SHIP FROM LOCATION:
Jimmy Privett’s love of poultry started with his grandmother—and a bathtub that doubled as a brooder when the weather turned cold.
That early interest stayed with him. Jimmy always kept a flock at home, and after high school, he built two chicken houses and sold eggs locally to help pay for college. Over the next two decades, the operation grew to as many as 100,000 hens, supplying stores within 60 miles of Portales, New Mexico.
The family grew alongside the farm. Jimmy and his family raised six sons and one daughter, with every child pitching in to gather eggs and care for the birds. His three oldest sons began working full-time in the business during their college years, and later, grandchildren spent summers and school breaks helping at the hatchery and on the farms. Poultry keeping became something passed down through everyday work, just as it had been for Jimmy.
In the early 1970s, Jimmy’s interest in rare breeds led him to purchase his first incubation equipment and begin supplying baby chicks to local feed stores. His son Greg remembers taking a day off school to watch the first incubator arrive—a piece of equipment the family kept for decades.
By 1985, hatching chicks had grown into the main business. The hatchery operated in the backyard of the family home, with more barns and farms added as the business grew. For years, chicks were sold and shipped from that location, and the original home served as the office until 2018, when the family purchased another facility for hatching, shipping, and administrative work.
Privett Hatchery joined the Hoover’s Hatchery family in 2023, bringing generations of hands-on experience and a longstanding dedication to rare poultry breeds.
Today, Privett Rare Poultry Breeds gives keepers more opportunities to discover uncommon birds and bring variety to their flocks. It carries forward an interest that began with Jimmy and his grandmother: getting to know the birds, caring for them well, and sharing that knowledge with the next generation.