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It's chick season! These cute fluffy chicks are harder to source than you might think, particularly if you are looking for hard-to-find breeds and smaller quantities. Once you find a good hatchery — hang onto it.
It may not feel like it, but spring is on its way. This is the time of year when small farmers sit down at kitchen tables all across Canada and begin to plan and dream about what to grow in the coming year, everything from tender seedlings to fluffy yellow chicks.
For poultry farmers, sourcing the next year’s flock isn’t always an easy task. Finding a good hatchery is a bit like finding a good doctor − you want to hang on to them. Without these valuable industry partners, you may find yourself out of luck when it comes time to order your next batch of broilers or layers.
For those lucky enough to have a longstanding relationship with a local hatchery, chick season won’t be an issue, but for others the hunt will be on to find a hatchery that meets their needs when it comes to timing of hatches, available breeds and location.
Of course, ordering from a hatchery isn’t your only option: For intrepid do-it-yourselfers, hatching eggs can be a good choice if you have the time and energy to invest. This option definitely isn’t for everyone, and the results are never certain. That said, it can be a lot of fun to watch a chick hatch, and a much less expensive way to hatch smaller quantities of poultry, particularly hard-to-find breeds.
If you aren’t interested in purchasing chicks from a larger hatchery and would like to locate a more local resource, your best bet is to reach out to your local agricultural society and/or feed store to see what they recommend. There are often small hatcheries operating in rural areas that aren’t visible online.
The list below is not exhaustive (please forgive me if I’ve missed someone) but should be fairly representative of the hatcheries that are available online in each province. This list should omit any hatcheries that don’t cater to small farms. An internet search will turn up additional locations that don’t have a website (and there are many across Canada).
ALBERTA
Miller Hatcheries Box 5669 • Westlock, AB • T7P 2P6 • 1-877-344-2442 millerhatcheries.com
Breeds broilers, layers, dual purpose breeds and turkeys.Ships only to Western Canada. Minimum order restrictions apply.
Rochester Hatchery 9420 109 St. • Westlock, AB • T7P 2R4 • 1-888-698-3965 rochesterhatchery.com
Ships day old chicks. Breeds broilers, dual purpose, turkeys, hybrid layers, pheasant and heritage breeds. Some poultry breeds aren’t available online. Ships to Alberta and parts of B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Minimum order restrictions apply.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Beau Peep Farms 50526 Yale Rd. • Rosedale, BC • V0X 1X2 • (604) 791-3695 E: beaupeep@yahoo.ca URL: beaupeepfarms.com
Will ship to farm. Breeds bantams, waterfowl, turkeys, guinea keets, quail. Freedom rangers available 12 months a year. Order must be received a minimum of 30 days before hatch date.
Grade Eh Farms Delta, B.C.gradeehfarms.ca
Breeders of extremely rare breeds of poultry. Will ship chicks or meet for delivery (locally).
True North Farm 4780 Sleepy Hollow Rd.• Armstrong, BC • (250) 546-0106 truenorthfarm.ca
Will ship day old chicks across Canada. Breeds heritage layers, dual-purpose breeds, pasture meat breed (Mistral Gris), mini-turkeys, and Pekin ducks.
Western Hatchery 505 Hamm Rd.• Abbotsford, BC • V2T 6B6 • (604) 859-7168 westernhatchery.ca
Hatchery services to government registered poultry farmers in B.C. Offers pre-orders and pick-up for small farms and small orders. Sells broiler and breeder chicks.
Wild Acres 4686 North Grandview Flats Rd.• Armstrong, BC • V0E 1B5 • (250) 546-6561 wildacres.ca
Breeds dual purpose, heritage breeds layers, ornamental breeds and rare breeds, bantams, waterfowl. Some shipping services depending on breeds and location; please refer to the website. Ships hatching eggs, minimum order one dozen.
MANITOBA
Breezy Bird Farms Manitoba breezybirdfarms.com
Ships hatching eggs and day-old chicks. Breeders of rare heritage poultry, ducks, geese, quail, and guinea fowl.
Berg’s Hatchery Box 547 • Russell, MB • R0J 1W0 • (204) 773-2562 bergshatchery.com
Breeds meat breeds, egg-layers, turkeys, waterfowl, guineas and specialty breeds. Will ship day-olds. Chicks can be picked up at retailers in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
NEW BRUNSWICK
Grant’s Breeder Farm 2914 Rte 124 • Kars, NB • (506) 485-2930 grantsbreederfarm.webs.com
Sells hatching eggs, day-old meat and layer breeds, and ready-to-lay pullets (pullets delivered to Nova Scotia and new Brunswick and sometimes PEI)
NOVA SCOTIA
Atlantic Poultry Inc. 713 Belcher St. • Port Williams, NS • B0P 1T0 • (902) 678-1335 atlanticpoultry.com
ONTARIO
Frey’s Hatchery 80 Northside Dr. • St. Jacobs, ON •N0B 2N0 •(519) 664-2291 freyshatchery.com
Breeds chickens, turkeys, ducks, pheasants and ready-to-lay pullets. Will ship to farm or you can pick up at their location. Orders also available for pick-up at select feed stores across Ontario.
Millpond Hatchery 555 Pipeline Rd. • Grafton, ON • K0K 2G0 • (905) 349-3958 millpondhatchery.ca
Hatches chickens, ducklings, turkeys, pheasants and goslings. Pick up on-farm or through feed mills in Eastern and Central Ontario. No shipping option available.
Webfoot Hatchery 6340 Wellington Rd. 7 • Elora, ON • N0B 1S0 • (519) 846-9885 webfoothatchery.ca
Breeder of Muscovy ducks, sells day-old ducklings all year long. Will ship across Canada.
QUEBEC
DC Heritage Poultry 552 4th Concession • Clarendon, QC • J0X 2Y0 • (819) 647-2118 dcheritagepoultry.com
Ships hatching eggs (no minimum) across Canada, will ship chicks. Chicks can be picked up on-farm. Breeds chickens, ducks and quail. Breeder of rare breeds and ornamental birds.
SASKATCHEWAN
Anstey Hatchery 2717 Cleveland Ave. • Saskatoon, SK • S7K 3R2 (306) 242-1033 ansteyhatchery.ca
Chicks can be shipped to farm or also can be picked up at select retailers. Breeds meat birds, egg layers, turkeys, Peking ducks and Embden goslings.
— Amy Hogue