Cackle Hatchery®

4.5
7580 reviews
employees in the office

About

Livestock Breeder
We specialize in hatching purebred poultry. Our quality chickens are for eggs, showing, meat, or pets. We have been providing poultry since 1936 and ship throughout the USA. It's always Chick Season™ here! Got Chicks™? We do!

Location

Cackle Hatchery®
411 W Commercial St, Lebanon, MO
65536, United States

Hours

Reviews

4.2
1,839 reviews
5 stars
1,326
4 stars
114
3 stars
45
2 stars
57
1 star
297

What are people saying?

AI-generated from recent customer reviews

Chick Health

Many customers reported high mortality rates among chicks, with several stating that a significant number of their orders arrived dead or became ill shortly after arrival.

Customer Service

Customer service experiences varied widely; some customers praised the helpfulness of staff, while others expressed frustration over unresponsive support and inadequate resolutions for dead or sick chicks.

Shipping Issues

Numerous reviews highlighted problems with shipping, including delays and inadequate packaging that contributed to chick mortality during transit.

Order Accuracy

Several customers reported receiving incorrect orders or fewer chicks than expected, leading to dissatisfaction with the service.

Overall Satisfaction

While some customers had positive experiences with healthy chicks and good service, a significant number expressed disappointment and indicated they would not order again.
  • SW
    Samantha Wells
    Jan 5, 2026
    4.0
    Love my chicken pay extra for hen and still end up with a 1/4 being roosters. They got good healthy chicks when they are revived.
  • AG
    Aarden g
    Jan 3, 2026
    2.0
    Prices have gotten outrageous the last 10 years and recently they stopped printing the prices in the catalog so it's essentially just a worthless bundle of papers. At one time cackle offered fun bundles at good prices like the happy cackle special that you could get at a really low price because it was extras. Around a dollar a chick with shipping. The same "deal" is now over 3 a chick, not a good price for unknown strsight run chicks, a rip off. You have to go online to order and get prices now, if I wanted to search the website I wouldn't have requested a catalog.
  • ES
    E Marie Sherwood
    Dec 13, 2025
    1.0
    Heads up. My daughter bought 10 chicks from.Cackle Hatchery. All but 3 died. Some of those that died had scissor beak and Cackle Hatchery does not guarantee chicks with that condition. Now the survivors have developed it. I looked it up and found that causes of the condition are: genetics, improper incubation (temp/humidity issues), poor nutrition (lack of vitamins/minerals), early trauma (bumped beak), infections, and even environmental factors like pollution. To me, that seems linked to where the birds were bred. If you are in the market for Easter Eggers I would think.twice about purchasing from Cackle Hatchery. I am definitely going to another hatchery.
  • VH
    Violet Hayes
    Dec 13, 2025
    5.0
    Ordered "hatchery's choice" 10 female bantams. The chicks were very well packed, with some kind of heat pack and I think food source, and lots of soft cushioning material. They arrived all the way from Missouri to Washington in three days, alive and mostly well. The tiny game hen chick was smaller than the cochin bantams & brahma bantams, and the trip was too rough for her--she didn't survive past the first day home. However, the hatchery sent 3 extra chicks, so I still ended up with a gorgeous selection of 12 adorable little bantam hens. No accidental cockerels, and a very pretty assortment of colors. Best of all, the hens are healthy and great layers of adorable little eggs.
  • JH
    Jake Hammond
    Nov 17, 2025
    5.0
    I had ordered ducks from them in June one died but the rest did well...it was a long ways to ship and baby birds are fragile so its just how it goes with baby birds (the post office send them thr oppostie way at first too which makes no sense on thier part ...). They were peking ducks and high quality and as they grew adult hood they were also sexed correctly. Great work there idk how yall do that. I imagine all the work that goes into this place...baby birds are so much time and effort to care for..its astounding (i hatched 100 eggs myself this yr, was a learning experience...). The ducks were of superior quality imo. Im hoping to order more chickens fo rthis spring ...hoping for black copper marans someday! ha.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cackle Hatchery®

Phone Line Is Busy/Internet Confirmed Ship Date

We are sorry if you encounter a busy signal on the phone. We have moved into a larger office, updated our phone system with more lines, and increased our staff. We do apologize if you have trouble getting through. Internet orders are processed in the order received. When ordering through the website you will receive an immediate e-mail response notifying you that your order has been received. It will include your order number. Please refer to this number if you call or e-mail about your order. You will receive a second e-mail in 5-10 minutes that includes your ship date. If the e-mail address you listed on your order is correct and you have not heard from us iwithin 1 day, also check that your spam program has not blocked our e-mail. We are hatching 140,000 birds weekly and securing your order and hatch/ship date is done as quickly as humanly possible. 90% of your questions can be answered by this page and also our GUARANTEES/POLICIES page.

Do the customers pay for shipping?

Yes, internet orders automatically figure your shipping for you with online orders. Mail-in orders or phone orders use our shipping chart. Shipping charges are not only the postage. The shipping charge covers postage to your Post Office, and box, padding, nesting, any heater, HydroAid, any special packaging because of weather and costs associated with the delivery of your order to our regional post office dispatch for truck or flight. Most of our supplies, books, incubators, brooders, and medications are FREE shipping. Supply orders for Hawaii, Alaska and US Possessions will require additional fees for shipping.