Cackle Hatchery® — Local services in Lebanon

My chicks shipped out on a Monday and were said to arrive Tues-Thurs. On Wednesday my tracking said their ETA was Thurs/Fri (the post office did confirm this time frame was correct and they wouldn’t be arriving early). Theoretically, yes chicks are “okay to survive for 3 days” but that would have been the 3rd into 4th day so it becomes risky. I am a first time chicken mom so I was really worried and I had seen some not so great reviews from most mail order hatcheries as ordering chicks via post is always a risk. I noticed via tracking they were located at my local USPS distribution center. Wednesday I went to my city post office where they were supposed to arrive the following couple of days and explained the situation and asked if I could pick them up at the distribution center to avoid them waiting another day or 2 and possibly not make it to which they said absolutely not and I would just have to wait. Understandable response as that is the policy employees have to follow but I still wanted to do everything I could so I ignored that and went to my local distribution center anyways. They were actually super friendly there despite not really being open to the public and were very sympathetic to the situation. Evidently, they were supposed to go out that morning but were forgotten. They even told me if it ever happened again for a live animal order to feel free to come by. Mind you, I was also very polite and told them I was sorry to bother them and that I understood if it was against their policy to help me. I had my chicks within 20 minutes and could have cried when they came out with that peeping box! I had ordered 9 of the “prepper bundle” which was 8 hens and 1 rooster, and I received 11 healthy chicks. Shipping was free for that deal aside from the USPS $15. They arrived in Ohio in a secure box with bedding and a heat pad. Temps here have been between 30-60 degrees since they shipped. I suspect there may be an extra rooster but it’s too early to tell for sure but that’s okay as it’s not a perfect system. I loved the mystery surprise and every single one appears to be a different breed which is SO cool! They ate and drank immediately and none seemed weak. I am only on day 2 and everyone is still doing great so we’ll see what happens from here on out but at this point husbandry is on me and not Cackle. Their page has great care instructions and I’m following them plus what I have researched to the best of my ability. I have a brooding plate on low AND a direct heat bulb to keep the areas outside warm, temps at 95 on both ends making sure it doesn’t get too hot, electrolyte water, and medicated feed for coccidiosis.They also received their Marek’s vaccine at a great price from Cackle so I’m confident they will do well. Anyways moral of the story, USPS is understaffed and not always great but people are willing to help you if you are kind. Sometimes shipping just sucks and there is nothing you can do and accidents happen. Once they leave the hatchery it is common sense that any shipping delays are the fault of USPS and not the hatchery. If you see your chicks are at your distribution center and want to get them early, it’s at least worth a shot to try but understand they may not be allowed to help you there per policy. The worst they can say is no, but at least you tried. Overall I am very happy with Cackle and highly recommend a “mystery box” if the breeds you want aren’t available. Online ordering was great, easy, and I’m glad availability was low otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten my unique mix of healthy, happy chicks! Thanks so...

i bought 15 bantam chicks, 5 splash rosecomb bantams, 5 easter egger bantams, and 5 silver pheonix bantams. my order said it shipped on the 14th of april at 5 am in the morning but took 2 days to get to me despite the hatchery only being 5 hours away from where i live which i thought was weird, they sent me 2 extra chicks in my order which was an extra easter egger bantam and an extra silver pheonix, when i received my order i picked them up right away as soon as they arrived and i had the heat on in my car on the way home. when i opened the box there was 2 dead chicks, 2 easter egger bantams, and what i beleive to be the heat pack was not warm at all it was cold and hard.so that meant that 1 of my extras died that they sent and 1 that was part of my order that died. that day another one of the easter egger bantams died so then i was left with 3 easter egger bantams out of the 5 i ordered. then within the hour of bringing them home i noticed one of my splash rosecomb bantams was extremely sluggish. it refused to eat or drink it laid around when it would get up it would fall over and kept putting its head back. the next day support got back to me and i let them know that the chick was doing a little better than before today, bc when i got up the next day the chick that was acting sluggish before was walking around and eating a little bit whereas before it was not. support advised me to give them egg yolk which i did and asked me questions ab my set up and how the box was. then the next day i get up and the chick from the day before and another splash rosecomb bantam are both now acting sluggish again and overall are just not doing well, again, refusing to eat or drink on their own, wont get up and walk around, sleeping 24 7, and getting trampled on by the other chicks bc they wont get up and they kept falling on their backs and their sides. so i put them in my incubator to try and help them bc sometimes that does the trick and then a couple hours in one of them died and later that day the other one died. so then i was down to 3 rosecomb bantams, 3 easter egger bantams, and 6 silver pheonix. today i woke up and randomly one of the silver pheonix chicks that was perfectly fine yesterday dropped dead. i want to preface all of this by saying that i have had chickens for over 10 years. i have taken care of many batches of chicks, hatched my own chicks many times also, ive hatched peachicks, quail, pheasants, and chickens, and ive taken care of chickens, quail, pheasants, peacocks, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl over the years so i do have experience and knowledge on how to care for them and in my opinion i do not think anything i did or my brooder set up was what killed them as ive never had this many chicks drop dead before in the past with my previous chicks and considering many other people have had their chicks from this hatchery arrive dead and drop dead over the course of hours or a few days after i dont think i did anything wrong.out of 15 chicks i ordered 6 died so a little over 1/3rd of my order died and i now only have 3 rosecomb bantams 3 easter egger bantams and 5 silver pheonix left. i do understand that things happen and chicks are fragile and with shipping chicks it can be hard on them. but i ordered 15 bantams previously with another hatchery around the same time of year (and they didnt send me any extras) and all of those arrived on time, healthy, and none died. these chicks i got clearly have failure to thrive and i will not ever be ordering from cackle hatchery or recommending them to...

I ordered 3 female Salmon Favorelle chicks and 2 male Favorelle chicks. They did send 2 extra females but 1 arrived dead and one died an hour later. All had a heat lamp, hydro hen, and medicated chick food. I paid for the mareks vaccine. I got them last Wednesday and by Thursday morning 2 more hens had died, Friday one more hen died. I was left with one hen and two roos. If the one Friday hadn’t died I would have been fine with 2 hens and wasn’t planning on complaining. I emailed them Friday to notify them that this was too many to have died without any symptoms (one was lethargic and had clear runny poop on Friday, rest had no symptoms) and I need replacements or a refund. They said they only guarantee upon arrival and the 2 that had died the day of were the 2 extra they put in the box so there was nothing they could do. They did not offer to even waive any shipping fees if I put in another order. I plan to buy additional hens elsewhere. I have ordered chicks from online suppliers each year for the past 5 years and have never had an experience like this. Ever. If you can order in bulk this may be the place to go but don’t use this hatchery for small homesteads. Meyer Hatchery is a much better option and have replaced chicks that died on me previously.

Edit for response to owner * Thank you for your response. I normally try not to make complaints with businesses, and I’ve raised poultry long enough to know that occasional losses happen. That’s why I actually ordered more than I needed—one extra hen and roo—just in case. I didn’t reach out initially because I expected and was prepared to handle a minor loss. But when the deaths continued, it reached a point where the outcome was unacceptable, and that’s when I felt it was necessary to say something.

I received the chicks late Wednesday. By that night and into Thursday morning, four had died. Two of those—according to your response—were considered “bonus” birds, which you now use to avoid replacing them. But that only reinforces my point: even if I had reported it the same day, it wouldn’t have mattered, because you’re now admitting you wouldn’t have replaced them anyway. That puts your policy in a pretty poor light.

Also, it’s important to note that sending “extra” birds does nothing to offset loss if the batch itself is weak or sick—which may very well have been the case here. I paid for the Marek’s vaccine. I provided proper care (heat lamp, Hydro Hen, medicated chick feed). And yet chick after chick died with no obvious symptoms, with only one showing lethargy and runny stool before passing. I’ve raised chicks from multiple hatcheries over the last five years and have never had this kind of mortality rate—especially with no signs of shipping damage or stress.

Your refusal to offer a refund, replacement, or even waive shipping on a new order is disappointing. You cite technical policies, but policies shouldn’t be used to brush off legitimate concerns—especially when the birds were clearly not viable and started dying immediately. This experience makes it clear that small homesteaders like myself are not a priority to your business, and that’s important for others to know.

I’ll be ordering the replacement hens from Meyer Hatchery, who have always stood by their chicks and their customers. If you’re ordering a small batch for a backyard or homestead, I strongly recommend...