Has anyone had experience with Valley Hatchery

[nikkers390]

I found this online. the prices are reasonable, shipping very reasonable selection is not extensive but interesting. 15 chick minimum.

http://www.valleyhatchery.com/

 

[ValleyHatchery]

Hello there nikkers390,

Here at Valley Hatchery we are a new and up and coming hatchery. We started small back in 2010 and have been working really hard to improve our customer base. Last year was the first year we started shipping all over the United States, therefore our customer base is not huge! But those who we deal with have been super happy.

Checkout our review on Dave's Garden: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/8199/#b

Please feel free to give us a call with ANY questions, 1-866-758-5729 we are open M-F 10-6 EST and we will be open on Saturdays as well very soon!

In the mean time feel free to visit our website: www.valleyhatchery.com filled with valuable information!!!

Thanks so much and have an eggs-elent weekend,

Susan
Web Development / Social Media Manager
Valley Hatchery

 

[MaggieBischof]

I have 10 beautiful Buff Orpington hens I ordered from Valley Hatchery. i received them May 2015. My order was originally 5 chicks and got 11! I am in a city with a number of 3 allowed. One perished in a freak accident but all very healthy. 5 are laying l great eggs. Needless to say I was a bit overwhelmed by the number since 5 is all I expected . I had Intentions to re-home some but have gotten too attached so i'll continue with all 10 unless neighbors complain. I keep things neat and no odors. and share eggs! They are a joy to watch but lots of work on a large brick patio and 10'x25' dirt area on the side of the house. So happy to have them and to have my first chick order from Valley Hatchery be so sucessfu.l

 

[Urban_game]

I’m curious as to why use cackle hatchery stock photos for the standard old English game fowl on your site?

 

[Sally PB]

@Urban_game, this is an old thread. You're not likely to get an answer.

 

[Urban_game]

I know, I just came upon the hatcheries website yesterday and decided to look them up and stumbled in this thread. But usually old threads do continue if it’s interesting enough. I’ve seen one go on for 10 years now. And if I say something hopefully if the hatchery is still active they’ll get a notice from this thread

 

[Swbertrand1]

We recently ordered from Valley Hatchery because our roo isn't giving us chicks like he used. We had an absolutely HORRIBLE experience.

We ordered 15 Silkie chicks, they said they added 4 to the order for a total of 19. Only 18 were shipped however.

They arrived with 7 dead in the box that they were packed in like sardines - I'm stunned that any were alive if you ask how I really feel. So, that took us to 11 live birds, but 2 died last night, likely from exposure during the trip, and 2 more died this morning.

Of the remaining 7 birds, 2 more are struggling to make it and will likely die as well.

For those that don't know me, my husband and I are seasoned chicken-keepers with extensive knowledge of chickens in general and Silkies especially. We keep extensive amounts of first aid products, vitamins & nutrients, and a slew of specialty items on-hand for tending to ailing birds. In short, we're not new to this.

Out of 18 birds, we feel like we'll MAYBE have five that survive and none of those are my beloved blue Silkies (all of them perished). I've cried for nearly 24 hours over this and can't believe this has been such a disaster.

I don't know for sure how much this was the fault of Valley Hatchery, but a 28% success rate of delivering viable birds to a buyer is not a good look. Having learned what I did on this first-time order of any bird by mail, I'll say this: I'LL NEVER HAVE CHICKS SHIPPED AGAIN! I never want to put another bird though that and think it should probably be illegal...

This was, and still is, a HORRIBLE experience, having to triage and nurse chick after chick only to have it die. HORRIBLE!!!

 

[steelstringsandstardust]

I've ordered from Valley Hatchery going on three years straight and have never had a problem of any sort. But I also don't order for Spring delivery - right now it's snowing in my state on April 7, 2025 and we are experiencing massive flooding and highway closures - this is really unusual, but for this reason, I usually order for mid-summer shipping. The postal service can only do so much to get birds here on time when the Interstate is under 3 feet of water, so I try to time my delivery to minimize the chance that external factors will cause the chicks to be in the shipping system any longer than necessary. My shipped chicks also require different care than those I hatch or buy locally, because they spend three days in transit. But overall, I've always had a good experience with Valley Hatchery (out of Ohio - not Valley Farms Hatchery, out of Alabama - two different places).

 

[RJR64]

We recently ordered from Valley Hatchery because our roo isn't giving us chicks like he used. We had an absolutely HORRIBLE experience.

We ordered 15 Silkie chicks, they said they added 4 to the order for a total of 19. Only 18 were shipped however.

They arrived with 7 dead in the box that they were packed in like sardines - I'm stunned that any were alive if you ask how I really feel. So, that took us to 11 live birds, but 2 died last night, likely from exposure during the trip, and 2 more died this morning.

Of the remaining 7 birds, 2 more are struggling to make it and will likely die as well.

For those that don't know me, my husband and I are seasoned chicken-keepers with extensive knowledge of chickens in general and Silkies especially. We keep extensive amounts of first aid products, vitamins & nutrients, and a slew of specialty items on-hand for tending to ailing birds. In short, we're not new to this.

Out of 18 birds, we feel like we'll MAYBE have five that survive and none of those are my beloved blue Silkies (all of them perished). I've cried for nearly 24 hours over this and can't believe this has been such a disaster.

I don't know for sure how much this was the fault of Valley Hatchery, but a 28% success rate of delivering viable birds to a buyer is not a good look. Having learned what I did on this first-time order of any bird by mail, I'll say this: I'LL NEVER HAVE CHICKS SHIPPED AGAIN! I never want to put another bird though that and think it should probably be illegal...

This was, and still is, a HORRIBLE experience, having to triage and nurse chick after chick only to have it die. HORRIBLE!!!

I am going through this exact experience. Ordered 15 chicks, they arrived with a dry-as-dirt gel block, packed into a tiny box, a day late. 5 were dead on arrival, and the others were dehydrated and weak. I am down to 5 chicks now, and hatchery is only willing to refund the 5 that were dead on arrival.

 

[Castlerockaviary]

I ordered 36 quail eggs from them. They sent 40 packed in foam and double boxed. All arrived unbroken. We let them acclimate for a day before setting them in the incubator. They hatched a few days ago and this was the result. 25 of 40 hatched. 1 was splayed so we have 24 of 40. They are all healthy and doing well. We hatch several batches each year and this hatch ratio is on the lower end of our experience.
We have day old broiler chickens on order from them for May. Hoping it goes well.