reviews on hoover's hatchery?

[apryl29]

Do you really want to know?

I just received my chicks from Hoover's Hatchery, through Tractor Supply, yesterday (Thursday). When I went to the post office (10 minutes after they received them), there was no chirps or movement coming from the box. Even the post master was upset. When I got them home 5 minutes later, I discovered three DOA and the rest barely holding on. After working all morning & afternoon hand watering (Electrolytes) them, three more have passed. All in all, six of 11 chicks have died in the hours since receiving them. Come to find out, from a post somewhere here, they shipped them out during a blizzard. Unsurprisingly, I don't give them a high rating

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I don't have a good review of them either. They sent my 11 chicks out at the end of Feb and 4 were flat out dead when I opened the box, 2 were awake and up, and 5 more were barely moving. 1 of the 5 died on the way to my parent's house, the other 4 died over the next 2 days despite all attempts to save them. We ended up w 2 survivors. They did refund me the entire amount for the order. Also, they shipped my babies out late Tuesday night from Iowa and they didn't get to me until 7am on Friday, in Ohio. I'm not saying don't order from them, but consider the temp as babies need to be kept pretty warm in the early weeks and travel time. Another hatchery I've looked into ships them next day delivery which seems way more humane.

 

[Chick-Rock]

I

I just received my patch of 10 unsexed turkey chicks broiler. All healthy little thirsty but all health and eating I attached pictures after I unwrapped the box.

ordered from Hoover hatchery for the first time even though I couldn't believe their cheap prices coupled with no reviews so I wasn't sure about them but I ordered any way.

 

[apryl29]

Glad to hear you had a good experience. They often put a couple extras in there to account for casualties and for extra warmth.

 

[apryl29]

Ordering chicks in febuary and march is very risky! The hatchery cant control the weather or if the shipper keeps them warm. This last winter was a cold one and those were very bad months. So not all the blame is the hatcheries!

True, but as a first time buyer I didn't know they send them out no matter what, something they should note when you order. I'd asked the cashier at TSC about chicks (they were sold out already & had no idea when they'd get more) and she said her grandfather always ordered from them and never had a problem. We'd had a very warm spell in early Feb, but that week our temps went from mid 70's down to 20's. They've been doing this long enough to know that if they ship out chicks when it's 20 degrees that many won't make it. When I called about my chicks they had 2 people who were dedicated to dealing with the delivery deaths from Tractor Supply orders. So it's not like they were surprised about it. I offered to send them photos for proof and she said it's not necessary. Delivery deaths are not uncommon. Plus, I feel like they shouldn't be shipping out chicks that are going to take 2+ days to arrive at their destination. I'm in Ohio, my chicks shipped from Iowa. They were boxed up on Tuesday night and I didn't get them until Friday morning. 2 1/2 days in a box seems long considering a more local hatchery guarantees them delivered the next day. It's not an issue w/ their quality of birds, the 2 survivors I had are good birds, it's a shipping issue. I know they HAVE to ship the chicks when they are born, but they should be able to hold orders for areas where it's unlikely for the chicks to survive. If they can't ship them so they stay warm then they shouldn't allow orders from certain areas until they can. They should also say specifically where the birds will be shipping from, not hide it on another tab in the description. For some reason I assumed the hatchery would be in my state.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I think to them it makes more sense to ship them regardless of the temps. If they hold on to them, they can't ship them and either have to have they can sell them locally or they'll have to cull them since they can't keep hundreds of chicks each week to grow out. There is a hatchery that sends unsold chicks (including all the extra sexed males) to a farm that raises them for a food bank, but that is an atypical arrangement. Even if they have to refund and reship a few, they still don't have to deal with all the chicks that are held back and trying to fill a full week's worth of orders at a later date.

 

[apryl29]

Which makes sense.. I guess maybe when you're placing an order they should say 'You're outside our 1 day shipping area' or something so you can decide if you want to risk it. When I placed my order it was beautiful and sunny, but then when my babies shipped a week later temps had taken a major down turn, esp at night. Also, when mine were shipped I was never given an ETA and my tracking info kept changing. It told me 2 nights in a row that it was in St Paul, MN. Then the night before they were delivered it told me they were in CLE and St Paul. I guess it's more of a lesson that I learned the hard way and want people to know before they order, esp since if they're looking for info about the hatchery they've probably never ordered chicks online before. I was told by a couple different places that farmers and suppliers don't really care all that much about delivery loss, they just reorder and/or get their $$ back. It's just business to them.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Yes, the chicks are seen as a commodity, not actual lives being gambled with. It just comes down to the money and profits.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Most of my Hoover's chicks are sick and the mystery chick was a Cornish X.
Customer service was snippy and unhelpful.
Do not recommend.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

What was your experience like?

That's really a 180 of my experience with them.

 

[wcfinklized]

I'm awaiting mine from them.