Townline Poultry Farm

What Townline Poultry Farm does

Townline Poultry Farm is a fourth-generation, family-owned hatchery founded in 1913 in Zeeland, Michigan, that hatches and ships day-old chicks, turkeys, ducks, guineas, pheasants, and bantams to consumers, hobby farms, and wholesale farm-supply dealers across the United States. Operationally, the company controls quality through vertical integration: it maintains its own on-site breeder flocks of 40,000 hens, grows feed corn on 300 acres, and runs a hands-on incubation process that includes manual egg gathering, traying, candling for fertility, and weather-tailored order packing. Shipping is conducted under a specialized USPS pre-sort arrangement that reduces live-bird transit time by more than 12 hours.

The commercial model is a hybrid direct-to-consumer e-commerce business (townlinehatchery.com) combined with a wholesale dealer portal serving farm supply stores. Products are priced on a per-unit basis with volume discounts (e.g., $1.75–$3.25 per ISA Brown chick, $4.08–$2.27 per Jumbo Cornish Rock Cross, $7.93–$9.98 per Broad Breasted White Turkey) and carry minimum order quantities of 15–30 birds per breed. Optional paid services such as Marek's disease vaccination and beak trimming are billed per chick with a $10 minimum. The customer base spans backyard flock owners, commercial farms, 4-H and youth programs, hunting preserves, and game bird enthusiasts, with no enterprise anchor concentration.

The company is privately held under the Geerlings family, with no external investors, parent company, or subsidiaries disclosed. Current fourth-generation owners are John, Bill, and Kaylee Geerlings. Strategic posture is incremental rather than transformational: the firm has launched a heritage Artisan Turkey line, expanded digital catalogs and content marketing (including 'The Chicken Coop Club' blog and a Teachable kids' course), and deepened community partnerships with Critter Barn and Michigan FFA, while remaining a small (11–50 employees), single-site operation with no disclosed M&A, fundraising, or international expansion activity.

Name

Townline Poultry Farm

Legal name

Townline Poultry Farm, Inc.

Website

https://townlinehatchery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Townline Poultry Farm is a fourth-generation, family-owned hatchery in Zeeland, Michigan that hatches and ships day-old chicks, turkeys, ducks, guineas, pheasants, and bantams nationwide via DTC e-commerce and a wholesale dealer network to backyard flock owners, hobby farms, and farm supply stores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Poultry Hatchery

NAICS

Poultry Hatcheries (11234), Chicken Egg Production (11231), Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production (11232)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Hatcheries & Chick Production (Day-Old Chicks, Pullets) (AFAEADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Breeder Flocks & Fertile Egg Production (Broiler/Layer Breeders) (AFAEADAC), Poultry Shops (CRAHAHAD)

Keywords

• Poultry hatchery
• Day-old chicks
• Egg layer breeds
• Meat bird chicks
• Hatching eggs

Headquarters

HQ city

Zeeland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Day-Old Chicks and Poultry Sales: Primary revenue from selling day-old chicks, turkeys, ducks, guineas, pheasants, and bantams directly to consumers and through wholesale channels. Products include various chicken breeds (egg layers, meat birds), turkeys, ducks, guineas, pheasants, and bantams. Volume discounts available for larger orders.
2. Hatching Eggs Sales: Sale of 21-day hatching eggs of egg-type chicken breeds with minimum order of 3 dozen (1 dozen per breed). Eggs guaranteed to be 70% fertile.
3. Supplies: Sale of poultry supplies including vitamins & electrolytes packs, AquaStart feed attractant, and breed posters.
4. Special Services: Additional services including Marek's disease vaccination (+$0.30 per chick, $10 minimum) and beak trimming (+$0.30 per chick, $10 minimum).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Townline Poultry Farm operates a poultry hatchery that raises its own 40,000-hen breeder flock, hatches chicks, turkeys, ducks, guineas, pheasants, and bantams, and sells these day-old birds plus hatching eggs and supplies to consumers, hobby and commercial farms, and farm supply stores nationwide. The business combines traditional hands-on hatching methods (candling for fertility, weather-adapted packing) with a USPS pre-sort shipping arrangement that cuts live-poultry transit time by 12+ hours.

Product overview

Townline Poultry Farm is a traditional hatchery business offering day-old poultry products through an e-commerce platform. The company operates as a single unified product line focused on poultry hatching and sales, with products organized into distinct categories: meat birds (Jumbo Cornish Rock Cross), egg layer chicks (Isa Browns, Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, Amberlink, Americana, Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, Mystic Marans, White Leghorn, Light Brahma, Black Sex Link, Black Jersey Giant, Olive Egger), turkeys (Broad Breasted White, Orlopp Broad Breasted Bronze, Artisan), ducks, guineas, game birds (pheasants), bantams, and supplies (AquaStart, breed posters, hatching eggs). Additional services include beak trimming and Marek's disease vaccination. The company maintains its own breeder flocks of 40,000 hens and uses a hands-on approach from egg collection through shipping. Products are sold directly to consumers via the website with shipping through USPS, and to wholesale dealers through a separate portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jumbo Cornish Rock Cross Chicks Fast-growing broiler breed with broad breast and thighs, dressed in 6-8 weeks, with low feed conversion (3 lbs feed to 1 lb gain); the same breed used commercially for meat production. Sold as day-old chicks with minimum order of 15.
• Isa Brown Chicks Hybrid egg layer breed producing very large brown eggs (321 eggs average to 76 weeks), holding 60% of the World Brown Egg Market; sold as day-old chicks with minimum order of 15.
• Broad Breasted White Turkey The most widely used domesticated turkey for commercial meat production, fast-growing with broad breast meat; mature males average 45 lbs and females 25 lbs. Sold as day-old poults with minimum order of 15.
• Orlopp Broad Breasted Bronze Turkey Fast-growing meat turkey with metallic bronze sheen and broader breast than heritage breeds; popular for backyard meat flocks.
• Artisan Turkey Rare, small, slow-growing heritage turkey with black feathers and gamey flavor; thrives in free-range environments and is rooted in French gastronomy. Targeted at customers seeking premium heritage turkey breeds.
• Ringneck Pheasants Game bird introduced to the U.S. in the 1880s and raised for hunting preserve release, bird dog training, or meat; males have a long barred tail and colorful plumage. Townline is licensed to issue release permits. Minimum order 30.
• French Pearl Guinea Keets Hardy domesticated game bird kept as a predator warning system (loud alarm calls) and for natural pest control (ticks, wasp nests). Minimum order 20.
• Assorted Ducklings Assortment of duck breeds (White Pekin, Rouen, and Khaki Campbell) for backyard flocks and small farms; available January through June only with minimum order 15.
• Assorted Bantams Small farm birds offered as assorted or breed-specific (Porcelains, Millefleurs, Golden Seabrights, Black Silkies, White Silkies, Red Pyle Old English, Brown Old English, Silver Duckwing Old English). Minimum order 30.
• Hatching Eggs 21-day hatching eggs of egg-type chicken breeds for customers who want to incubate chicks themselves; minimum order of 3 dozen (1 dozen per breed) and 70% fertility guarantee.
• AquaStart Hydration and Feed Attractant Ready-to-use water gel bead and feed attractant for newly placed poultry; provides hydration and encourages feed discovery; enriched with electrolytes and nutrients. Sold at $9.25 per unit.
• 2026 Breed Poster Laminated 17 1/4 x 22 1/4 breed reference poster featuring all chicken breeds offered by Townline for the 2026 season.
• Colorful Basket Package Deal Curated assorted egg layer package deal offering a colorful variety of chicken breeds to customers looking for a bundle of brown and colored egg layers.
• Red, White and Blue Chick Package Deal Curated patriotic-themed assortment of chicks in red, white, and blue color patterns for package deal customers.
• Special Services (Marek's Vaccination and Beak Trimming) Optional add-on services applied to poultry orders, including Marek's disease vaccination (+$0.30 per chick, $10 minimum) and beak trimming (+$0.30 per chick, $10 minimum), to support chick health and flock management.

Quantifiable outcome

• Livability rates of 97.3% for ISA Browns with 321 eggs per hen housed average production to 76 weeks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Critter BarnminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTownline is proud to be involved with the Critter Barn located in Zeeland, Michigan. Critter Barn is dedicated to teaching about farming and agriculture while inspiring people of all ages and abilities through the miracles in nature found at the farm. Townline sponsors the Chick Room and is involved in their expansion efforts.
• Michigan FFAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner supporting agricultural education and youth development through FFA programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cackle Hatchery: Cackle Hatchery is a family-owned Missouri hatchery offering a similarly broad catalog of baby chicks, bantams, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas, and game birds direct to consumers. Directly comparable breed portfolio, DTC e-commerce model, and shipping logistics via USPS to Townline.
• Murray McMurray Hatchery: Murray McMurray is one of the largest U.S. mail-order hatcheries, selling day-old chicks, ducks, geese, turkeys, and game birds direct to consumers and via dealers. Highly comparable to Townline in product mix, breed breadth, and DTC shipping model, but operating at significantly larger scale.
• Ideal Poultry: Ideal Poultry is a Texas-based family-owned hatchery selling baby chicks, bantams, ducks, geese, turkeys, and game birds via mail order. Directly comparable catalog, breed variety, and DTC shipping approach to Townline.
• Privett Hatchery: Privett Hatchery is a New Mexico-based mail-order hatchery offering day-old chicks, bantams, waterfowl, turkeys, and game birds. Comparable in product mix, family ownership, and direct-ship model, though operating in a different regional cluster.
• My Pet Chicken: My Pet Chicken is an online hatchery retailer focused on backyard flock owners with a curated breed catalog, small-order minimums, and educational content. Closely comparable to Townline's hobby-flock DTC positioning, with stronger digital content and brand presence in the same customer segment.
• Meyer Hatchery: Meyer Hatchery is a family-owned Ohio hatchery selling day-old chicks, turkeys, ducks, and game birds online with USPS shipping. Overlaps with Townline in product categories, target customers, and distribution channels, and serves as a regional Midwestern competitor.
• Welp Hatchery: Welp Hatchery is a multi-generation family hatchery in Iowa offering day-old chicks, broilers, turkeys, and waterfowl via mail order. Comparable in heritage, family ownership, and core product lines to Townline, with similar USDA/USPS shipping infrastructure.
• Hoover's Hatchery: Hoover's Hatchery is an Iowa-based hatchery offering a broad poultry catalog (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas, pheasants) direct-to-consumer via mail order. Comparable breed breadth, DTC model, and Midwest geography to Townline.

Others

• Hendrix Genetics: Hendrix Genetics is a global animal breeding company (ISA Brown, Bovans, and other layer genetics) that supplies the parent stock that Townline's ISA Browns and commercial hybrids are derived from. Adjacent upstream supplier relationship; also identified as a Townline technology partner.

Broad incumbents

• Cal-Maine Foods: Cal-Maine Foods is the largest U.S. shell egg producer, with integrated pullet-rearing, layer operations, and processing. While it operates in egg and pullet production rather than chick retail, it is a broad incumbent in the downstream market Townline's egg-layer customers supply.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/townlinehatchery
• Instagraminstagram.com/townlinehatchery/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/townline-poultry-farm-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Townline Poultry Farm