Ah, Italy… one of the most romantic destinations in all the world, home to some of the finest wines, exceptional seafood, exquisite pasta, and… chickens? Believe it or not, of all the chicken breeds over the world, there are probably fewer chickens more iconic than this breed from Italy. I mean, when we think of a chicken, what color do we first think of? How about the comb and wattle? Beak and legs? Maybe I am too much a product of Looney Tunes cartoons, but my answers are a direct result of their character: Foghorn Leghorn. As a result, this author’s answers are white, red, and yellow. Yup, that’s a Leghorn Chicken through and through! While not all Leghorns are white, the breed does originate in Tuscany, Italy, and have since been spread out so far across the world, that these amazing white egg layers are for many the archetype of the chicken world. If you’re feeling that your home could use some Italian spice, then perhaps a Leghorn is just the bird to add to your family! Below is a list of ten excellent hatcheries that you can reach out to.
Meyer Hatchery is based in Polk, Ohio, and boasts itself as the “premier Poultry Source.” Priding itself on customer service and availability, Meyer Hatchery provides a variety of chicken breeds to meet customer demands for color and diversity. They welcome mixing and matching of breeds of the same poultry type to meet minimum order requirement for safe shipping. To help with orders, they have a calendar of hatchings.
Meyer has a variety of means of communication, including multiple phone numbers, fax, and email. They also run a blog that covers everything from breeds to plant pairing with chickens, feed, cooking recipes, fowl entertainment, and survival tips.
We have linked the page to the White Leghorn Chickens above, but Meyer offers a variety of Leghorn, including Light Brown Leghorns and Exchequer Leghorns,
Advantages
Significant discounts if buying male chickens.
Accepts checks and credit cards.
Guarantees gender of chicks either through refund or store credit.
Optional vaccination.
Member of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP), and provide NPIP VS Form 9-3 free of charge.
Murray McMurray started his chicken business in 1917. As a banker, he sold his chicks to locals through the bank and by 1919, he had developed his own stock of chickens. During the Great Depression, he devoted himself to chickens full time. Since then, Murray McMurray Hatchery has developed into one of the largest chick hatcheries in the country. They sell more than just chickens, with ducks, geese, guineas, turkeys, other fowl and game birds all in the catalogue.
Sexed male chicks tend to be the cheapest, meaning you can get some serious savings if you’re planning on raising these birds primarily for meat. You can also buy pullets or mix and match your order with chicks of other breeds, too.
We have linked the Pearl-White Leghorn Chicken above, but they also offer a variety of Leghorns, including: Silver, Rose Comb Brown, Red, and Single Comb Brown.
Average Straight-Run Leghorn Chicken Price: $ $2.85
Cackle Hatchery proudly boasts that they have been hatching and shipping since 1936. A third-generation hatchery based in Missouri, their mission is to provide customers with quality poultry for showing, meat, enjoyment, and eggs. They ship throughout the USA, including Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. They offer nearly 200 different types of chickens at all stages.
Cackle also offers many other kinds of poultry including ducks, water fowl, game birds, turkeys, and other fowl. They are also a good source for supplies and book.
The link above brings you to the White Leghorn Chicken sales page. This hatchery also offers Brown Leghorns and Isabella Leghorns.
Advantages
Discounts if you buy male chicks.
Vaccinations available.
Only need 3 birds to ship (or just one for male birds).
Average Straight-Run White Leghorn Chicken Price: $3.62
As a family-owned business, Purely Poultry has some of the best customer service around. They pride themselves on their knowledge of their products, selection, and how-to details related to everything they offer, including ducks, chickens, geese, and lots of other birds!
Located in Durand, WI, they guarantee live birds with every order, which is a good promise, indeed!
The link above will take you to the White Leghorn Chicken page but they also offer Light Brown Leghorns, White Leghorn Bantams, and Exchequer Leghorns.
Advantages:
Each order backed by live arrival guarantee.
Small order minimum on chicks.
Other kinds of poultry offered, too.
Disadvantages:
Not a huge advantage to buying multiple chicks – discounts are minimal.
Average Straight-Run White Leghorn Chicken Price: $3.21
Another established brand if you’re looking for chicks is Hoover’s Hatchery. Hoover’s supplies many farm and garden supply stores in the United States with their chicks, making them a smart choice if you want to skip the middleman and order from the hatchery directly.
Plus, Hoover’s offers free shipping on practically everything you order. You’ll have to buy at least 15 chicks; so Hoover’s might not be the best option if you live in a city with chicken restrictions. However, as long as you’re willing to buy in bulk, it’s a smart choice. You can even mix and match your order by adding other birds of other chicken breeds along with poultry species like pheasants, turkeys, guineas, ducks, and more.
Another benefit of ordering from Hoover’s Hatchery? Despite the fact that this hatchery is located in Iowa, not necessarily a warm-weather state, it hatches chicks all throughout the year – a must-know feature if you plan on buying chicks around Christmastime.
The link above will take you to the White Leghorn sales page. This hatchery also offers Brown Leghorns and California White Leghorns,
Advantages:
Excellent guarantee and refund policy in case of shipping problems.
Hatches chicks during the winter, one of the few hatcheries to do so.
Average Straight-Run White Leghorn Chicken Price: $4.05
Townline Hatchery, out of Zeeland, MI, prides itself on its hands-on approach that its entire experienced staff observes. In fact, they have an entire series of how to raise birds! Their FAQ section is already quite comprehensive, and they encourage customers to contact them with any questions not already covered. They provide customers with 26 different breed of bird.
The only disadvantage to ordering from Townline is that you’ll have to buy in bulk. The hatchery has a minimum order of fifteen chicks, which can be a challenge if you live in a city that has restrictions on how many birds you can raise (most towns cap it at six hens). However, if you’re planning on shopping for a large flock anyway, Townline is the way to go – the hatchery offers a discount of several dollars per bird when you buy more than 100 chicks.
Advantages:
Superior customer service.
Excellent reputation as one of the longest-standing hatcheries.
Great for buying chicks in large quantities.
Disadvantages:
Not many hatching dates available for fall, winter, or early spring shipping.
Average Straight-Run White Leghorn Chicken Price: $3.05
My Pet Chicken got started in 2005 by Traci Torres and her husband, Derek Sasaki, two novices to the chicken world who had a dream to help other novices in their farmers’ goals. To do this, the put free how-to information on the web and offered some unique products and services.
The website launched in 2005 and in 2006, their flock had grown to the point to where they started offering chicks for sale from their headquarters in Monroe, CT. The site has been mentioned in another of publications, and serves tens of millions of page views per year.
The link above will take you to the White Leghorn page, but this site also offers Light Brown Leghorns and Exchequer Leghorns.
Advantages
Offers Marek’s vaccinations on all standard chicks at the click of a button.
Consistent hours of operation.
A good source for questions about ordering chickens, chicken care, and about raising chickens.
Full refund for any bird that has been incorrectly sexed.
Average Straight-Run White Leghorn Chicken Price: $3.99
Stromberg’s Chicks and Game Birds Unlimited has quite the name! It is appropriate, because they have a selection of birds to match the ambition of their name, with over 200 breeds available to their customers. This impressive family business got its start when Ernest and Josephine Stromberg brought 100 White Leghorn chicks to supplement the family income. Whatever they did must have worked wonders, because 99 years later (as of 2020), they are still going strong! In addition to livestock, Stromberg’s Publishing Company offers a number of books on poultry, poultry-related subjects, and myriad educational bulletins, all of which help make Stromberg’s an excellent source of all your fowl needs.
The first farm was located in Doge, Iowa, but have since moved their headquarters to Hackensack, Minnesota. Including Hackensack, they ship from all locations: Woodland, CA; Wilkes-Barre, PA; Marshall, TX; Winter Haven, FL, and Clarkson, KY.
The above link will take you to their White Leghorn sales page, but they also offer Brown Leghorns and Silver Leghorns,
Advantages
13% discount offered on orders of 30 or more!
Free shipping on orders of $100 or more.
Chicks are shipped immediately upon hatching.
Disadvantages
Minimum orders of 5 chicks.
Alaska residents suffer additional shipping costs and no live bird guarantee on orders shipped there.
Average Straight-Run Brown Leghorn Chicken Price: $2.85
The Chick hatchery is Michigan’s “premier source for superior quality poultry.” With a creed that revolves around the sharing and joy of raising chickens, they operate in no-kill facilities. They raise their chickens humanely, with any unsold chicks going to Amish farms. Much of the experience of raising chickens is the awareness of the individual chicken and the relationship between food and our own health.
The link above will take you to the Brown Leghorn sales page, but this hatchery also offers White Leghorns.
Advantages
Ships a minimum of 3 of each sex.
All poultry guaranteed live delivery.
Offers discounts on orders of larger quantities of birds.
Average Straight-Run Jersey Giant Chicken Price: $3.20
Located in Bancroft, IA, Welp Hatchery was founded way back in 1929 by Joseph H. Welp. While their specialty is Cornish Rock Broilers, they have diversified to include a wide range of chicken breeds. To simplify their orders, they have a catalogue available for viewing or downloading (hyperlink “catalog” to https://www.welphatchery.com/uploads/WELPCATALOG2020_2020-01-27_13-51-43.html). From their shipping points in Iowa, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, this hatchery truly has a wide reach. They offer the White, Silver, Single Comb Brown Leghorn varieties.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
Heard about this thing called “layer feed,” but not sure how it’ll help your chickens? Unsure if your chickens’ diet is the best? In this article, you’ll learn all about layer feed, and why it’s critical to raising a healthy flock!
Living things need to eat. In fact, that might be one of the biggest motivators for gathering a group of chickens in our barns and sheds. We look after them, and they provide us with collections of eggs and meat. If you read our article about what chickens can eat, you know that to produce an adequate supply of eggs for us, our hens need the right nutrients for the job.
To aid in this, industry experts created specially-created feeds called layer feed. These feeds help hens with egg production. They also some smaller bonuses to our chickens.
What Is Layer Feed?
Layer feed is a mixture that helps chickens grow strong and healthy. It offers them a balanced mix of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. It’s feed specifically for laying hens, and has healthy amounts of protein and calcium. Your hens need a lot of both to lay healthy eggs!
Example of layer feed ingredients
How Much Protein Should A Layer Feed Be?
A feed with 16-18% protein is best, with the right nutrients for your chickens to remain healthy. A layer feed isn’t the same as a chick starter, which is formulated for baby chickens.
A common question we get is about how to switch to a layer feed from chick starter. For the first part of your chickens’ lives, they should be on starter and grower feeds. Then once they begin laying, you should switch them to a layer feed. It’s easiest to switch gradually over the course of a week. A sudden switch could lead to diarrhea and other gastric problems.
Laying hens will eat about a quarter pound of feed each day. Free-ranging hens need less than this, as they will be foraging for much of their own feed. Despite their foraging, they will still need a significant amount of layer feed to help maintain a proper nutritional balance.
You might wonder can roosters eat layer feed, since they don’t lay eggs. In short, yes they can. They’ll be perfectly healthy. It’s unrealistic to house roosters and hens together and feed different meals.
Can Chicks Eat Layer Feed?
Your chicks have different dietary requirements than your fully-grown chickens. They will need different nutrients. Layer feed has extra calcium, which can cause your chicks to not grow correctly. It’s always best to feed your baby chickens an 18% starter ration.
Does Layer Feed Have Grit?
No, it does not. Grit is a coarse and abrasive material that chickens can safely ingest. It helps them grind up and properly digest food. It has no nutritional value, so you should offer it separately. You can read more about grit here.
Can Broiler Chickens Get Layer Feed?
Broiler chickens need a higher protein percentage than egg layers. The best feed for them are these heavier protein content feeds. In a pinch, your broilers would not suffer from layer feed. But the lower protein content might mean your chickens are smaller than expected.
How Much Does Layer Feed Cost?
Layer feed can range in price. A budget feed at your local farm store might cost about $.50-.60 / lb. If you are looking for non-GMO or organic homemade mixes, they will be a little more expensive. But your chickens will have a better diet. This is the Non-GMO layer feed we use.
Should I Make Homemade Layer Feed?
Whether to make homemade layer feed vs. store-bought layer feed is up to you. It depends on your lifestyle, free time, and the particulars of your farms. There are many recipes available online (like this one here). The following is a list of ingredients that are most often included in homemade layer feeds.
Oat groats
Regular naked oats
Black sunflower seeds,
Hard red wheat
Soft white wheat
Kamut flour
Millet
Whole corn
Crack corn
Popcorn
Lentils
Peas
Sesame seeds
Brewers’ yeasts
Sea kelp
Alfalfa
Barley
Fish meal
Flax seed
Food-grade lime or aragonite
Each ingredient brings its own value into the mix: oils, protein content, nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, calcium, and energy. The ratio of ingredients can vary, and the higher protein ingredients will probably be more expensive than the grains. As a result, the grains will usually compose the bulk of the homemade layer feeds. Seeds and supplements like peas will certainly be more expensive, but they add tons of nutrients and variety to the layer feed.
You can extra supplements depending on the season. If it’s time for a worming or mite-prevention cleansing, food grade diatomaceous earth, garlic, or cider vinegar can all be added to help with keeping your birds’ bodies healthy – both inside and outside. You can give these supplements temporarily or long-term. You can mix the ingredients into garbage pails or metal pails by hand.
One of the biggest advantages of using store-bought layer feeds is the scientific measurements of protein. Excess protein can create problems in many barnyard animals. Renal dysfunction is one problem that does occur with too extreme a protein quantity. But a low protein content can result in smaller or abnormal eggs. It can also cause your chickens to stop laying and/or to become flighty.
You also might wonder whether you should ferment chicken feed. There are many resources online that show you how to ferment chicken (here’s ours). It’s certainly not necessary, but it’s very easy. The main idea is to submerge your flock’s feed under water, and allow beneficial bacteria to grow. If you’re worried about gut health, and want to do everything possible for your flock, then fermenting feed might be for you! You can also ferment chick starter.
Do Pullets Prefer Store-Bought Layer Feeds To Homemade Layer Feeds?
This is a very specific question that requires significantly more research for a definitive answer. Current observations show that there is no preference. Picky eaters are everywhere, so there just might be one in your flock. Chickens are live creatures, and some can certainly be more picky than others. If this is a research question that you decide to pursue, please let us know! We would love to hear your results!
Is Layer Feed Really Necessary?
There will always be people who think layer feeds are unnecessary. And in some situations, they’re possibly right. But industry studies show that a 16% layer feed is the basis of a good diet. Personally, I would stick to “tried-and-true” facts.
Where To Buy Layer Feed
Layer feeds are available everywhere, and we even sell our own – and very popular – blend right here. Petco, Tractor Supply, and even Wal*Mart all stock layer feeds. Chances are good that a simple Google search of “layer feed” and “nearby” will net you a source for the feeds.
Photo of our layer feed
Layer feeds have become a single stop for your egg-laying hens. They are easy to mix, contain a good balance of ingredients for your little ladies, and help your flock produce the “butt nuggets” we all know and love. By looking after the eating habits of our girls, we are improving the quality of our own food: our eggs.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
Traditional English egg custard is super simple to make, but gives you an AMAZING dessert to make with all those eggs your flock lays. With this recipe, we’ve turned tradition a bit on its side with our sugar-free English egg custard – and it’s just as tasty!
We’ve replaced sugar with sucralose (you can also use regular sugar or monkfruit) – a carb free option that’s just as sweet as sugar (don’t worry – we have resources where you can buy sucralose below).
Our hens have been laying a TON of eggs, and let’s face it – there’s only so many quiches and scrambled eggs you can make before getting a bit bored. And who doesn’t love dessert?
I love egg custard because the combination of nutmeg and whole cream makes it taste much more decadent than other desserts, and this combination makes it SEEM like a complicated recipe. It’s a way to pamper yourself with a bit of luxury without all the hassle of effort. It’s also great to take to any summer BBQ potlucks because kids love it too!
If you’ve been looking for the perfect summer recipe to use up all your eggs, then here’s how to make Sugar Free English Egg Custard!
Ingredients
Makes 3 servings
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 cup sucralose (buy here)
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
Vanilla bean pod
Nutmeg to taste
Directions
Heat milk, cream, and the vanilla beans together in a pot until just starting to boil. Do not overheat and allow to scorch.
In a second bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and sucralose.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
When the cream mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and combine with the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. Add the cream mixture slowly so the eggs do not cook.
Once combined, run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps of egg.
Pour mixture into ramekins, and top with nutmeg to taste. Place into the oven, and cook until set, typically 30 minutes.
Once set, remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
Heat milk, cream, and the vanilla beans together in a pot until just starting to boil. Do not overheat and allow to scorch.
In a second bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and sucralose.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
When the cream mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and combine with the egg mixture, whisking the entire time. Add the cream mixture slowly so the eggs do not cook.
Once combined, run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps of egg.
Pour mixture into ramekins, and top with nutmeg to taste. Place into the oven, and cook until set, typically 30 minutes.
Once set, remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
Notes: While this is a sugar-free recipe, you can replace the sucralose with sugar. You can also use honey with my conversion chart here.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
We all know herbs are healthy to feed your hens, so making a holiday herb wreath with berries is the perfect way to give your flock herbal goodness while making a cute & stylish coop decoration!
Making an herb wreath is really easy – in fact, the hardest thing you’ll do is decide WHICH herbs to use!
And yes, it’s meant to be beautiful AND your hens should eat it. Once it’s spent and doesn’t look great anymore, you can compost it.
For this wreath, we used rosemary (because it’s healthy AND looks visually similar to pine) and cranberries.
And I’ll tell you, hens LOVE the red berries. Cranberries are perfectly fine to feed your hens (especially fresh cranberries), but you can also use any other red berry – strawberries are another good option.
(In fact, if you doubt whether chickens will actually go for this wreath, here’s an image from our photo shoot where I turned my back for a moment and Mario, our Blue Copper Marans rooster, decided to try to steal the wreath):
What herbs should you use?
For herbs, you can stick to the rosemary I used in this article, or you can add other herbs. Oregano, sage, and thyme are good options – each is great for overall health.
If you’re feeling extra crafty, you can also use flowers such as calendula or lavender, or add pinecones (your hens might try to sample the pinecones but quickly desert them in favor of the herbs and berries).
So why a wreath? Well, it’s fun, seasonal, and looks great in your coop. As far as the health benefits go, its an easy way to give your hens a healthy in a way that they can easy access the herbs without mashing them into the ground (it’s all about the benefits, right?)
Want to know how to make your own? Well, here’s directions you can repeat at home.
Making Your Own Herbal Holiday Wreath for Your Chicken Coop
What you’ll need:
A wood or plastic ring
Beading wire or string (more on this in a minute)
About several bunches of long stemmed rosemary
4 – 7 cranberries or other berries
How to put your wreath together:
Make or buy a wreath ring
The ring is necessary to give your wreath some structure. It’ll look better and last longer in the coop, and make the rest of this project easier.
You can buy these here on Amazon or make one yourself with an old container top. We used an old container top we had laying around because, well, recycling is a good idea.
If you do use a plastic top, use an Exacto type knife (like this one here) to transform it into a ring. This is probably the easiest and most budget-friendly way to make this wreath.
You can also use it again and again, instead of replacing it every time you want to make a coop wreath.
Add the Herbs
Once you’ve made or purchased the ring, it’s time to add your herbs. Again, you can use any herbs you like, and for this project I used rosemary.
Try your best to use only long stems of the herb – it’ll look better and be easier to tie to the ring. I was able to find fresh rosemary in the vegetable section of the supermarket.
If you can’t find any, don’t worry – you can still do this project. If you can find long stemmed herbs that AREN’T rosemary, then those herbs might be a better choice.
Tie bunches of the herbs (for the pictured wreath, the bunches were 2 – 3 stems of the rosemary) to the wreath. I tied them every inch or so, leaving the last 2-3 inches of the rosemary free.
The ends of the herbs will hide the wire or string, and complete the overall look.
Continue to do this, layering the bunches as you work your way around the wreath. This will also hide the tie points and add bulk to the wreath, making it look fuller.
Now, before we continue….
A note about the wire or string
For this project, I used beading wire (not chicken wire). It’s sturdy and also flexible, and easy to twist.
You CAN use string, but there’s a couple caveats. Your hens are more likely to pick and eat at the string and it’s also harder to thread the berries with string.
You’ll hear a song and dance about how your hens will eat the wire and it could puncture or injure their digestive system.
Well, there’s also a chance aliens will puncture your hen’s digestive systems, but the chance of either happening is fairly small.
Obviously, you should proceed at your own risk and only do what you feel is best for your flock.
But understand if you do use either wire or string, your hens will likely be fine, and the health benefits of the herbs and fun you’ll have watching your hens go wild over the berries FAR outweighs any potential risks.
Chickens aren’t dumb, and will go for the herbs and berries long before they taste test wire.
If you use string, try to use a thicker string like baling twine. Your hens might be able to slurp up thread, but they’ll have to be pretty determined to swallow baling twine.
Adding the Berries
Finally, add your berries. Its easiest and most visually attractive to place them where you’ve wired the herbs to the ring. The berries will completely cover the wire.
I found it was easiest to pierce the cranberries with a toothpick and then push the beading wire through. If you plan to use string, then use a needle to thread the string through.
Wire them on tight so your hens can pick at the berries. This also makes it more difficult for your hens to accidentally swallow the wire or string.
And that’s it!
You’ve now created a cute holiday herbal wreath for your coop! You can either place it high and enjoy it as a decoration or you can place it low and allow your hens to eat it. When it’s past it’s prime, and they’re no longer interested, take it down and compost the remaining herbs and berries. Because it’s easy to make, you can spend a couple minutes a week creating a new wreath and letting your flock enjoy it again and again!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
