11 Best Chicken Hatcheries in Florida

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For homesteaders, it’s hard to argue against raising chickens. Chickens are cheap, easy to care for, highly productive, and will keep you and your family loaded down with the best eggs you’ve ever had and plenty of meat. Plus, they are just plain fun to have around!

chicks in brooder
chicks in brooder

And considering their ever-increasing popularity, you can get chickens at nearly any farm supply store these days. But if you do that, you won’t always get the best and healthiest birds. A better bet is to seek out dedicated, specialized hatcheries.

These operations put a ton of care into the breeding and raising of their birds, so when you bring home fertilized eggs or chicks of your own, you know your flock will be off to a good start.

If you live in Florida, I’ve got good news: below is a list of the 11 best chicken hatcheries in the state.

Happy Feet Hatchery

Happy Feet Hatchery is a relatively recent startup, founded in 2017 in Eustis, Florida. A family-owned operation that sells farm-fresh eggs for breakfast along with hatching eggs, baby chicks, young pullets, and cockerels, they specialize in large breed chickens.

Whether you’re looking for utilitarian birds that will keep you supplied with lots of eggs and meat, beautiful ornamentals, or just fun and plucky birds with lots of personality that make great pets, they have you covered.

Happy Feet Hatchery prides itself on working with the very best breeders around to supply stock for their own flocks, so rest assured knowing that your new acquisitions will be as healthy as possible. Note that picking up from the farm is done by appointment only.

Morris Hatchery

This is another family-owned affair that’s been in constant operation since 1962. Starting out breeding quail, over the years they slowly expanded into commercial chicken production.

They’re one of the largest producers of hatching eggs in the region and in the state, and they are the sole distributors and breeders of the Novogen breed in the US. No matter where you are in Florida, or elsewhere in the country, they will ship to you.

If you want to make a go of it with super productive broilers or commercial layers, make Morris Hatchery your first and likely last stop.

Whereas most other hatcheries are concerned with common or heritage domestic breeds, they only concern themselves with birds that will maximize profits and productivity.

Happy Heart Farms

Happy Heart Farms is located in gorgeous, picturesque Live Oak, Florida, and they raise a variety of heritage and modern domestic breeds and hybrids, among them Wyandottes, Faverolles, and the ever-popular Easter Egger.

Somewhat notably among hatcheries, they raise their birds until they are 2 months old and then sell them. They do this to ensure conformity to breed standards, good health, and eliminate any chance that stress from transportation or mishandling might hurt or kill your new additions.

As an added bonus, this easily allows them to sex their birds so they can 100% guarantee whether you’re getting hens or roosters in your order. Speaking of, they give away roosters 100% free with any order!

Fancy Chicken

The Fancy Chicken is a small operation that’s only interested in one kind of chicken: the fancy kind!

Whether they are more common birds like the Orpington, rare breeds like the gorgeous Blue Swedish, or the alluring, jet black Ayam Cemani, whatever kind of chickens you’re going to find here are guaranteed to be indisputably gorgeous.

But despite being a gallery of beautiful birds, there is still good utility to be had from their offerings. The rare Blue Isbar, for instance, is a good year-round egg layer and also produces gorgeous green eggs.

Brabanters, another one of their mainstays, are great layers too. If rare, pretty chickens are your jam, you need to reach out to The Fancy Chicken.

Vitoria Farms

  • https://www.vitoriafarms.com/
  • Phone: 352-467-2600
  • Address: 18335 Powerline Rd, Dade City, FL 33523
  • Google Maps Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9pPJXf2YG4Jd3VeB9
  • Breeds Offered: Ameraucanas, Black Copper Marans, Bielefelders, Delawares, Buff Orpingtons, Dark Cornish, Swedish Flower Hens, Silkies, Splash Isbars, Buff White-laced Polish. New breeds available seasonally!

A 24/7 family farm business in Dade City, Florida, Vitoria Farms prides itself on holding extremely high standards for themselves and their birds.

Proud members of the National Poultry Improvement Plan since 2018, they test their flock every 6 months for all manner of chicken diseases, and accordingly, they maintain strict biosecurity protocols for any visitors or pickups.

They offer customers a wide variety of birds, from perennially popular Polishes and Silkies to rare specimens like Bielefelders and Marans. Whether you’re looking for a common breed or not, you can be sure that any chickens you get here will be healthy and properly cared for.

You, Me and the Chickens Farm

A small hatchery, but one that is NPIP/AI certified and a member of the American Poultry Association and the Ayam Cemani Breeders Association, this humorously named outfit has rare and exotic breeds on offer, or common domestics and not much in between.

It’s an eclectic lineup, but a great place to build a functional, no-nonsense flock for yourself with one or two exotic birds that just make you happy.

You need to reach out to them directly through their Facebook page, or call them, to ask about breeds they currently have on offer and place an order – but they can facilitate pickup or delivery at your preference.

Green Fire Farms

There is no hatchery in Florida, and precious few anywhere else in the country, that can offer you a lineup of birds as good as the one you’ll find at Green Fire Farms.

It’s a veritable superstore if you’re shopping for chickens! I spent over an hour just on their breed page scrolling through all the different birds they have on offer and comparing characteristics, history, and more.

They also have several claims to fame, namely that they are the original and currently only importer of the Bresse breed from its native France.

They have many exotics on offer, too, like the Ayam Ketawa with its eerie cackling, and the tiny, vividly colored Barbu de Watermael. They have so many other breeds besides these, including some that even I have never heard of!

Charley’s Chicks

Quickly becoming an institution in and around Jacksonville, Charley’s Chicks combines the care and customer service of a true small-time hatchery with the breed selection, expertise, and dedication to biosecurity typically found only at the largest and best-equipped operations.

Boasting boutique and truly rare varieties of many of the most common breeds, along with some rare and exotic birds, this is a true one-stop shop for chicken lovers.

They also offer farm visits and tours by appointment as long as you’re willing to follow their strict poultry safety protocols when you arrive at the farm. First-come, first-served walk-ins are available on the weekends.

Florida Silkies

With some hatcheries, you know exactly what you’re going to get, and that’s definitely the case with Florida Silkies. This small, backyard hatchery located in the heart of Jacksonville has Silkies and the closely related Satin variety on offer.

Notably, this is another hatchery, or rather I should say breeder, that sells adolescent pullets and cockerels; no chicks and no eggs.

You can get males or females aged 3 months old or older, and that’s it. Make sure you call or contact them to arrange an appointment or to ask about available birds.

Stromberg’s Chicks and Gamebirds

A heavyweight in the hatchery business with commercial outlets in multiple states, Stromberg’s Chicks and Gamebirds has one of the best imaginable lineups of breeds around, and besides that, they sell absolutely everything you could conceivably need to raise and care for your birds.

From feed to incubators, toys to shelters, and everything else. Also note that, just like the name suggests, Stromberg’s also sells a variety of other poultry, including pigeons and doves, guinea fowl, turkeys, ducks, geese, and more!

You’ll have to check out their website for a listing of breeds they currently have available because there are way, way too many to detail here!

AAA Chickens and More

AAA Chickens and More has set out to do one thing and do it extremely well: raise the healthiest possible birds by a relentless dedication to best practices at all phases of growth.

They don’t have the biggest breed selection compared to some of the others on our list, but the birds they do offer conform tightly to breed standards, are remarkably healthy with good vitality, and are generally just exceptional chickens by any standard!

You’ve got to call them to make an appointment for pickup or arrange shipping, so see what they have available on their website and then reach out to them.

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