FAQ

You want to buy day old chicks, hatching eggs or other stuff from us but have questions. Here are our most frequently asked questions about our hatchery.

Do you have a disclaimer/guarantee on live animals and hatching eggs?  Yes, it is at the bottom of this page. Please read it to ensure you know how our farm operates.  

Where do your chickens live?

Our breeding chickens live in Denmark, WI on a beautiful farm. We have pet chickens and those that we use for educational programming. Those live in Sturgeon Bay, WI. 

When do I get my hatching eggs?

We sell our hatching eggs all year on a first come first serve basis. Most of our orders are fulfilled the following Monday or Tuesday after your order. If you are looking for eggs in Spring you can pre-order to ensure a delivery date of your choosing.  In the winter we ship, but it is very limited.  Often, we wait to March to ship, however, we will ship eggs in the winter.  The extreme cold can impact hatch rate. 

Do you ship day-old chicks?

Yes, we ship day old chicks but only when the USPS allows. This is in the late spring through summer. Typically from May 15-Sept 15. We also ship chickens from 6oz to 1lb and full grown hens.  We chicks for pickup all year. 

Where did your flock come from?

When we began our farm, we worked with Greenfire Farms to purchase approximately 700 hatching eggs to begin our flock. All of our birds come from a Greenfire Farms egg that was hatched at our farm. We were a single origin flock for the first couple years but now, in 2024 we have two different locations – Sturgeon Bay, WI and Denmark, WI

Can we visit the farm?

Yes! We are open for visitors in Sturgeon Bay, WI. We also have a farm-stand in the summer months.  The Denmark, WI location is not open for visitors other than by appointment only. 

Do you vaccinate your chicks? Yes, we vaccinate all of our chicks for Mareks. They get vaccinated on hatch day, immediately after arriving to planet earth.   We encourage all chicks to be vaccinated for Mareks. 

Do backyard chickens smell?

No, backyard chickens do not smell. Chickens are beautiful and soft and cuddly. Of course, they’re animals and they poop and pee like any pet. You wouldn’t have a kitty cat and not change the litter box twice a week, right? Your Golden Doodle has to be picked up after twice a day. A baby needs his diaper changed. This is the common sense approach we take at Graywhale Farms.

Controlling the smell also keeps backyard chickens clean. You stay happy and healthy — and not smelly — by adding flake on a regular basis. We use Tractor Supply’s premium pine shavings. If your chicken coop or run is on wheels, then you move it regularly. And the good news is that backyard chickens make great organic fertilizer. Your prize-winning tulips will thank you.

“A forty-pound dog generates more solid waste than ten chickens. To be more specific, one 40-pound dog generates about ¾ (.75 pounds) of poo every day. Ten chickens generate about two-thirds (.66 pounds) daily poop.” Patricia Foreman

Are backyard chickens loud?

No, backyard chickens are not loud. Roosters crow, that’s true. Dogs bark. Tomato, to-mah-to. Speaking of dogs, their bark is about as loud as a rooster’s crow at 90 DB. When is your dog loud? Generally when he wants to go potty, eat, drink, sees a threat, or when he wants to cuddle. It’s the same with pet chickens.

As long as you give your chickens plenty of quality food and water and spend time with them, they’re no louder than a couple of people having a conversation. It’s quite pleasant to hear them coo and chirp — they’re birds after all.

“Hens make a lot of sounds, but most of them are quiet and gentle. The only time they get really loud are when they have laid an egg.” Omlet

Are egg-laying chickens mean?

No, egg-laying chickens aren’t mean. They are quite gentle and all of our pure breeds allow you to get eggs from them and pick them up. They’re not broody. In fact, most people we meet are amazed at how cuddly and huggable chickens are.

My child is allergic to cats. Is a chicken a good pet?

Approximately 10-20% of the population is allergic to cats or dogs while allergies to live chickens are rare. This makes backyard chickens the perfect pets for those with cat and dog allergies.

Where do you source your chicken breeds?

When started, all of our rare breed chickens are sourced from Greenfire Farms. Now, in 2024 we have many sources. We believe in their mission to conserve and preserve these beautiful bird species.

Graywhale Farms is on a mission to increase sustainability for families around the country. From our farm to your homestead, backyard and kitchen

Disclaimer:

We are a farm dealing with living species and it doesn’t always go as planned. That’s ok. It’s farming.  

Hatching eggs.

We cannot guarantee hatch rate. When you order from us we guarantee that we package the egg with love, to ensure they do not break and, use best practices to raise the flock and only send eggs that are less than 7 days old. 

Due to sensitivity , fragile nature of moving the hatching eggs (handling, x ray) we are not able to guarantee hatch rate. Always allow the eggs to sit for 12-24 hours upon arrival.  If you do not agree, please do not purchase from our farm. We do not provide refunds for hatching eggs that do not hatch. 

In the winter, we will ship hatching eggs, per your request only.  If we receive an order in the winter months, we will hold the order and put you on a first come-first serve list.  You can call or email and request winter shipping, but this can impact hatch rate.

Day Old Chicks.

Our day old chicks have a guarantee for live arrival if you visit the post office on the day that the chicks show up.  The post office will call you from the phone number you provide. Please go to the post office immediately and pick up your chicks. The post office has a lot of movement and airflow and therefore the chicks should get to your house as soon as possible.

Are minimum day old chick order is 6 chicks. If you order 1, we can send 5 “other” species for $15/each based on what is available.

Following the arrival of the  day old chicks, we are not responsible for how you care for your chicks. We encourage you to place them under heat, feed and care appropriately and provide a healthy and clean space for them to thrive.  We cannot refund chicks that arrive alive, but perish later.  Upon request we can send chicks that are around 5oz (2 week old) if you have not raised young chicks before.  

If something were to happen to your chicks we will provide a refund for the cost of the chick or send more chicks depending on the order size. 

Adult poultry/fowl:

When you visit our farm and purchase an any poultry or fowl, you cannot bring the birds back to the farm once they leave.  We do not currently ship adults.  We can ship pullets, but please call prior to ordering as the shipping costs are very different than day old chicks. 

Shipping. 

Shipping to 48 states in the US. Hawaii and Alaska — please call for shipping costs. Our published rates are not available.  

All shipping costs for every order are non-refundable. This is for hatching eggs or day old chicks. We do not refund shipping costs.