About our hatching eggs

We take great pride in the welfare and environment of our breeding hens All our breeding hens and cockerels live in small self-contained coops with large protected runs or if a larger breeding group in small mobile runs which we regularly move to give them new areas to feed and display their natural behaviours. The maximum number of breeding hens in our largest breeding coop is 30 birds and would include 3 cock birds to ensure high fertility. The hens eat only natural organic food and a mixture of grasses herbs and insects.

Find out more about our hen feeds here.

Our breeding groups of heritage and rare breed birds currently consists of 7 breeds. By the end of this year we will have expanded that by another 4 breeds. Each of our breeding groups originate from some of the top breeders in the country and conform to breed standards. Birds that do not conform to standards are put to work in the laying flock to give us tasty heritage eggs.

There are no growth promoters or artificial yolk colourants, no drugs and no antibiotics in the hen’s food. We constantly hatch at the farm from our breeding groups so we know each group’s fertility rates. We expect rates of 85 to 95% dependant on breed. Sometimes if we are putting a hatch together we may have no eggs for 10 days while we collect. It always seems we never have enough hatching eggs so we are expanding the number of birds in some of the smaller groups for next year to try to help the availability of some of the breeds.

Once we receive your order we pick the eggs fresh sometimes this may take a couple of days dependant on order size. On receipt of your order we will contact you within 48 hours to confirm the details and date you can expect your eggs.

Our eggs will be delivered to you unwashed in specialist shipping packages. We do not wash any of our incubated eggs as this removes the egg bloom. The bloom is the natural protective barrier that exists and it stops bacteria entering the egg and killing the embryo. Eggs will remain viable for hatching in normal circumstances for around 10 days but after that fertility starts to drop significantly.

We only select the very best eggs for hatching. The extra care and attention is, we feel, worth the extra cost. Click here to view our price list.

When it comes to hatching eggs, collecting them directly from us is always preferable if you can as it not only enables you to see the birds but it also means that you can keep an eye on the eggs from the point of collection to the point they are put in the incubator or under a broody hen.

When shipping eggs, we package them as carefully and safely as possible to ensure they reach you in perfect condition. If however in transit there has been a problem, please contact us.

Please note: We avoid dispatching orders over a weekend to prevent the eggs being kept at the depot in adverse conditions.