Anyone buy from nature's hatchery?

[watersoflethe]

i've just ordered from them and were very satisfied.

they took a bit long and yes they are hard to contact. but i just kept calling even if i hit voicemail and eventually they pick up.

about the shipping location i think they are coming from illinois .... i trashed the box so i dont remember anymore very well.

i think with any hatchery if you order the rarer breeds they aren't going to look as well or be as good quality.

i ordered 26 chicks from them and they arrived a week ago. i went with mostly popular chicks.
Black, Red, Gold sex links
black australops
white leghorn
silver laced wyandotte
barred rock
EE
RIR

i also ordered one rarer fayoumi but they didn't get that in and didn't charge me for it.

They are all very healthy. one thing is alhtough they are hard to contact you should call and confirm ship date since they dont really seem to inform you. but once you contact them they are really friendly. they told me they were going to ship on monday and i expected it to be here on wednesday but it was here tuesday...
and the stupid post office just left the box outside my door without even ringing the bell or calling me. luckily i was going somewhere and when i went to the car i heard loud chick cries and found them crying on the porch.

(poor babies were cold)

anyways. the chicks were all extremely healthy more healthier than other hatchery chicks i've had. none was lost on arrival and they look very healthy and BIG. i had one with slight pasty butt that i wiped off the first day and it was fine after that. and one with slight splayed leg that straightened up in my brooder without me having to do anything.


i highly recommend them if you dont mind having to deal with the hard to contactness...

looks wise....i can't really tell until they grow up

i shared the order with someone else and gave them 12 and have 14 for myself. the other family told me its also the healthiest hatchery chicks they've seen. they are only 1 week old and they have already started letting them free range since its hot here in cali and they are so healthy. they told me the chicks already love looking for bugs....

as for me i like letting my chicks have some more feather than this to let them free range since it stresses me out less... i'm a overprotective chicken mother...

but they are doing fine in my brooder but soon look like they might outgrow it... ineeed another brooder

 

[downstownlady]

I had a very good experience with them and am satisfied with the service that I received. I don't give up easily, so if it starts to become a challenge to get ahold of someone I dig in my former secretary heels and "peck, peck, peck" until I get ahold of someone. I really didn't have much trouble, however. My order shipped on the day they said it would. I have 13 chicky babies and all of them have been healthy (knock on wood) since May 25.

 

[silvergirl]

I received one order of chicks in June from NH. Ordering was a bit weird, but I am very satisfied with the chickens. I did have to push to get an order shipped right away. The order came a day earlier than I thought it would. (We are in Wisconsin, so I chose NH as it is closer than McMurray.) I did not get everything I wanted-- and was told would be available (such as Turkens.) I told them just get it close and get them shipped. I think it pays to be a bit flexible as it might allow them get an order on its way faster.

We only lost one chick out of 27 (at about 3 days old--a New Hampshire) and the two Khaki Campbell ducks are just terrific. We did not feed medicated feed due to the ducks. We did have them vaccinated for Marek's. We ordered all female chicks, and a male and female duck. The sexing was accurate. Here's what we ended up with:


12 Dark Cornishes (many of which are really pretty friendly)
2 Black Giants (very friendly)
2 Black Rocks (will come up close but don't like to be picked up)
2 New Hampshires (one died)
2 White Leghorns (very friendly)
2 White Rocks (will come up close but don't like to be picked up)
1 Partridge Rock (likes to be by herself and is the last one in at night--beautiful bird)
4 Easter Eggers (very lovely, friendly. 3 have golden heads/necks, one is more brownish with a whitish neck)

We hand raised/socialized with them in our sunroom in a kiddie pool lined with newspaper until they were about 3 weeks old (ducks included-- I don't recommend that--messy) then moved them to our mobile coop with the brooder light. They were let out onto gravel (close to our house) for about a week before we moved them onto grass.

I just ordered again this week based on an e-mail they sent with rarer breeds. Called and had the rep e-mail the availability list from the previous Friday (this was on Tuesday)--- he said it would be about the same. But, it seems like there is something up with the availability again... I was told it's doable-- but not given a firm ship date. In fact it was a "could be next week or the week after." This order will be for 26 various female chicks and a small straight run of Cornish Crosses.

Nature's Hatchery has been responsive to me for the most part-- not perfect but okay. If I had to guess, the popularity in home chicken raising may be causing growing pains for some of these smaller companies. It would not surprise me if they are a drop shipper, I guess. It's worth noting that I inquired as to the whereabouts of the facility, given the Naperville address (I went to North Central College and was curious where they were located.) I came to find out that they are in Will County.... so that's a bit fishy right there given that Naperville is not in Will County. Maybe they just want to have a Naperville address for status instead of some podunk town no one has ever heard of?

I will try to remember to follow up here with how order number 2 went.

 

[AChickenLover]

I have not had a very good experience with Nature's Hatchery. We ordered 13 babies chickens and 2 baby geese, April 18, 2010. I did not receive my chickens until July 9, 2010. No one called me about the hold up and no one called me when they finally shipped. I did call them after a month to follow up on my order. The gentleman I spoke with was very nice and apologized for the hold up. He was that out of my order, 2 Black Cochin, 5 Silver Lakenvelder, 3 Buff Brahma, 3 buff Orpington, and 2 Tufted Romand Geese, the hold up what the Silver Lakenvelders. He asked me if I would want to change my order or wait for them to hatch more. He then gave me a date of mid June for my shipment since I agreed to wait. Well, I called again in early July and this young man apologized again for my troubles. He said the order is going well and they will ship out on July 7, 2010 and I will receive a call confirming. July 7th came and went and I received no call. So, I called Nature's Hatchery again and was told that they did ship out on July 7th.

I received my babies on July 9, 2010 and this is what I received. 3 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Black Cochin, 2 buff Brahmas, and 8 baby chickens we still to this day do not know what they are. Nor did we receive the 2 Tufted Roman Geese we ordered. I have called and emailed to atleast find out what we did get. And no one has answered us. Guess they are to busy to keep happy customers!

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I am happy with the order I placed with Nature's Hatchery.

Have ended up on the phone with them 3 times and will end up calling about the rest of my order but... The chicks I have gotten were all active upon arrival- did not loose any on the transport or since. Ordered 35 Wyndottes and recieved 36. Looks like to me the 6 boys are all boys and the 30 that were supposed to be girls all are.

I have 30 BLRW on order still and they are expected in August- will end up calling again for conformation.

Their phone answering skills could be improved on but if you leave a message and then follow up reminding them about the previous message you will get someone. While on the phone they are very supportive and helpful. Even changed my order from bantam size to standard size since on the web they only offer bantam. They did not call when the chicks were shipped as I was told they would but all in all I would give them a 4 out of 5 as the chicks are here and well.

 

[Campine Lover]

I ordered in April. They keep on changing the orders. It is august! Customer service guy is nice, but they send them whithout tracking #'s, and NOT overnight! They sent me chicks, which got crushed and sent back (still alive) and those chicks were waiting at the post office for 5 days and nobody called us! We never even got to see those chicks.We FINNALY got them to ship again,(all differant breeds that i WANTED) AND THEY ARE NOT HERE YET AND ITS BEEN DAYS! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

[Campine Lover]

update; box got crushed AGAIN! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

[nolable88]

Quote:
Did you get the " this rarely happens" line? Well they told me the same thing the last time my order was delayed.. They honestly don't seem to have it together. But at that price this is just ridiculous. I think the ones that survived are all roos.. talk about adding salt to the wound...

 

[HyperTree]

someone a while back wanted to know the shipping rate, its $35 for 2-14 and $25 15-25 chicks. and i've yet to order my cicks, i'm waiting till the coop and run is built and everything, but now i'm nervous. i was going with Nature cause theyre the only ones who will ship just 4 chicks to where i live (at least on the sites i've seen)

 

[kulangi]

I ordered 20 chicks from Natures Hatchery with different breeds. I called them the next day to change some of my orders because I was told it was going to take a long time to hatch some chicks. When I received my chicks it was the original choice that I had made. I made several calls as why my order did not get corrected but no response from Nature's Hatchery. Terrible customer service. I am not satisfied with their service.