I would like to make a few comments on Evieshotchicks in Cookstown, NJ. I don't ever really write bad reviews for anything, but I feel the need to write something about this place given how horrible my experience has been. I really encourage everyone to STAY AWAY FROM EVIESHOTCHICKS. Let me start off by saying that I don't know whether it is the ignorance of the breeder causing these problems, or that they are trying to scam people, but neither is acceptable. I purchased "Heritage Rhode Island Red" pullets from them. They promised that they were dark mahogany, heritage Rhode Island Reds, with teal tail feathering. I was a complete beginner and thought this was a great deal and opportunity to get some birds that were better quality than hatchery. As I learned more and more about Rhode Island Reds, it became clear to me that these birds were definetly not heritage RIR. But, my greatest shock came when I showed them to a judge who was part of the Penn State Poultry judging team, and a very reputable judge. He told me that my birds were "production reds" and were not even close to being Rhode Island Reds, let alone being heritage. I showed him a pic of the birds that I got from Ideal Hatchery, and he even said those were better than the Rhode Island Reds I got from Evieshotchicks. Now, I don't know why this breeder feels the need to lie about their birds, but basically what the judge told me was that they were so poor quality they shouldn't even be classified as the breed. They are mutts, essentially, and branded "production reds", a generic term for any red colored egg layer. I could not be more displeased with these RIR. I had been looking for nice, good quality RIR that would do well for me at shows, and I was assured these birds would do well and were good quality. Evieshotchicks took advantage of me being a beginner to sell me these birds. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldve laughed at these poor quality mutts. I wasted my time and money raising up these birds thinking they were worth it. WHAT A RIPOFF. They charged me $10 per 3 week old chick. When I went to sell them at 8 months, I couldn't get more than $10, that is how poor quality they were. I wasted 7 months raising them and about $30 each in feed to raise them. Just to find out they are nothing more than mutts. Now, about the "Ameraucana" they sell. The story is pretty much the same. I was looking to buy some Ameraucana for show and egg laying. Literally, as I was taking a chick, they said, "this one should do nice at shows". I thought, great, I can't wait. That couldn't be further from the truth. When I took them to shows, the judges basically told me, get rid of these birds and get real Ameraucana. This wouldn't be bad, if they didn't promise me they would do well. Also, Evieshotchicks was totally clueless about the colors of their birds. They thought that the blue Ameraucana was called a splash, and the splash was called a blue. I kept calling my blue a splash until someone looked at me funny and said "thats a blue not a splash". Shouldn't a breeder know this? Shows how clueless they are and how they don't care about the birds. Not only this, but some people said they weren't really true Ameraucana, and had some crossing in their past. Looking at them, I have to agree. They don't lay blue eggs, but rather olive eggs instead. Also, they have really long backs, and messed up tails. I was scammed out of my two goals: nice blue eggs, and something fairly competitive at shows. Keep in mind, everyone, that these are county 4H shows, and everyone gets their birds at hatcheries. The judges said these birds were WORSE THAN HATCHERY. Can you believe that? They were promised to me as show birds, instead of telling the truth, and they end up worse than hatchery. I am very thankful to have good people to tell me the truth about these birds and help me get better ones. People who actually care about the birds. Evieshotchicks is only in it for the money, and that is actually what they told me. They were bragging how much money they made off of it. Meanwhile, they are scamming people and ruining birds. Shame on them. Really. How dare they start up an operation like this in order to make money. They don't love the birds, they love the money. Not to mention that their place is absolutely filthy and trashy! The pens are falling apart and look like they haven't been cleaned in years. The chickens are crammed in tiny pens and live in their own waste. They have about 20 1 month old chicks living in a single rabbit hutch. The brooder is filthy and covered in dander, I had to step out to stop coughing.
In short, this "breeder" is nothing more than a lying source of poor quality birds that thrives off of people's ignorance to make a sale. They don't care about the birds, they care about the money. Everyone, stay away from this breeder! Even if you don't care about good quality birds, you are still paying for "show quality" and recieving junk! A $3 hatchery bird would be better than a $10 bird here, plus I would rather my money go to a hatchery than to this liar! They are only in it for the money. STAY AWAY!!!
In short, this "breeder" is nothing more than a lying source of poor quality birds that thrives off of people's ignorance to make a sale. They don't care about the birds, they care about the money. Everyone, stay away from this breeder! Even if you don't care about good quality birds, you are still paying for "show quality" and recieving junk! A $3 hatchery bird would be better than a $10 bird here, plus I would rather my money go to a hatchery than to this liar! They are only in it for the money. STAY AWAY!!!
