Hatching Eggs

Hatching Eggs, Refund & Shipping Policy

Thank you for choosing The Lovely Hen for your hatching egg journey! We're a small family farm passionate about raising beautiful, healthy poultry and helping families experience the magic of hatching their own chicks. Each of our breeds is carefully selected for quality, temperament, and those gorgeous eggs you'll love.

🐣 Our Hatching Egg Varieties

Choose from our premium selection of fertilized hatching eggs:

Browse All Hatching Eggs →

✨ What Our Customers Are Saying

"Eggs made it! I was nervous because how the box looked upon arrival but your packaging technique saved them. No cracks! Whoohoo! Happy hatching! Thank you again"

— Happy Customer, March 2026

📋 Before You Order - Important Information

Understanding the Risks

Hatching shipped eggs comes with inherent risks. While we take extreme care in packaging your eggs, we cannot control what happens during transit. We do NOT guarantee hatch rates or outcomes. If you're new to hatching, we strongly recommend starting with less expensive eggs to practice your technique and test your incubator before investing in premium breeds.

By completing your purchase, you acknowledge and accept these terms: All sales are final. We do not offer returns, refunds, or replacements under any circumstances. Your payment confirms you've read and agreed to our complete shipping agreement below.

🛒 How Our Pre-Order System Works

Due to high demand, we've implemented a pre-order system to ensure everyone gets a fair chance at our hatching eggs. Here's how it works:

When you place a pre-order: You're reserving your spot in our fulfillment queue and paying in advance. Your order confirmation serves as your invoice and guarantees your place in line. We fulfill all orders strictly first-come, first-served.

Please note: Our eggs typically sell out within hours of becoming available, so pre-ordering is the best way to secure your preferred breeds.

We'll reach out directly when your eggs are ready to ship. If the timing doesn't work for you, no problem—just let us know and we'll move you to a later date that fits your schedule better.

Expected Timelines

As a small farm, our fulfillment schedule depends entirely on Mother Nature. Our hens' laying cycles are seasonal and weather dependent. Orders placed during fall and winter months typically ship in 7 days. spring or when conditions are optimal.

Important: We cannot provide specific ship dates or guaranteed timeframes. Our hens lay when they're ready, not on a schedule. Please plan accordingly and remain flexible—it may take a few extra days to receive your order.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through each order with care!

📦 Shipping Details

Hatching Eggs

All hatching eggs are shipped via USPS, UPS or FedEx (we'll discuss the best carrier for your location before shipping). Every order is double-boxed with professional egg foam shippers for maximum protection—this is included in your shipping cost. We ship Monday through Thursday only.

In most cases, we use USPS youll see at checkout. USPS shipments are automatically flagged for post office pickup with your contact number included. You'll receive tracking information via email as soon as your package ships.

Live Chicks

All chicks ship via USPS Express Mail for fastest delivery.

Local Pickup Option

Prefer to pick up in person? We're happy to arrange a convenient pickup time and location—just reach out after ordering to coordinate. Do not just show up at my property.

Ready to Ship Notification

You'll hear from us a few days before your scheduled ship date. If you need to postpone, please respond immediately so we can accommodate the next customer in line and reschedule you.

📦 Unpacking Instructions - Please Read!

We pack your eggs with extreme care using professional foam shippers. To avoid damage during unpacking:

PUSH eggs UP from the bottom of the foam—never pull them out from the top. This prevents cracking and protects those delicate air cells.

What If Eggs Arrive Broken or Lost?

All shipments are sent FOB (Free On Board) Shipping Point, meaning ownership and risk transfer to you once the carrier picks up your package.

Once your eggs or chicks leave our homestead, we are no longer responsible for them. We cannot offer refunds, replacements, or additional eggs/chicks for damage or loss during shipping. All orders are insured. Claim must be made with USPS not me.

🐣 Hatching Success & Expectations

Our Testing vs. Your Results

We regularly test-hatch eggs from our breeding pens and consistently see 90%+ hatch rates on our olive egger varieties and around 80% on our Silkies, Frizzle & Black Copper Marans. However, we cannot guarantee your hatch rate because shipping introduces variables completely outside our control.

Shipping is tough on eggs. Air cells are incredibly fragile (especially in dark-shelled breeds like Marans), and rough handling or delivery delays can significantly impact hatchability. Even with our careful packaging, carrier handling makes all the difference.

We monitor our flocks year-round to ensure fertility and rooster performance, but too many factors—your incubator settings, humidity levels, turning frequency, even your local climate—affect the final outcome.

About Egg Color

Egg color naturally fades as the laying season progresses—this is completely normal. We cannot guarantee specific shades or color intensity. Please wait until your chicks mature and begin laying before evaluating egg color.

🌡️ Incubator Recommendations

Your incubator is THE most important factor in hatching success. Marans and other dark-shelled breeds require rock-solid temperature and humidity control due to their thicker shells and membranes.

If you're serious about hatching premium breeds, invest in a quality incubator.

Incubators We Recommend:

  • GQF Sportsman Cabinet & Hatcher Cabinet
  • Brinsea (any model)
  • Maticoopx30
  • Chickcozy
  • Hatching Time Cabinets

Pro tip: Run several test hatches with inexpensive eggs first! Light-shelled eggs hatch easily in almost any incubator, but darker shells are much more challenging. Practice before investing in premium hatching eggs.

🐥 Live Chick Shipping

Please understand: ordering live chicks involves risk. We ship exclusively via USPS Express Mail, which usually delivers within 24 hours. However, USPS service has become unpredictable—sometimes chicks arrive perfectly on time, other times delays stretch to 4-5 days.

We have zero control over USPS handling or delays. Once we drop your chicks at the post office, they're out of our hands. If you're not comfortable with this risk, please do not order chicks.

Insurance & Loss Claims

Your chick shipment is fully insured through USPS. If chicks arrive deceased, immediately photograph them and file a claim directly with USPS. We cannot process claims or provide replacements.

Each shipment includes chick starter food and heat packs for warmth during transit.

Post Office Pickup Required

You MUST pick up chicks from your post office immediately upon notification. Do not leave them sitting there—get them under heat as quickly as possible.

Straight-Run Only

All chicks are sold straight-run (unsexed). We do not sex chicks.

Age & Timing

When your chicks hatch, you must be ready to receive them—no exceptions, no cancellations, no refunds.

🐤 Caring for Your New Chicks

As soon as your chicks arrive home, prepare their first water with this immune-boosting recipe:

  • 1 Tablespoon raw honey
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1-2 Tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
  • Fresh thyme leaves (optional but great!)

Offer the honey water for the first few days, then continue with apple cider vinegar, garlic, and thyme going forward.

Have their brooder set up with a heat lamp or heat plate (we prefer heat plates) warmed and ready before they arrive. Offer chick starter feed immediately.

Wait about 3 weeks before introducing scrambled eggs—they'll love them and they're incredibly nutritious!

Most importantly: give them lots of love and gentle handling. Enjoy every moment! 💚

🚫 Our Cancellation & Refund Policy

All sales are final. No cancellations. No refunds. No exceptions.

As a small homestead, we coordinate our hatching and shipping schedule around your order. Once you complete checkout, your transaction is final. Please be absolutely certain before placing your order.

📧 How to Contact Us

****IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ****

If you need to reach us about an existing order, always reply directly to your order confirmation email. This keeps everything organized and tied to your specific order so nothing gets lost.

Social media messages and separate emails often get buried in our daily volume of communications.

Please do not message asking for shipping updates or timelines. We promise we'll contact you the moment your order is ready. It's completely normal for us to run several months behind schedule—our hens lay on their own timeline, not ours!

💚 Thank You for Supporting Small Farms

The Lovely Hen is a one-person operation run with love and dedication. We're not a big hatchery—we're a small homestead doing our best to share quality birds and the joy of raising chickens with families like yours.

Your patience, understanding, and support mean everything to us. Thank you for trusting us with your hatching journey!

Ready to get started? Browse our available breeds and reserve your hatching eggs today!

Shop Hatching Eggs →