Contacting Brau's Hatchery in MN - UPDATE see post #2

[wordgirl]

I have two phone numbers for Brau's Hatchery in Brainerd, MN: 218-764-2876 and 218-764-2655. I've called both. They both have the same answering machine message - a lady who doesn't mention anything about Brau's hatchery.... But I am pretty sure they are really for Brau's because I got the number (the second one, anyway) from my feed store who is currently doing business with them. Anyway...I called first on Tuesday and nobody answered. Then I called on Friday, got a busy signal for one of the numbers, then called again, no one answered and I left a message. It's now Tuesday, and though I was out of the house yesterday, I am pretty sure (unless they used a different number) that they didn't call me. I called again just now (both numbers), nobody answered so I left a message again.

Has anyone else had trouble getting ahold of them? I know it's not quite "prime season" for them yet, but they do advertise as selling broilers year-round, so wouldn't they answer hatchery calls in March?

Please know that I am not trying to give them a bad name or anything - I LOVE their stock and have ordered from them (through my hatchery) before. And their prices are fantastic.

 

[wordgirl]

UPDATE -

Okay - this is really funny/strange! And it's not Brau's fault at all! I've been calling the wrong number! Here's the story:

I decided to try and call their number again this afternoon, so I dialed the number and the lady answered. I asked her if it was the number for Brau's hatchery and she told me very nicely that, no, this is a clothing store. ?!?!?!? Huh? I apologized, dumbfounded, and hung up. I came downstairs and told my mom that I'd been calling the wrong number. We were totally confused - how could two different numbers that so many different people had referenced both be wrong and go to the wrong person??? So we looked at the number I'd used and googled and it looked like I'd been calling the same number that everybody had said was right - even my feed store who is working with them! We couldn't figure it out. So I called the feed store and explained what had happened and the nice woman agreed that that was really strange and offered to call the number and see what happened. So I waited a couple of minutes and she called me back. She told me that it had worked, but you have to dial a (1) first. So I tried it and got a "cannot connect" message (which makes sense, since the number's out of my area code). I grabbed the phone card and then tried it again. And guess what - I got Brau's Hatchery, without any trouble at all! The woman that answered (right away) was very nice and helpful and was able to answer all of my questions.

What doesn't quite make sense to me is that the two numbers that I've found for Brau go to the same (wrong) person? It seems so funny that she would have the same last seven digits in both her home and cell phone as Brau's hatchery's two numbers. I think what might have happened (not sure why, exactly, though) is that when I dialed the number, my phone automatically decided to just try the number with my local area code instead of the Brainerd area code...but that doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't it just stop and give me the "cannot connect" message?

Anyway, now that I know how to get ahold of Brau's Hatchery, now I can get on with ordering my chicks!

Sorry to bother everyone with my funny problem.

 

[suzeqf]

It's not that weird, where i live our number is almost identical to a number in a neighboring state the only difference is the area code i can't tell you how many times i've had people call and want to order a pizza

 

[wordgirl]

Quote:

That would be funny! The poor lady - I even left two messages on her phone - one asking for July hatch dates.

No wonder she didn't call me back.

 

[ralleia]

You're calling in mid-March and asking about July hatch dates?? Talk about countin' your chickens before they hatch--even before the eggs have been laid!

No wonder she told you she was a clothing store!

 

[Pascal PicklePants]

A little off topic, but how does their stock compare to the larger hatcheries? They are within driving distance for me and I need some pullets to offset the statistically improbable number of roos I hatched over the winter. Just thought I'd post here instead of starting a new thread.

 

[wordgirl]

Quote:
Thank you for asking here!

I am not a poultry exhibitor to any extent, so I'm not sure how their stock would measure up in terms of conformation and things like that. And I also have not ordered from any other hatchery, so I can't 'compare' to any place else, but I've gotten a total of thirty-one chicks from them over the last two years - Gold Links (comets), Black Sex Links, Buff Orpingtons, Australorps, and Barred Rocks. All of the chicks have been sexed correctly, and I've only lost one chick (from all of those, not including one that my puppy killed) that died at 11 days old, and I couldn't say whether it was the hatchery's fault or not. They've all seemed very healthy and Brau's prices are very reasonable. If you want, I have a link to a breed sheet (not sure whether it includes every single breed they hatch or just the ones they deliver to this particular feed store) that has the prices and such stuff on it. They deliver to a number of feed stores (that's how I've done it before - which may be why the chicks were so healthy from the beginning - I think they drive them directly from the hatchery (at least to mine, I think) ) if you'd rather go that route, or you can have them mailed to your post office, or you can pick them up at the hatchery (which I may actually be doing this year). The ones that I got in April of 2009 were wonderful layers that following winter (I got around 13-14 eggs from 17 average daily), although they actually tapered off into the spring and summer (I'm not sure why...). I would highly recommend Brau's Hatchery.