the question: "which type of water freezes faster, warm (or hot) water, or cold?" Readers Weigh In One reader commented, Hot/warm water freezes twice as fast as cold! I...
Keeping the Chicken Water from Freezing
In cold weather, it can be difficult to keep your chickens' water from freezing. Here are a few solutions: Store the waterers in a heated area overnight then bring them back out to the chicken coop or chicken pen each morning. Some people keep two sets of waterers...
McMurray Hatchery Catalogs for 2011
Information on how to request a McMurray Hatchery catalog for 2011.
Baby Chick Videos
We have made a series of short videos that show many of the breeds of baby chicks that we offer on our website. Each video is about 90 seconds long. The baby chicks are very cute to watch, but the real usefulness of these videos is that they can help you identify...
2010 Chicken Photo Contest Winners
McMurray Hatchery's 2010 Chicken Photo Contest has now ended. You can view the winning photos and read the stories behind them using the links below: Winner for the That's So Sweet category Winner for the Too Funny for Words category Winner for the Best Breed Photo...
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!