Substitutions & Omissions

Substitutions & Omissions Policy

At Chesapeake Farm & Hatchery, we make every effort to fulfill orders exactly as placed and provide the specific breeds you select. Because we work with live animals and natural hatch cycles, a breed you ordered may occasionally not be available in the numbers needed on your hatch date.

Why substitutions or omissions may occur
Chick availability can vary due to natural hatch rates, breed-specific outcomes, and health or quality concerns identified at hatch. In rare cases, a selected breed may not be available in sufficient numbers. When this happens, we prioritize sending healthy chicks rather than compromising quality.

You choose what happens
When you check out, you'll tell us what you'd like us to do if a breed you ordered isn't available on your hatch date:

• Substitute a similar breed and keep my hatch date. Your chicks ship on schedule, with the closest available match for any breed that's short. As a thank-you for your flexibility, we'll add a free bonus chick to any order where we substitute.
• Keep my order exactly as placed. We'll move your whole order to the next hatch date when we can fill it exactly as ordered, and email you the new date.
• Ship what's available and refund the rest. We'll ship the chicks we have on your date and refund any we can't fill. Shipped orders still need at least 6 chicks; if fewer than 6 would ship, we'll contact you.
• Contact me before making any changes. We'll do our best to reach you by phone or email on hatch day to decide together. As a small family farm, hatch day is our busiest day, so we can't guarantee a call.

How substitutions are handled
Substitutes are always the same sex you ordered: pullets for pullets, cockerels for cockerels and straight run for straight run. We choose the closest possible match in egg color, size, temperament and egg-laying ability so they align with your original selection and flock needs. We do not substitute breeds that are significantly different in purpose or temperament unless we've discussed it with you.

Price adjustments
If a substitution results in a price difference, the difference will be refunded to your original payment method within 10 business days.

When we will contact you
Whatever you choose, if we are unable to fulfill more than half of your order, we will contact you before proceeding. At that time, you may choose to select a new hatch date or cancel your order for a full refund in accordance with our cancellation policy.

Important notes
On rare occasions, a chick may be held back at hatch when necessary to protect chick health. Any chick we can't send is refunded. Our Live Arrival Guarantee remains in effect for all shipped orders.