Flock Journey is where Keepers learn to raise healthy, happy backyard flocks one step at a time. Each journey puts what you need to know in the order you need it, starting with The Getting Started Journey, so you always know what to do next.
Flock Journey is brought to you by Hoover’s Hatchery, a family-owned hatchery in the small town of Rudd, Iowa.
Our story
In 1944, Bob and Helen Hoover took over a small hatchery in Rudd. Like most small-town hatcheries of the time, it served the farm families nearby.
Doug and Mary Halsted, longtime members of the Hoover’s team, later took over the hatchery. Doug spent his days teaching and coaching at the local school and his nights setting eggs. Mary ran the hatchery day to day and built relationships with feed dealers across the Midwest, many of which continue today. Their children grew up taking off hatches before school.
Today, Hoover’s is owned by families who share the values the Hoovers and Halsteds built it on. Mary’s guidance still shapes how we work, and our team works every day to help Keepers succeed.
How our birds are raised
Our breeding flocks live on partner family farms, many of them Amish and Mennonite families who have worked with us for generations. We take 100% of the eggs they produce and hatch them here.
What we stand for
- Excellence
- Tenacity
- Servitude
- Humility
- Ingenuity
Hoover’s. The Keeper’s Keeper.