Poultry Hollow Hatchery Experience and Poultry Hollow Hatchery Chick "Growth Chart" (PIC HEAVY) - Page 8

 

 

This is the entire content of the "Award Winning Poultry" page on their website & frankly the birds pictured would not have done well in a sanctioned show where there was competition. A blue ribbon from a fair isn't generally much of an indicator of quality.

I went to the Poultry Hollow website to see if there were pictures of their stock. When you click on their breeds you're taken to Wikipedia pages.

I expect this hatchery has birds no better & probably no worse than most other hatcheries. In other words if you're looking for quality birds keep looking.

I've never been but after seeing how the owner of the hatchery reacted to the OP and others who posted, I will NOT be going. Honestly, I wouldn't buy birds from a hatchery anyway as I buy from quality breeders with show quality birds. And as far as "having something to hide", I'm not a hatchery, but I don't allow customers to pick up their birds at my home for several reasons....#1. Now that my kids are all older, my birds are my life and I truly and sincerely care for them...if I lost them because someone came in here with some kind of funky disease on their shoe, well I'd be devastated. #2. Not only did I have my entire flock stolen years ago, I've read horror stories on this very site where people have had their birds stolen from them..again, I'd be devastated. #3. My husband works alot and most of the time it's just me and my 14yr old daughter here at the house...if I  had someone out to buy a bird and they later came back and God forbid broke into the house...I'd quite possibly be dead! So yeah, I realize I'm being a bit over zealous here but I'm one who'd rather be safe than sorry. You CANNOT just automatically assume that just because someone doesn't allow people to pick birds up at their home, they are hiding something. I will gladly provide pictures of where my birds are kept and will provide pictures of the actual birds for sale if that's what the buyer wants, but I will NOT compromise on letting complete strangers come to my home to buy birds. If that means I won't sell as many, so be it. I'm not in it to make money anyway. Although, if I could get them to pay for at least half of their food bill I'd be ticked pink! lol Seriously though, I love my birds and although I've never had a single complaint from anyone who's bought birds from me, I stand behind what I'm selling and would NEVER go on a website and attack the person who obviously had a bad experience. I would send that person a private message and ask if there was anything I could do to make their experience a more pleasant one. To me, what Poultry Hollow did was extremely unprofessional. Sometimes the customer actually isn't "always right" but you don't go and attack them and anyone else who's voiced their opinions! You look at the criticism as a way to grow and improve your business! If you have more than a few people out there who have a negative opinion about the general conditions of your farm and your birds, wouldn't the intelligent thing be to get out there and improve what they saw as a problem?

Wow.  I honestly can't believe everything I've read in these posts.  I think many REAL farmers, if they read some of these posts, would laugh hysterically at the levels of biosecurity mentioned.  If chicken raising was THAT complicated and anal chickens would have gone extinct years ago -not too mention the human population would have suffered from disease infected birds.  Fortunately, life goes on for both our feathered friends and us.  If chicken raising was truly this ridiculous I would have never attempted to raise my own flock.  Heck, I can't afford the gallons of hand sanitizer I'm supposedly supposed to drench myself in daily in order to be a qualified gold star club card carrying member of Poultry owners in America.  People have been raising chickens for centuries just fine in the exact same manner they do at Poultry Hollow, and that is exactly why I picked them.  They do it the old fashioned way -you know, before people started spending $20,000 on their state of the art biosecure chicken condo.

 

I have to comment on the comments about the owners supposed non-professionalism:  If I had someone come into my home and insult my parenting abilities (as it pertains to my human children) and complain that "oh my word, there are toys all over the floor", and I didn't wipe my kitchen counters off, and two of my children have to share a small bedroom then I think I'd be a little upset.  When I went to Poultry Hollow I could very easily tell that these chickens (as well as the other animals) were the owners precious babies.  She was obviously insulted by these very rude posts.  And I must point out that not only did the original post insult her, but it insulted her neighbors.  What in God's name does the bumpy road with crappy houses have to do with Poultry Hollow?  Obviously, someone hasn't spent much time on back country TN roads where it's common to see a trailer, then a half fallen down shack, then a beautiful house with a swimming pool.  I can't even believe I feel the need to respond to this, as it is completely irrelevent.

 

Now on to my experience with Poultry Hollow:  I was so happy that I didn't have to patiently wait for my small crowded box full of chickens to arrive in the mail.  Do you have any clue how many unbiosecure hands one box goes through in its transit through the various postal points?  Not to mention, I didn't want my precious baby chicks being bounced around for two days on bumpy back country KY roads.  Instead, by going to Poultry Hollow I was pleasantly greeted by a beautiful friendly dog with a tennis ball in his mouth eager to play fetch, a couple of donkeys who wanted to be petted, and giant turkeys saying "welcome to Poultry Hollow".  I was not only amazed at the beautiful hills surrounding me, but I was in awe at the many varieties of animal roaming around freely.  Yes, some were obviously sitting behind chicken wire, but they all had plenti of space, perches, food and water.  I was extra happy that I got to go pick out my own chicks with plenti to choose from.  They were all peppy healthy little creatures.  The owner spent over an hour with us answering all our questions.  She even took extra time to show me what the chicks I picked out would look like as adults.  Her face lit up each time she pointed out a different member of her flock.  It was obvious that these animals were part of her family, and it was obvious they were well taken care of.  I don't know, but I assume with my talent for logic that if these chickens were not taken care of as bad as some of these posts suggest then they would have been so diseased that I would have seen thousands of dead chickens everywhere.  Fortunately, I wasn't traumatized.  Instead, I saw healthy birds with lots of meat on their bones covered in beautiful feathers.

 

Now my last point.  Someone suggested that these posts supporting Poultry Hollow must all have been written by Poultry Hollow under different names.  Seriously, I know the insults seem to come very naturally for some of you, but please at least have enough common sense to know that some of us don't want our chickens being shipped in a box.  We actually appreciate old school traditional chicken raising.

I visited a broiler farm that grew out birds for Mountaire in Delaware, as well as a layer operation. I had to suit up in a tyvek, with my hair secure as well as tyvek booties and gloves. Had to sign in and leave all of our belongings in a secure room. Those are chicken farms. That is biosecutity...

I have friends that have bought all of their birds from Poultry Hollow and they've never had anything but good things to say about them. 

 

A professional poultry farm with thousands of birds will not likely look as manicured and pristine as your backyard subdivision coop. 
 

Wow...I am admittedly a "newbie" on here, but lurked for awhile before joining.  I must say that I am a little taken aback by all the fierce arguments.  I am from an area very close to Poultry Hollow.  Two years ago, after successfully raising and releasing a set of turkeys, I decided I'd get some chickens, something I'd thought and studied about for awhile.  Since I didn't need 15 or 25 chicks, and didn't want them to have to be shipped across the country (my dad retired from the post office), I found Poultry Hollow, gave them a call and rode out here.

 

At the end of a long country road (they had warned me ahead of time that it would seem like I was headed to the ends of the earth) I arrived at a large farm.  There was a large barn where the brooders were located in a central alleyway, and a couple of pens (as in large, chain-link dog kennels) containing small numbers of birds, and a variety of poultry and animals happily wandering about.  It is a farm, and being FROM a farm, the smell was not unpleasant at all, despite the fact that it was a warm day.  While waiting on Ms. Judy to finish with other customers, I entertained myself enjoying the beautiful turkeys and other poultry strutting their stuff about the property.  After discussing the breeds available I finally decided on two Dominique and two Buff Orpington pullets.  I went with her to retrieve them from the brooders.  The brooders were clean (someone was actually beginning to clean at the opposite end working towards us at the time).  I saw no dead/dying/sick animals anywhere.  She was knowledgeable about the breeds/their availability/ages and was quite helpful in discussing the merits of different breeds. 

 

Here are my chicks about a week(?) after getting them home:

 

Here they are growing/grown up: Daisy

 

Itty Bitty

 

Peep & BigBird

 

Big Bird

I still have all of them but one (Daisy), who fell prey to a possum.  They are egg-laying machines, friendly and happy birds that have been a joy to watch grow up. I do not show my chickens or plan on eating any of them.  They are pets that are useful only in providing us with breakfast and plenty of entertainment.  Despite "being from the country" I am intolerant of animals being treated poorly (I have reported neighbors in the past for their treatment of their livestock).  That said, not everyone's standards are the same, what might be "filthy" to one person is "okay" with another.  After spending the day in my city office/courtroom, I am maybe a little more cognizant when I arrive home and smell horse manure, dirt, hay, the grass and the creek--to me these are all welcoming smells.  I didn't go out there expecting some medicinal, sterile factory...just a farm....and that is what it was.  The animals all appeared happy and healthy and their upkeep seemed fine to me.  I even sent some friends out and they got several chicks, ducks, and a pair of geese which they have been very pleased with.  My babies were healthy and perky and in good condition and have remained so.

 

I plan on adding to my little flock this year, and if they have the breeds I am interested in, I may very well go back.  I like being able to pick out my birds in person, not have them delivered. As far as the comments made by the owners on here, let me say this:  my husband is self-employed and takes his business performance VERY personally...if people were talking bad, he would be confrontational as well...same as I would be if you were talking about my child/pets/home--the things that are important to me.  All I am saying is for everyone to appreciate the others opinions without being harsh or overly critical or getting way too personal.  I respect everyone's opinion, but it is mine that I have to live with.

My comment about bio security had nothing to do with how big this persons birds grew, nor if she loved them. I am sure she may even have pretty birds too. She is risking the health of her entire operation when she lets random strangers onto her property and have access to her birds without proper ppe's as well as her flocks being able to come in contact with the wild bird population. I hope she never has a problem with her flocks, but there is a reason why commercial growers don't let the general public into their houses...because thousands of dollars are at stake with each crop of birds that are grown out. Don't wish her bad fortune or bad luck, but it is just too risky a behavior especially when she has so many birds. Just constructive criticism, either she can take it or not. I'd rather protect the health of my animals and not allow visitors free rein. The general publics warm fuzzy feelings about seeing baby chicks can be achieved at someone else's farm.
Edited by Lopi1234 - 2/7/13 at 11:20am

 

Pretty birds!

 

I agree with all you said, but for one thing...

 

I have no experience with Poultry Hollow first hand, but as they aren't too far from me, I was considering them so I followed what was being said.  After the exchange I saw between them and the people on here though, that totally soured me.  See, I owned a business myself.  As a business owner and running a business out of your home, you have to expect that clients are going to scrutinize everything.  I have had disagreements with clients before, but over in 10 yrs. of my of running a business, I have only gotten snippy with two people.  One was drunk and belligerent and another was screaming and carrying on like a wild man because he got charged a late fee, which was clearly posted and which he had to sign an agreement to, when I had to stay at work over three hours after we closed due to him not picking his dog up on time, thus my having to pay my babysitter for extra hours and it ruining my plans to go out to dinner.  I'm sorry, but the comments by the owner of Poultry Hollow came across as very unprofessional to me.  I understand they may take their business very personally and may have been upset by what was said, but so did I, though that did not stop me from disagreeing by not handling it in a professional manner.  There are different ways of handling things and I just don't think they handled it well.