What US Hatcheries Actually Sell: A Live Catalog Census
Chickens are only part of a hatchery catalog. A live census of every listing we track: breeds vs. assortments vs. waterfowl, and which hatcheries carry the deepest chicken benches.
Published July 29, 2026 · figures recomputed from data through October 24, 2026 · by Chick Price Index
Listing counts are a live census of the trade: what hatcheries put on their virtual shelves is what they expect Americans to order. Because this index reads the complete public poultry catalogs of 5 hatcheries daily, we can report that census exactly — not "hatcheries offer about 100 breeds," but precisely what is listed today.
A hatchery catalog is not all chickens
Of the 1,627 live poultry listings on the latest snapshot, 1,283 (79%) are chicken listings we can map to a specific breed. Another 215 (13%) are not chickens at all — ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas, and game birds. The remaining 129 are the catalog's long tail of assortments and specials: "hatchery choice" bargains, brown-egg-layer bundles, fry-pan specials, and branded hybrids that aren't a breed. We track them, but they can't be price-compared — an assortment at one hatchery isn't the same product as an assortment at another.
Who carries the deepest chicken bench
| Hatchery | Distinct breeds listed | Chick listings |
|---|---|---|
| Cackle Hatchery Missouri | 82 | 436 |
| Murray McMurray Hatchery Iowa | 64 | 251 |
| Meyer Hatchery Ohio | 52 | 303 |
| My Pet Chicken online retailer | 48 | 281 |
| Sunnyside Hatchery Wisconsin | 4 | 12 |
Breadth and depth aren't the same thing: a hatchery can list a breed as a single straight-run offer or as separate pullet, cockerel, and straight-run listings with per-sex prices. That's why listing counts and breed counts rank hatcheries differently.
The breeds everyone sells
67 breeds are currently listed at two or more hatcheries — those get comparison pages. The most widely carried:
| Breed | Hatcheries | Listings | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marans | 5 | 82 | $11.49 |
| Sussex | 5 | 18 | $6.49 |
| Cochin | 4 | 66 | $8.99 |
| Cochin (Bantam) | 4 | 57 | $13.49 |
| Polish | 4 | 56 | $7.99 |
| Orpington (other) | 4 | 53 | $13.99 |
| Brahma | 4 | 52 | $7.99 |
| Ameraucana | 4 | 48 | $19.99 |
| Wyandotte (other) | 4 | 45 | $7.74 |
| Silkie (Bantam) | 4 | 40 | $14.99 |
The pattern in that table is the American backyard flock in miniature: dual-purpose brown-egg layers (Sussex tops the carry list), the beginner classics, and the colored-egg family. Depth is different again: the single deepest catalog entry is Marans with 82 separate listings — hatcheries sell it in every sex and color variety they can hatch.
Bantams: a catalog within the catalog
12 of the 67 compared breeds are bantam versions, tracked separately from their large-fowl namesakes because they're a different product at a different price — that split is measured in Bantam vs. large fowl.
Census notes
- Counts are listings, not birds, and reflect the latest daily snapshot (October 24, 2026); they move a little every day as listings appear and retire.
- A breed listed at only one hatchery is tracked but gets no comparison page (67 compared today). Single-hatchery exclusives are often the rarest birds — see the collector tier.
- Sunnyside's small summer catalog reflects its seasonal model — it publishes prices year-round but takes orders by phone.