I recently had an order of chicks arrive and they arrived with hypothermia. We had a cold snap across the US and they must have been exposed to the cold. Unfortunately, most of them could not recover and died. After one short and professional conversation the replacement order was filled with amazing customer service. Thank you so much for being and honest and authentic company! We appreciated your service and are excited for the next batch to arrive. Thank you! read more

Don't order from here pls. Ordered 2 ducklings to be delivered the week of the 13th. The order shipped Monday night and was supposed to be here Thursday before 8 pm. We never got the call and then received an email saying they will arrive late. We got them this morning the 17th. 4 days after getting shipped. They McMurray difference is a quick 48 hour guaranteed Delivery. We open the box to dead ducklings. Oh and when they say they are from Iowa yeah that's just the building. They are shipped from California. So if anything happens to shipping you have a "really good"chance of getting them on time AND ALIVE. read more

I purchased two Brahma "started pullets" this summer. I was surprised with the cost of shipping two live birds($120), but felt it was worth it to have some 15-22 week olds to join my flock of 9 week old free range Aracunas. Both birds arrived safely a couple days late, but that was OK. When I opened the boxes I was surprised by two things. The birds were tiny and neither had feathered feet. My poultry vet came over on my request and stated that these birds were not 15 weeks, he would be surprised if they were 7-10 weeks based on their size and feathering. I called Murray McMurray Hatchery to inquire and they said that they too sometimes got Brahmas without feathers and that the birds were probably small because they free range. These "15 week old" Brahmas, and Brahmas are a bigger breed than Aracunas, were smaller than my 9 week old free range Aracunas. They would not refund any money for the birds or the shipping and said that they were sorry the bird did not arrive as advertised, but the hatchary they buy the birds from provided the age. Better off finding a local supplier where you can see the product you are going to buy prior to buying. Also experienced the same problem receiving catalogs for various Craft and farm suppliers. read more

We have placed three chick orders from Murray McMurray Hatchery in recent years. The most outstanding feature has been the quality of the chicks we receive. They grow up to be exceptionally beautiful birds, have great conformation, good dispositions, and are healthy and disease free. Since the U.S. Post Office changed from two-day Priority Mail to up-to- three-day Priority Mail service, shipping is extra stressful for chicks shipped to our area of the country. However, that is not the Murray McMurray's fault. They go the extra mile to make sure that the chicks arrive alive and well, and most do. The hatchery cannot be held responsible for the inefficiencies of the Post Office's delivery system, and yet Murray McMurray will refund the cost of every chick that does not survive its first two days after delivery. Now that's customer service! Murray McMurray prides itself on the quality of their breeding stock, the cleanliness of their operation, and on their customer service. It shows. They seem to have very happy employees and little turnover. I've spoken to the same customer-service representative since 2007! Quality chicks become quality birds, assuming good husbandry. The birds in our flocks are always stand-outs, compared to the birds our friends have purchased at feed stores or other hatcheries. Several of our hens have seen their 15th birthdays and beyond, still alive and well. We also appreciate the fact that we can have our chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease and Coccidiosis. We enjoy trying to figure out what breed our free "mystery chick" is. Actually, Murray McMurray usually includes several free chicks with each of our orders. We've been introduced to some wonderful breeds, thanks to our "mystery chicks"! If you care about quality and value for your money, and if you appreciate great customer service, we think you'll be pleased with Murray McMurray. We will certainly continue to return to Murray McMurray with our future orders. Thanks, Murray McMurray! read more

I've been buying chicks from McMurray starting in 1999, as well as buying feed store chicks & my own raised ones. But this year something went terribly wrong. I ordered 29 chicks, got 34, and 9 died. 1 was dead on delivery (that does happen), 2 cream leg bars & 2 blue cochins never ate or drank and died. A Mottled Houdan died @ 2 weeks. At 3 weeks a cream leg bar got neurological problems @ died. Another cream leg bar never got over bantie sized & both she and a Welsummer became paralyzed in their legs. That's over 25% mortality - never in 23 years of raising chicks has this happened. And 58% of the leg bars. They were suppose to be vaccinated for Mereks & Coccidiosis @ hatchery. This is new property (never had chickens on it), new coop, raised 100% perfect (food, water, bedding, shelter). It wasn't my fault......What's UP McMurray? read more

Me and my dad ordered 30 quails and ended up having half of them dying because of the terrible small cold box that we got them in

Hi everyone! I'm Catherine from LA and this was my first time ordering chicks online so I was super nervous in the weeks leading up to it and did a lot of research and I'm soooo glad I ended up choosing Murray McMurray Hatchery. My chicks arrived super fast even though Iowa to California is kinda far and all of them were lively and super active. None of them seemed lethargic and after some food and water, they all seemed super healthy as well! I ordered 17 chicks and got 19 so I was pretty stoked!! Now, two days later, all of them are doing well and no casualties have arisen! Another thing is their customer service is absolutely amazing: I originally got two buff laced polish girls but wanted one of them to be a white polish. However at the time of ordering, none were available; yet, when I contacted McMurray afterwards and asked if it would be at all for just one white polish girl, they were able to arrange that for me super quickly and hassle free. The rep also went on to explain to me about their shipping process, the grow gel they include, and how electrolytes can help the chicks after arrival. Thus my worries were all addressed and the chicks came in all alive and well! Very impressed! read more

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I received 10 eggs from MacMurray egg hatchery after about a six week wait time. Only one of the eggs received was fertile the other nine were duds. Be careful before you spend $50.00 on eggs from this hatchery. As a note I had other eggs from my flock in the same incubator and they hatched. When I opened the MMH eggs after 24 days all but the one egg from MMH were nothing but old eggs .. no embryo. I will not order from them again. They have a well written no refund policy, but in this case I would think a replacement set of eggs would have been appropriate. I would have even paid the shipping. One lost customer will not affect there business, but I encourage anyone to consider another hatchery first. read more

I purchased some Blue lace Wyndottes and some Speckled Sussex....there was one dead on arrival and within 24 hrs six of the blue lace chicks were dead.....that was 6 weeks ago.... I still have 15 chicks. I ordered 20 chicks, they mailed 22 counting the extra roo......Not too bad for late October...... read more

Ordered eggs from them twice. First time 5 eggs were broken and none hatched. Decided to try them again. I ordered 30 chicken eggs. $163 dollars. I am experienced with incubation and hatching poultry and I monitored this hatch very closely. One Red Star chicken hatched, I floated the others and there was no development. I wrote them an email and they did not respond. Not a word. I did know that they do not guarantee any eggs to hatch. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. There will never be a third time that I order from this place. So my advice is to save your money and buy eggs from a local farmer. This place is overpriced and I have had two bad experiences and wasted hundreds of dollars on overpriced eggs that do not hatch. read more

We ordered a box of chicks. 2out of 16 were alive but one was slowly dying. Both died within twelve hours. They sent us a replacement box. They promised two days hopping. This time we didn't receive the box for three days after it shipped. Again, 2 were alive out of 16. Within one hour both of those died. It is absolutely disgusting to get a box of dead chicks and so in humane to leave day old baby chicks in a box for three days. Watching baby chicks slowly die is awful. I will never order from this company again. read more

Iv been buying Murray McMurray chicks since 1988, I had a small window of opportunity to buy the french marans back in November 2019, had a confirmation number and a order date of July 202 and they had my payment info. Checked the order status in Jan, 2020 it was still there, Setting up for new chicks to arrive, checked order status June 29th, EVERYTHING is gone! No account info. Called, oh we are so sorry. Bullshit! Never again. And the countless feed stores and people I had been recommending Never Again!. I'm sure you dont need my money, Iv since read the reviews and this hatchery has gone down hill . Apparently I'm just another person who got screwed . read more

I have close to 100 free-range chickens, all of which were ordered online from another hatchery so have a little bit of experience in this area. My wife really likes the look of the Polish breeds so I ordered 15 chicks from McMurray Hatchery. These arrived this morning in a tiny box, small enough to have 5 of the 15 chicks literally trampled flat, one with a broken leg and another two who is unlikely to live through the day. No refund required, no replacements asked - I honestly want nothing to do with this company every again. read more

I've been a customer of Murray McMurray hatchery for over 10 years. I've purchased many types of eggs, various juvenile birds, and a variety of hatching equipment from them. I've always received quality products, excellent service and quick turn around on my orders. They are always my go to company for all my poultry needs. Thank you M.M. Hatchery! read more

I have ordered from this company for years with good success. This year is my last. I ordered 16 expensive ducklings for $110. The box arrived with only 7 ducklings inside. The box was flimsy cardboard with two tiny, mini-paper-stapler type staples holding the flimsy cardboard top on, one staple on each end. Clearly the second it was handled one of the staples popped off, allowing the lid to flap open. The sides of the lid were gaping and the cardboard easily folded back. The box was nowhere near big enough for 16 ducklings. The ducklings could have gotten out even without the tiny staple popping out, as the soft cardboard gaped widely. There was no tape or other securing device, just 2 staples. So the ducklings died awful deaths squashed or frozen in a truck somewhere. I expect more for that price. It's negligent and lazy, bordering on cruel. How is it possible someone put them in that box, secured it with one staple, and thought that was good? The birds that did arrive were in fine shape, but come on McMurray, you are dealing with LIVING CREATURES and you need to take more care. For $106, I expect more than 8 cent packaging. If that. read more

I ordered two 4 week old Speckled Sussex back in June of this year and 3 months later both have died. I won't be ordering from here again. I really wanted that breed both chicks were so sweet and loving and to watch them die was heart breaking. read more

Box of dead chicks arrived. Purchased 42 chicks, took four days from shipment to delivery. 10 chicks were dead. Called the company and they sent out a replacement of 10 chicks. I had mentioned that 4 days was too long to ship chicks and I would pay for priority shipment. They told me I could not. They shipped the 10 chicks and four days later a box of 10 dead chicks arrived. I would not recommend buying from McMurray unless you live very close. I live in Michigan. read more

I have ordered from McMurray years ago successfully. This year, 2 orders, almost $200 and several weak & deformed chicks later I'm frustrated. Now at 8 & 5 weeks into the raising process i've Lost another chick due to failure to thrive. It just wasted away. I ordered all pullets and have roosters developing almost everyday. Contacted the company about number of roosters and they answered they only promised 90% accuracy in determining sex. What once was good now has disappointed me. They did credit me for initial dead chicks, not sure of the outcome of ongoing rooster population..... read more

Ordered two 4 week old pullets to supplement my backyard flock. They arrived in very poor condition but better than My Pet Chicken. Nursed them back to health but one turned out a roo. A sexing score of 50% is basically a random result, what you get tossing a coin. I douubt they were sexed at all. read more

I have been buying chicks,ducks. and geese for over 40 years and have had some dead chicks, the have always taken care and fixed it. Don't blame Mcmurray for the bad service from the post office. Mcmurray is the best place to buy your birds,and if you have problems they take care of it, Blame the POST OFFICE. read more

I bought 2 baby ducks. The cayuga is doing well. My white crested had such an enlarged crest that it fully covered her left eye. She was thus blind out of one eye. She shakes her head from side to side and can't interact with other ducks as they trample her. So, I'm off to the vet to grt surgery quotes and bought her her own enclosure ($400). What did Murray McMurray say...trim her feathers. It helps but it doesn't remove the crest from in front of her eye. I know crested ducks are sensitive breeds but responsible breeding should be required. Luckily Emma has a great home because she will see again. read more

I ordered fertile eggs from McMurray and ended up with zero chicks. I have hatched eggs before with no issues. I have perfect temperature and humidity in my incubator. My first dozen eggs I ordered arrived at my house a day late, frozen and cracked. I called to report the issue and spoke to the rudest woman who in the end said they would ship new eggs the following week but it would be the one and only replacement of eggs. When I received my second batch of eggs, one was broke but the rest appeared good. I let the eggs rest and placed them in my incubator the next day. I ended up with no chicks. What a waste of money! I do not over handle my eggs, I candle on day 7, day 14 and they go on lockdown for the last 3 days. This is no fault of my own, it is bad eggs being shipped to paying customers. Never again will I purchase from Murray McMurray Hatchery. read more

We ordered 20 eggs from Murray McMurray Hatchery. They took a while to arrive, when they did there were 24 eggs (extras in case some crack during shipping, which they did). We noticed right away that 4 eggs were cracked when they arrived. We put the other 20 eggs in two incubators. We turned them 3 times a day, made sure there was the proper amount of water in them, made sure the temperature was correct daily. After waiting 18 days, we added more water and stopped turning them in preparation for their hatching. On day 21 one chick hatched. ONE out of 20 eggs! It's normal for some eggs not to hatch, even for half the eggs not to hatch, but 1/20 is a really bad result. I called Murray McMurray. The woman I spoke with asked if the incubators had ever been used before - yes. She said that they're not responsible for whether the eggs hatch or not once they leave their farm. I kept the eggs in the incubator for an additional 3 days just to make sure. Then I candled them before getting rid of them. Only one of the remaining eggs looked like it had started to develop, but never finished developing. The other 18 eggs looked unfertilized, no development. The farm refused to refund us any money or send more eggs -- not that I would want to go through that experience again. We couldn't have just one chick. They need to be with other chicks. We gave Mabel to a local farm who coincidentally had chicks just 2 days older than Mabel. We are hopeful that she's living a great life there with her new friends, but are so disappointed that we don't have chicks and chickens to keep. read more

I've ordered 25-45 female baby chicks every year for the past five years. I live in Alaska and every chick has been alive and well and healthy and CUTE! I've ordered all different types using the chick selector to pinpoint the type I need that is cold tolerant and lays well. I highly recommend Murray McMurray Hatchery for baby chicks if you want them sent to Anchorage, Alaska, or anywhere else. If you call with questions the staff is knowledgeable and helpful as well. read more

I used to love this hatchery but....the last two years have been frustrating. Last year I paid for 26 pullets and got three roosters, one was the free chick but the other two I had paid for pullets. Last year I tried to buy several different breeds but most weren't available on the same weeks (i.e Bielefelders, Delawares. This year I specifically waited till all were available and paid for them but they didn't ship the bielefelder's. I'm not certain they even have this breed. I understand that hatches can vary but a company hatching every week should have a pretty good idea how many they should have "before" they take my money and mess up my once a year order OR they could have told me that they weren't shipping before hand and given me the opportunity to cancel or delay the whole order. I'm still hoping at least I have all pullets (except the free one) this year but who knows anymore. If not I'll find a new hatchery. This is the only hatchery I've ever used so I can't compare to others but Murray McMurray seems to be on a downhill slide. read more

Excellent customer service, beautifully healthy chicks. I have trusted Murray McMurray for over 30 years.

Update: after multiple emails with customer service, I finally called and spoke to a human person. We came to an agreement and they are replacing the lost babies. I just hope it doesn't take 4 days for them to get here again. read more

I have gotten 50 at a time for couple years. As of right now out of those many come in dead. Then with in two to three days over half die. I guess I need to find new hatcher. I have tried for years changing I have lost to much money read more

We've ordered from this hatchery several times. Their error rate for sexing chicks is much higher than they say. Two of our orders were off by 20%. Our last order was for 16 hens and so far we've positively identified that 6 of them are roosters. That's over 37% and that is unacceptable. read more

I have had nothing but great experiences with MMH. I'm on my 6th & 7th orders from them. Always helpful & courteous. Chicks and ducks are always healthy. read more

I would not ever use this business to order fertile eggs again. I ordered several dozen for a school project. After waiting and anticipating the 21 days of incubation, my students and I and the other classes were extremely disappointed that hardly any of the eggs hatched. To make it worse, we found out that most of the eggs weren't even fertile! So not worth the time or the money! read more

Let me start with my last order: 5 months ago I ordered 15 brown leghorn hens and 2 white leghorn cocks....well 4 months later, after hours of wasted time and money on electricity for heat lamps and over $100 on food- I have 1 hen and 14 fighting and crowing roosters. I contacted mcmurray and they claim that I, a small hobby farmer who lives in a suburban home in the middle of Clearwater florida, ordered 17 roosters. I have ordered from them a few times in the past 6 years and there is ALWAYS something wrong whether chickens, quails or ducks. I ordered 20 australorp hens and got 7 roosters with the order. Ordered a dozen assorted hatching eggs and put them in incubator with 7 of my own eggs. 4 of my own eggs hatched-ZERO from mcmurray- and they all had zero growth as if unfertilized. Dont waste your money on them and their ridiculous prices. read more

I'm so glad to learn i'm not the only one who received weak and sickly chicks..I know without a doubt, many of my chicks were not shipped out the day of hatching..i've raised chicks for many years, and my last shipment I received..I knew something was very wrong, and called customer service the next business day, at least half of my chicks died, and one had no eyes. No the eyes were not pecked out during shipment..sockets were dry. I was refunded for my loss, but that's not the point..I didn't order a shipment of chicks, just so I could watch them die. And much of my order, wasn't what i ordered..and the customer service rep. tried to play it off, as if this never happens..will try another hatchery next time..many of those chicks were NOT newborns, and it was obvious to me. This used to be, state of the art business to order chicks, and now I see, it's a business cutting corners, and if the chicks die, so what?, give the money back..not what I signed up for, and won't again..i've never ordered chicks from any other hatchery before..but it's time to check and give them a chance..can't be any worse than my last shipment read more

I've had two experiences with ordering chicks from Murray McMurray hatchery. The first was seven years ago and I, along with three friends, ordered 40 + chicks. The birds got very chilled in route and over half died. The hatchery credited the lost chicks, but it was really unpleasant and the birds were packed without a heat pack, something other hatcheries do, Meyers for one, which really helps the survival rate. This past week, a friend ordered 63 chicks from them. I had agreed to help start the chicks and didn't know they were being ordered from Murray McMurray. The estimated delivery time was sat - tues. We were worried that they had been shipped Friday and we wouldn't receive them until Monday, even if they were sent overnight, we're in a remote town. When the hatchery was called, they said they were not shipping out until Monday which was a big relief as we had a chance to get them in a more timely manner. Sure enough, the chicks arrived Tuesday morning. When they arrived and we opened the box, we were dismayed to see many dead chicks. Understandably travel is not easy on young birds, but some of these birds also seemed to be more than a day old judging by the feather development on the wings and the amount of droppings in the travel box. I feel like some of the birds probably hatched out on Saturday and were held for shipping until the other birds could be added. As a result, almost 35% of the birds died within the first day and another 15% have died the second day. The reason why it is considered relatively safe to ship newly hatched birds is that they are able to live off of the egg yolk reserve for a day or two before they have to have food. Holding onto birds to complete an order is just a disaster in the making. Really unfortunate way to treat living animals, cruel and unpleasant. I would not recommend this business due to the way they pack and treat the chicks. Will strongly counsel anyone from using them to purchase young chicks. read more

I ordered 16 chicks and was also supposed to receive a free "bonus" chick that could be anything (and I could find no way to opt out of getting this surprise chick). My chicks arrived and there are only 13 instead of 17- no bonus chick (no big deal as far as I'm concerned) but short 3 araucanas. Those are the ones I particularly wanted. The only option from their customer service was to credit me for the missing chicks or ship me 12 more. If I did that, I'd end up with 9 chicks that could be any variety, either gender. I took the credit but I'm very dissatisfied. There is no excuse for that kind of error on such a small order. Apparently they have employees that can't count. When I consider Becky's review that says 37% were incorrectly sexed, who knows what I'll end up with. Not happy and will never order from them again. I'll make the 2 hour trek to the livestock auction next year. read more

I would never recommend this hatchery...especially if plan on getting them as pets and could become attached. First, I ordered 4 week old juvenile HENS so I would get exactly what I wanted. Well one died within the first day. Either due to the trauma of shipping or maybe that it wasn't 4 weeks old. I can't prove its age but it wasn't even half of the size as some of the others. Second, one of my barred rocks kept looking more and more like a rooster. I would send pictures to the hatchery every few weeks who would say according to the pictures on google she still looks like a hen. Well when she(he) started crowing I called and the woman on the phone gave a chuckle. They are supposedly sending me a refund but I had become attached to this bird! I found it a home today which I thought was a good thing being that no one wants roosters in the first place. Upon dropping him off he immediately had gotten attacked by the other roosters and I'm pretty sure was being killed in front of my eyes as my husband drug me away as i cried hysterically. Thirdly, I've read many reviews by this point about Mcmurray raising a mean strain of barred rock. Well I too believe this to be true. The one female I have left is as nasty as could be...as was the other female/male that I just had murdered. My other chickens are super friendly but my barred rocks bite at you the moment you go near them. I have been in and around them since I've gotten them at 4 weeks so I've tried to make them people friendly. Again, I repeat... do not order if want your chickens as pets. I assure you there are other companies out there that will ship in small quantities. Just learn from my mistakes and do your research. read more