Cackle Hatchery

(Family owned and operated for three generations.)

417-532-4581
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History of Cackle Hatchery

 

 

  • Member of the Lebanon Missouri Chamber of Commerce

  • Member of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP)

  • Nancy Smith (Cackle Hatchery) President of Missouri Poultry Industries Association, Inc. Emphasis: Hatcheries

  • Member of the American Poultry Association (APA)

  • Member of the American Bantam Association (ABA)

  • Member of Bird Shippers of America

 

Take a Virtual Tour of Cackle Hatchery


In 1936 Clifford Smith along with wife Lena started the Cackle Hatchery, named after the sound a hen makes; "a hen cackle".  Clifford had worked in a hatchery prior to opening his own. Things have changed since that time when eggs were only 6 cents a dozen and there were only incubators for 125,000 eggs. Today incubators are heated with electricity; and there is now room for more than 320,000 eggs and eggs are now $1.00 a dozen in the grocery store.

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1937 Clifford Smith (children, Clifton and Darlene) Cackle Hatchery with 3 locations in Lebanon, MO - Dixon, MO- Buffalo, MO.

1937 Cackle Hatchery Lebanon, MO

1937 Cackle Hatchery building in downtown Lebanon, MO.

1939 Clifford Smith and son Clifton Smith with two employees

1939 Clifford Smith and son ( boy) Clifton Smith with two employees.

Along with a few manufactured incubators Clifford made most of his incubators. In fact, he had a U.S. government patent on his incubators but because of the war years in the early 1940's there was a shortage of materials, so he was never able to manufacture his incubators.
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1939 Clifford Smith building second addition to Cackle Hatchery in down town Lebanon, MO.

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1940 Lena Smith, Children Clifton and Darlene in front of Cackle Hatchery down town Lebanon, MO.

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1948 Cackle Hatchery, Dixon, MO. location. Two employees

Clifford and Lena worked hard at supplying the very best quality chickens for the consumer. He worked vigorously with the Missouri Department of Agriculture to eradicate Pullorum Disease which was prevalent at the time. Now days the disease is hardly heard of. He also worked with the agriculture department with the trap-nesting program which helped select the birds that laid the most eggs on the smallest amount of feed.
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1949 Cackle Hatchery, Buffalo, MO location.

 

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 1950's Clifford Smith with group of fellow poultry men meet in Columbia, MO for a course to learn how to test birds for pullorum.  Pullorum a wide-spread blood disease that caused high death loss to baby chicks.

 1995 Cackle hatchery

1995 Cackle Hatchery downtown Lebanon, MO.

At one time he had three hatcheries operating in Lebanon and surrounding towns.

In 1964, their son Clifton and his wife, Nancy took over operation of the Cackle Hatchery. They continue to ship over one million chicks and other baby poultry each year throughout the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Guam. Third generation Jeff Smith and wife, Edie plan to carry on the operation of the Cackle Hatchery in future years.


1999 - Delivery Van 1999 - Delivery Van

Our breeder flocks are placed on flock owner farms throughout the surrounding area. Each flock owner specializes in chicks, waterfowl, bantams, turkeys, etc. Before hatching season the flocks are blood tested and culled. Cackle Hatchery's goal is to get vigorous healthy chicks to you, our customer. On hatch day, weather conditions are closely monitored so that we pack the shipment to ensure safe arrival through the United States Post Office right to your home.

 

Clifford Smith "1942" Clifton Smith (Son on right)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clifford Smith (left)    "1939"  Clifton Smith (boy on the  right)

 Cackle Hatchery Baby Chicks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

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