Beware about Hilltop farms

[TenTimes]

Just be careful posting stuff like this on here. There are some people on here that don't like to believe that chicks die in the mail. They also think chicks that survived 3 days in the mail with no food or water should be just fine and perfectly healthy due to the chicks yolk sac.

 

[Watolf]

Just be careful posting stuff like this on here. There are some people on here that don't like to believe that chicks die in the mail. They also think chicks that survived 3 days in the mail with no food or water should be just fine and perfectly healthy due to the chicks yolk sac.

I’m one of people believe chicks able survive without food or water for three days during yolk sac drain. However, a hilltop’s policy is completely different. They preferred shipping 2 weeks old chicks. Chicks become too nervous to able think about eat or drink during that time. Also highest rate disease. This is my first time highest rate death and my first time attempt order 2 weeks old to be shipped from a hilltop farms. Other companies I ordered, barely have any death compare to hilltop farm. For near 8 years, i ordered

- https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html (1 day old shipped, barely any deaths. I used that company three times, no bad experience.)

- https://www.purelypoultry.com/ (1 day old, shipped, no death)

- https://www.mthealthy.com/ (1 day old, shipped, no death, ordered there two times so far, no bad experience and got extra free chicks.)

 

[Watolf]

Update about survivor chick. I’ve bring russian orloff back to vet after her poop are transparent like a water and no brown color this morning. My vet found that she have little white blood cells inside her poop.

(I’m used a communication with a vet with type on a phone and she wrote on the paper. Since I’m deaf. )

i’m still wondering what could cause that.

 

[Theorrin]

Just be careful posting stuff like this on here. There are some people on here that don't like to believe that chicks die in the mail. They also think chicks that survived 3 days in the mail with no food or water should be just fine and perfectly healthy due to the chicks yolk sac.

chicks can survive 72 hours BUT shipping causes stress and the heat/cold while shipping causes issues as well

 

[Watolf]

Update with my Russian orloff, video taken today.

 

[Watolf]

After 2 hr and 30 min drive to home with 5 new russian orloff chicks.

I ended up comparing them.

Share an opinion.

First and second pictures are from koopcoop (8-10 days old)

Third picture are from hilltop farms. (2 weeks old)

 

[Zintkala]

I wanted to make sure post here to beware other people. I already wrote down a form and submitted to Animal protection gov and BBB. I would recommend you guys to do it too if you guys ordered from same company and have issue with same thing.

Animal protection gov - https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalwelfare/complaint-form

BBB- https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint

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I had such crazy first experience in 7 years of order chicks to shipping to my postal office.

I contacted to BBB and Animal protection gov. Due of concern amount of chicks’s death. I’m not only one who have issue but many clients as well.

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What i wrote to Animal protection gov:

Address- HILLTOP FARMS, 8383 N WEIRICK RD, CORONA, CA, 92883, UNITED STATES

Phone number- 6572341238

email- [email protected]

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English is not my first language, please bear with me.

I ordered chicks from that company, which is small business. However, I have issue communicate with a person. At first I believed my four out of five chicks might died due of too cold. I wasn't used with their "two weeks old" chicks policy/TOS to shipping them, they said it's more stronger and safer than one day old. I still have solo survivor seem little off and struggles. She is near four weeks old now, I think.

They even said in TOS that they will not refund client once chicks in shipping box handed over to the USPS. It's become USPS's responsibility. I doubt it was USPS's fault. I did filled out a form and evidence for refund from USPS, got denied. I tried second time, denied.

I'm still waiting for a person to respond on the email, nothing. Only they gave me review email. Therefore, I put one star on review and wrote description. It's submitted into their website page where review are. They deleted it one-two days later after I reread review. Lucky, I was screenshot it before they can delete it. Then I start to keep eyes on the reviews, more clients posted one star reviews on June 1-4. I screenshot it too in the case. Then last night, I rechecked, all one star review deleted. I got suspected, it wasn't only mine too. I went to deep research about that company. I found so many negative information about that company which made me concern about highest rate death of chicks. I felt that company needed to check. even survivor ones are very small for two weeks old.

I paid around $150 for five chicks and shipping as well, person seem not want to be responsibility about chicks death.

you will able see so many complaint from clients too but in different website since main company website don't want share it in review. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...gative-experiences-are-in-the-thread.1566527/

Hilltop farms's Review is at bottom, you will see most are five stars.

https://hilltopfarmspoultry.com/shop/english-chocolate-orpington

what they deleted is here I took a screenshots.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/306567109037785088/1115131514393464872/IMG_4551.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/306567109037785088/1115131514657701998/IMG_4552.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/306567109037785088/1115131515093913670/IMG_4553.png

I wish I had seen this before ordering myself. I had ordered 20 chicks and unfortunately all have happed now. I did contact hilltop and he basically pointed fingers at the post office and never received any other word after that. It was absolutely devastating, financially and emotionally. I feel so bad the chicks suffered. It was very obvious something was wrong with them right out of the box.

 

[Zintkala]

That was something I thought too. My chicks just died one after the other within the span of a week. I also feel like their birds may not be in the best of conditions. I searched up their address online and their lot is only 1.1 acres. Most of it is hillside too. To me, that’s an awful lot of chicken breeds, geese, and turkeys listed on their website to house and breed on less than an acre of land. I knew when I went there to pick them up that it felt a little off but I got my chicks anyways

1 acre with all those breeds is actually insane

 

[Watolf]

I wish I had seen this before ordering myself. I had ordered 20 chicks and unfortunately all have happed now. I did contact hilltop and he basically pointed fingers at the post office and never received any other word after that. It was absolutely devastating, financially and emotionally. I feel so bad the chicks suffered. It was very obvious something was wrong with them right out of the box.

Me too! I wish I’ve seen complaints sooner too! It was so devastated when open to only see death and weak chicks. Hilltop farms’s website reviews looks too promising until i realized most of 1 star was deleted after I submitted my own review. In Yelp, a company unable delete 1 stars.

Here’s my most recently solo survivor chicken picture. She need extra care, such as mix warm water and mash pellet food. She refuse eat pellets. She is extremely picky with food (she hate salmon, mealworms, and etc). My other 5 blue copper marans same as her age (from different company), not accepted her in a flock. Russian orloff are very talkative and endless. Slow growth, i ended up gave her rooster booster for two weeks, i felt it’s helped her a lot. Her behavior is like ADHD. I felt she is disability chicken (possible from inbred or a disease like in this thread we discussed ). she’s my house pet. I’m grateful to have her to learn about her.

 

[Watolf]

Updates of my survivor, her name is pumpkin. Full grown. Now i have other 5 young chicks who is doing well since i got them from koopcoop.