customer purchase and shipping agreement:

With your purchase, you accept the terms of the agreement with Open Gate Poultry (Katie Nemeth)

“I understand orders placed are pre-orders, and are filled by order number and availability from the flock. Open Gate has been shipping eggs since 2019 from MA to CA. I understand that by purchasing hatching eggs, they must be incubated for a length of time, at a certain temperature and humidity. There is not a hatch rate guarantee due to shipping and incubation factors. Once the order is filled, eggs are shipped USPS Priority and typically take 2-4 days to arrive.” If you prefer Express, please send us a message for a shipping quote.

In the rare case of substantial damage, a claim must be filed immediately with USPS. If the box has visible damage, upon pickup from USPS, please get a confirmation from the postmaster for the claim. Take lots of photos, and provide your order confirmation as proof of value. See FAQ page for more info.

For best results, packages are “held for pickup” at the post office and “ship to house” is the customers choice. Ship to house ultimately is unnecessary additional time in transit.

Open Gate Poultry can ship up to two dozen eggs per package. If you purchase a half dozen to dozen, it is insured for up to a $100 and it is $40.00. If you purchase 1.5 dozen to 2 dozen, it is insured for the subtotal of the package and extra insurance was added on - and it is $60.00. The ship options do factor in the new $15.00 Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee (more on that below).

Hatch rate is not a guarantee. We package the eggs in custom cut foam specifically for each egg, packaged with shredded newspaper, inside a large box. We have tried different methods over the years, and this one has worked best. We do our best to package the eggs securely and test fertility often with our cabinet incubators. We do our best to make sure your eggs arrive intact and ready to incubate once they settle. Bonus eggs included with every dozen. Open Gate is not responsible for your eggs during shipping, or hatch rates due to incubation methods.

Most farms and hatcheries don’t allow cancelations or provide any refunds once an order is placed - it helps to ensure buyers are committed before ordering. As part of our customer purchase agreement, we understand life happens and we have always provided partial-refunds for canceled orders - the customer is responsible for the processing fees. The original processing fee is never returned when issuing a refund - paypal or stripe keep the fee once the transaction is successful.

(NEW) USPS has a new $15.00 Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee to cover additional costs associated with handling and transporting all live animals and perishables, which includes hatching eggs. We need to account for the shipping supplies + insurance + (since Janaury 19, 2025) the extra $15 handling fee. NOTE: For orders that were placed between January 1 - January 28, 2025 we will pay the $15 handling per package. Be sure to file a claim if there is any damage due to mishandling of your package - because it’s shipped insured, and the fees have all been accounted for.

January 28, 2025