I think I got scammed…

[nuthatched]

Update: The seller emailed me a day ago (nearly 2 weeks after all of this happened) apologizing, asking which chicks are still alive, giving the impression that they want to send me replacement ones. The thing is, I already got one from a local lady, which puts me at two chicks, and if they send me more, I'm assuming 3 would be the absolute minimum for shipping...which would be 5 chicks- too many chicks for my current coop. It's is a little tiny one, I'm working on getting someone to build me a good sized one but I don't wanna commit to anymore chicks until that's set in stone. I did start a dispute on the charges though prior to them contacting me...but because I hadn't submitted my evidence they hadn't contacted the seller yet, I think....does anyone know if them having contacted me, ruin my chances of getting the charges disputed? Not sure what to do here....I really don't want anymore chicks from this person. Might just cut my losses.

You want a refund, not more birds.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I'm sorry this happened!

I can't really offer much other advice besides that you should file a complaint with with Better Business Bureau and leave a review on Google or whatever other business review sites they are on. It can help others in the future.

 

[Painted Calls]

I've seen so many horror stories involving this "breeder". I'm so sorry this happened. I hope you can get a refund without too much trouble!

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Now I feel great about paying a thousand bucks a piece for the four awesome little ladies I got last week. Because at the current exchange rate, it works out to a total of 20 American dollars for the lot. I just hope they shine through like their Plymouth rock Dad in terms of egg production.

 

[Leatherworker]

So I am a first time chicken owner and I felt like I did a decent amount of research but obviously not enough as you’ll see….lol.


I was looking online for local hatcheries honestly but couldn’t find anything close to Dallas, just places hours and hours away. So I looked up some “big online hatcheries” and everything was waitlisted or just sold out of silkies.

(Edit; didn’t know Facebook groups were a thing as I barely use FB and wish I would’ve thought of this- as I found so many local people on there after the fact, that I’m getting more silkies from today!)

Didn’t realise people didn’t ship until march usually, another mistake I should’ve researched more.

Came across a website called Feather Lover Farms, and placed an order, totaling about $350 (what a rip off!!!) for 3 silkie chicks. (Literally internally screaming thinking about how much I spent now)

This was in late Dec. they were in contact with me a bit late Jan, early Feb. and then again late Feb once they had an idea of when my chicks would ship. They are in Cali. They shipped a week ago. Tuesday. The day the big blizzard hit in north cali. So…definitely unideal circumstances, kind of wish they would’ve waited. I upgraded my shipping. Paid like..$80 or something for overnight USPS. Took 3 days anyway. Had no tracking updates for the first 2 days, besides them being in Sacramento the first day. Finally get here and one was dead (they sent 4 I guess for extra warmth or as a bonus) and it was a pile of mush. Two of them seemed a little bit smaller than the 3rd, but nothing crazy. They were also a bit less active.

24 hours pass- 1 dies within 30 min of “flopping” over. Can’t walk can’t stand neck is floppy and very weak chirps.

12 hours pass- another one dies the same way.

Went from seemingly fine to just dropping dead so fast.

3rd one is now ALONE at this point and very distressed. I’ve emailed Everytime something has happened with a detailed timeline and explanation AND pics of course, to further prove it’s a bad situation. That was Friday.

No email replies since then. They were guaranteed, mind you. Nothing. So incredibly irresponsible imo….they also shipped with no heat packs or anything, which another seller told me was shameful.

I also paid for a “lavender silkie” which honestly I don’t know if any of them were lavender, they all looked pale yellow to me besides one which was def painted. The other seller that gave me advice told me lavenders have a “death gene” and that’s why she doesn’t breed them. If this is true, then it makes sense why they just died out of nowhere.

So I’m pretty much out of 300$ and I’ve had no contact with this seller. Which really makes me sad. I don’t know. It feels like they have no regard for these poor things lives. I also don’t even want them to ship me more chicks. I feel like they’ll ship me half dead chicks again or chicks that are just doomed to suffer and die.

Posting this that hopefully someone sees it online and doesn’t make the same mistake I did. Once I found the bad reviews, I had already placed my order and it wasn’t refundable so I hoped for the best and thought maybe the reviews were wrong….well, they were right

So sorry for all the problems and your loss. Even having them for a short time is heartbreaking. Please do us a favor and tell us the name of the place you got them from. And yes, I think you really got scammed. Ridiculous price and who in their right mind would ship in a snow storm only 4 chicks. Most hatcheries will not ship any less then 20-15 during colder temperatures as they at least have each other to help keep warm. I hate to see how these precious little lives are treated so casually. I have found that in the local feed stores that sell them in the spring.
I hope you will give it another try and order from a good hatchery, like MT Healthy or another well known hatchery with good reviews. They ones I got this year came from Mt Healthy and they are really nice chicks. I did have one die 2 days after getting. Nothing appeared wrong, she just fell on her side and died within 2 min. Its so sad to see. Good luck with your next venture. There are so many web sites like this one, where you can get some great advice and learn all you need to know to keep them happy and healthy. I also like the Fresh eggs Daily Blog. very good info. We have had chickens for years, but its always good to learn more and get other views on raising them.

 

[Leatherworker]

Talk about a horror story! I can't believe that. I always worry about buying chicks online just cause I worry about them dying. That's insane what you went through though. I remember one time I was scammed out of $300 and no one did a thing. Even when I reported it to police with all the transaction details and their account information. Nothing. Glad you are meeting up with people instead

Read the 7th amendment of the constitution. Yes you can do something if its over $20.00

 

[NatJ]

Please do us a favor and tell us the name of the place you got them from.

The place that shipped the chicks?
It was in the middle of that long first post:

Came across a website called Feather Lover Farms, and placed an order, totaling about $350 (what a rip off!!!) for 3 silkie chicks. (Literally internally screaming thinking about how much I spent now)

This was in late Dec. they were in contact with me a bit late Jan, early Feb. and then again late Feb once they had an idea of when my chicks would ship. They are in Cali. They shipped a week ago. Tuesday. The day the big blizzard hit in north cali. So…definitely unideal circumstances, kind of wish they would’ve waited. I upgraded my shipping. Paid like..$80 or something for overnight USPS. Took 3 days anyway. Had no tracking updates for the first 2 days, besides them being in Sacramento the first day. Finally get here and one was dead (they sent 4 I guess for extra warmth or as a bonus) and it was a pile of mush. Two of them seemed a little bit smaller than the 3rd, but nothing crazy. They were also a bit less active.

 

[Leatherworker]

The place that shipped the chicks?
It was in the middle of that long first post:

Thank you, I saw that later.

 

[Clodill4rel]

I'll be honest shipping is hard on chicks and even harder on bantams!


Straight scam artist.. I never got any chick or my money back.. about $350.. posted about it in other threads here on BYC. Very likely still have all my proof, they said they were refunding but never did and my credit card company wouldn't stop payment since I waited long enough to comply with FLF policy.. if anyone files a claim against them.. I may join in, pm me.

FB is NOT trustworthy either.


Lavender is NOT one of the lethal genes. But it does go to show not to believe everything your told.

It's possible they are less hardy than some possibly less inbred colors.. bantam lav ameraucana almost all passed while bantam wheaten ameraucana almost all survived the same shipment.

Express shipping whether paid for or not is NOT valid to my location.. period. I still have to pay it for sellers that require it.. knowing full well my shipping time will be the same.

Spread the word.. Do NOT buy from FEATHER LOVER FARMS!

When I first started our chicks I bought 3 lavender olive eggers from them they sent 4 one was dead. They are now two years old and are by far the worst in egg quality and their feathers look horrible most of the time. They are also mean and not friendly at all to any of our other hens. They never have laid any olive colored eggs and we did hatch some out which we regret too because of the quality of them. But they did breed true to the lavender coloring. Eggs are all a lighter brown color and they said they were suppose to be a dark olive really cool coloring. I’ll never buy from them again! Oh and yes they were very expensive and I paid for the extra shipping which was even more expensive.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

I'm not sure if this is the same company you mentioned but they do say that they sell rare chicken breeds. The Ayam Cemani is only found in the U.S. and Europe and if you read this post, you might realize that the Dong Tao chicken is also another rare bird. They say because of it's rarity, it costs $2,000. But you aren't looking for rare chicken breeds, you're looking for silkies. I'll continue looking at this site to see if it's a reliable source to buy chickens from.