Gabbard Farms? - Page 2

You should go with Ideal Poultry. They have good quality for the size of their operation.

They also treat their birds humanely and are kept in a clean environment. Just bought

some Shamo's from them. The cockerels are great tasting pure, and crossed over Dark

Cornish hens.

I have never personally dealt with them but was recently warned away from them by someone I had previously bought chicks from. (It was not to get my business for herself as she does not have the breed I am looking for.)

The last time it happened, they were NOT pure. She was very disappointed that the so called Ameraucanas were really Easter Eggers because of the oddity of colors and something didn't add up to the correspondence between her and Gabbard. It created a bad vibe as well.

Another bought her rare breed, either the Marans or the Barnvelders, it was not of quality nor did they have the right color of eggs, they were too light and improper feather patterns.

If you want to take the chance for her Ameraucanas, go ahead but be prepared to be disappointed if they are not what you expected them to be. Gabbard Farms also deal with MPC, a middleman hatchery type deal.

I don't see too many of her Ebay auctions anymore so all of her chicken dealings were strictly under website OR MPC or possibly contracted thru other hatcheries.

IMO, when one gets too many breeds, not enough focus to find flaws or inferior stock, the quality of chicks suffers. Gabbard Farms CAN fit the bill for those who simply want eye candy, egg laying flock with no intention to show or breed up to standard for her stock like hatchery orders does.

See the past threads: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/425566/blue-ameracauna

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/309402/anybody-use-gabbard-farms-orp-or-ameraucana-pics

then you can make your decision in what exactly you are looking for and what you want to do with them.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicken-wish 

Thank you for the detailed experience.  I'm very sorry to hear about the nasty heat wave putting a tole on you chickens like that.   It really does sound iffy with eggs.  I wonder if there chicks would arrive in better condition? It's nice to know that they have some decent Americana's.  In your opinion did they look pure or mixed some? 
 

 

Very shocked tonight!  Just candled my Gabbard Farm shipped $2 per egg Sebrights on day 8 (13 eggs) and NONE are developing.  NONE.

They were set with 8 SFH eggs from a BYC member (local to me) and ALL of those are developing. 

Do I have any recourse?  Your advice?  Besides ordering quail from Lake Cumberland (all was good) these were my only shipped eggs.  Definitely have a different view on ordering shipped eggs now....

Nothing new about those "empty" eggs...been hearing ALOT about that! It is not the breed she had but generally we have to question about the fertility. If she can make it right for you, maybe another shipment of eggs and incubate it. If they still come up empty, you MIGHT need to question.

Shipping eggs are hard on them. I don't know how many busted air cells that developed to nothingness.

I've ordered from Gabbard Farms many times.  I mainly order her Ancona.  Prior to this year, I ordered only eggs. I got fair results, but I was happy about the results since she lived in Arkansas and I'm in Minnesota.  The eggs were always well packed, and shipped in a timely fashion.  

My only problem with the chicks once they hatched was that somewhere in their pre-adult age, they wound up with curled toes.  I thought it was her chicks but as time went on, I realized it was my feeding program during that time frame. I was over feeding this breed.  When I'd bought from McMurrays, I never had that problem but then again, I was ordering a lot more chicks that ate up the feed in one sitting.  I cut back on feed and no longer had the problem w/the Gabbard chicks.  

Overall, this is one of my most fragile breeds, from egg to youngster.  As an adult, they are quite hardy.

This year I ordered Ancona chicks, along with some meat chicks.  Not all of the Ancona chicks arrived.  Maybe postal workers took some out of the box as they died, not sure but I notified Julie and she reimbursed me the missing chicks.  The meat chicks were ready in 9 weeks.  Maybe it was breeding or maybe it was because I didn't push them with concentrates, and/or maybe it was due to me shutting off lights - not sure, but none died.  They were between 2-1/2 to 3-3/4 pounds with the majority being around 3-1/2 dressed, so I was happy.  I'd ordered 12 and all but 3 or 4 were males but I'd ordered straight run.

As for the Ancona, I was missing a few during transit and maybe only 1 died while here. I have 5 roos and 4 hens to show for it.  The hens are all good quality, 2 look to be show quality due to the amount of dark feathering at this age but that could change among all 4.  The roos, I'll only keep 2 - with one being show quality, again with the coloring for this age.  There is one out of that batch that is definitely a cull but that happens.  He has a white beak and white legs, minus the barring.  The whiteness is not standard for this bred but culls do happen in anyone's flock.

I am tempted to purchase more chicks this year but it's getting late in the season and my chick fund is sort of drying up - lol.  

Anyways, I have to say that Julie fulfilled Minnesota NPIP requirements in our state even though it was a slight hassle with the extra paperwork.  She's been kind enough when talking to her, and I've had no problems with the breeds I've gotten from her.