i would like to know if his flock is show quality ? if so i plan to buy some from him
dick horstman
- Thread starter greg zechman
- Start date
My experience with Mr. Horstman and his birds left much to be desired. I ordered chicks from 7 different sources last spring, he was the first person I ordered from and I received his chicks last. I ordered early January and got the chicks in mid April after a couple delays.
I was told 4-6wks if I ordered that day and when that time had elapsed (late February) I emailed to inquire and the response was "I am planning on setting your eggs tomorrow".
After a couple weeks (mid-March) I decided to ask if he was indeed able to set the eggs and was told they would hatch on March 19th. On the 20th I was informed that my chicks would not be coming that day and that the next hatch date is April 2nd...which is my birthday and coincidentally a time that I spend out of state every year. I told him that doesn't work for me and a longer story shortened, received the birds April 20th.
Now, keep in mind that I'd been brooding chicks all spring by the time these came and I'd had no problems thus far. I'm one of the most paranoid people you'd meet about disease and I doubt most folks could even imagine how much of a chore it is to bring in new stock the way I did last year, especially in the winter. I take notes daily so that I might be able to diagnose if needed...or write in detail about certain ventures
Day 2 after receiving his chicks they started dying, sometimes 2 a day. Everyone's seen pasty butt but the ratio of chicks in this batch that experienced it was very high. I received 22 chicks of 2 separate breeds and when the deaths had stopped I watched them for a bit longer before noticing other issues and then decided to ask Mr. Horstman for assistance. I was sincerely looking for help because I had no recent experience with what was happening. Birds were all over the place in relation to size and a few were obviously not what I had ordered. He stated that the odd birds looked like mutts and that some of them could of been a week old when he sent them, which is something I frown on. He offered to replace any that died or weren't pure or to refund my money. At that point I wasn't at all concerned about any past monetary expenses, I was searching for a reason to not cull every one of them versus introducing them to the property. With all the possibilities of what could be wrong, I wasn't about to have more chicks sent. I didn't get the help I was searching for and I eventually put them on the ground but kept them isolated 3 acres away...talk about a PITA! Within a year I was down to 7 of his birds, but I should note that by then I'd become the quickest culler in the midwest. If a bird looked ill in any manner, especially in that flock, they were dealt with instantly. The mutts and one of the RIR's were the only birds to lay...in 11 months! Around that time frame one of the mutts developed diarrhea and that was the flame that lit my fuse because I decided to just cull them all. I obviously regret that I didn't cull them the first week...hindsight .
I will say that the Partridge Rocks that made it up until that point were very nice looking birds.
My last correspondence with him I left my phone number stating that if he felt this situation was deserving of a phone call to please feel welcome to call.
This was just my experience and I debated posting but I thought it unfair if I didn't. A simple phone call could of made all the difference.
I was told 4-6wks if I ordered that day and when that time had elapsed (late February) I emailed to inquire and the response was "I am planning on setting your eggs tomorrow".
After a couple weeks (mid-March) I decided to ask if he was indeed able to set the eggs and was told they would hatch on March 19th. On the 20th I was informed that my chicks would not be coming that day and that the next hatch date is April 2nd...which is my birthday and coincidentally a time that I spend out of state every year. I told him that doesn't work for me and a longer story shortened, received the birds April 20th.
Now, keep in mind that I'd been brooding chicks all spring by the time these came and I'd had no problems thus far. I'm one of the most paranoid people you'd meet about disease and I doubt most folks could even imagine how much of a chore it is to bring in new stock the way I did last year, especially in the winter. I take notes daily so that I might be able to diagnose if needed...or write in detail about certain ventures
Day 2 after receiving his chicks they started dying, sometimes 2 a day. Everyone's seen pasty butt but the ratio of chicks in this batch that experienced it was very high. I received 22 chicks of 2 separate breeds and when the deaths had stopped I watched them for a bit longer before noticing other issues and then decided to ask Mr. Horstman for assistance. I was sincerely looking for help because I had no recent experience with what was happening. Birds were all over the place in relation to size and a few were obviously not what I had ordered. He stated that the odd birds looked like mutts and that some of them could of been a week old when he sent them, which is something I frown on. He offered to replace any that died or weren't pure or to refund my money. At that point I wasn't at all concerned about any past monetary expenses, I was searching for a reason to not cull every one of them versus introducing them to the property. With all the possibilities of what could be wrong, I wasn't about to have more chicks sent. I didn't get the help I was searching for and I eventually put them on the ground but kept them isolated 3 acres away...talk about a PITA! Within a year I was down to 7 of his birds, but I should note that by then I'd become the quickest culler in the midwest. If a bird looked ill in any manner, especially in that flock, they were dealt with instantly. The mutts and one of the RIR's were the only birds to lay...in 11 months! Around that time frame one of the mutts developed diarrhea and that was the flame that lit my fuse because I decided to just cull them all. I obviously regret that I didn't cull them the first week...hindsight .
I will say that the Partridge Rocks that made it up until that point were very nice looking birds.
My last correspondence with him I left my phone number stating that if he felt this situation was deserving of a phone call to please feel welcome to call.
This was just my experience and I debated posting but I thought it unfair if I didn't. A simple phone call could of made all the difference.
- Jan 14, 2008
- 5,644
- 484
- 303
No one that sells chicks will have Dark Brahma Bantams as good as those you'll get from Dick. You can probably buy adult birds from someone that will be better than some of the chicks you'll get from Dick but you'll pay a lot more for them.
Dick maintains quality flocks of birds with the potential to produce show winners. As Fred said, not every chick produced by quality birds will be a show winner. If that's your expectation you'll be disappointed no matter where you buy.
I'd also add that "show quality" is a term that's fairly unique to BYC. It's not a term that's used much elsewhere in the poultry world.
Generally serious breeders recognize that there's some work involved on their part i n order to produce show winning birds. They will buy well bred breeding stock, hatch lots of chicks, cull ruthlessly & hopefully produce an occasional winner. People who want to buy winners w/o doing any of the work generally don't last long & never accomplish much.
Dick maintains quality flocks of birds with the potential to produce show winners. As Fred said, not every chick produced by quality birds will be a show winner. If that's your expectation you'll be disappointed no matter where you buy.
I'd also add that "show quality" is a term that's fairly unique to BYC. It's not a term that's used much elsewhere in the poultry world.
Generally serious breeders recognize that there's some work involved on their part i n order to produce show winning birds. They will buy well bred breeding stock, hatch lots of chicks, cull ruthlessly & hopefully produce an occasional winner. People who want to buy winners w/o doing any of the work generally don't last long & never accomplish much.
- Jun 25, 2014
- 19
- 2
- 24
To me it was just the principal that I had paid, there was a shipping date it didn't happen. I emailed, I called, no response. In the mean time I see where two people had made contact with him by email and they were told they would have eggs or birds in a week. Did my emails just magically dissappear. I know the money I sent didn't. I have no problem waiting on birds or hey I can't have them out on that day or I'm sorry but it will have to wait until the fall.
Most of the birds I have seen are a good quality. The term show quality suggests a ready made bird to take to shows. It also suggests such "show ready" birds will be hatched. This is not the case. Even from stock that is top quality, not all the birds will be show worthy and certainly not all the offspring. You might not get any. It might best be seen as a place to start, a place to selectively breed to achieve the loftier goals.
As posted above, much of this will also depend on the breed you are seeking. It may or may not be the case that for a breed you are seeking that Dick's birds would be the absolute best starting point. That would be true of almost any person who keeps many, many breeds. They won't all be the near the top.
As posted above, much of this will also depend on the breed you are seeking. It may or may not be the case that for a breed you are seeking that Dick's birds would be the absolute best starting point. That would be true of almost any person who keeps many, many breeds. They won't all be the near the top.
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- Aug 12, 2013
- 182
- 25
- 88
Stuff happens, but if I buy chickens from you, and you tell me they are going to be shipped on such and such a day, and that day comes and goes, and no chicks and no communication from you that there was a problem, well, that's not acceptable. Problems happen. But you have to communicate.
From what I heard he's got good stock that is SQ but the breeds he offers isn't my choice of the breeds, so I can't say.
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- Thread starter
- #4
thank you for the replies...the breed in question is the dark brahma bantam....i am not good enough with the standards to know..but i am learning for this breed......if his do not meet the top of the line...whos line gives me the best chance.....thank you greg
- Thread starter
- #6
MY HOPE HERE IS TO BE ABLE TO BREED A BETTER BIRD....I HAVE THE INCUBATORS.AND THE RESOURCES ....IT SEEMS THAT MY STUDYING OF THE BREEDER IN QUESTION WAS CORRECT....I WAS JUST CHECKING WITH YOU FOLKS IF YOU MIGHT HAD HEARD OF ANYBODY ELSE......THANK YOU KINDLY........GREG.....
PS I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE CHICKEN...BIRD ..BUSINESS FOR TWO YEARS DUE TO MULTIPLE DEATHS IN THE FAMILY AND ALSO MY OWN HEALTH PROBLEMS.
PS I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE CHICKEN...BIRD ..BUSINESS FOR TWO YEARS DUE TO MULTIPLE DEATHS IN THE FAMILY AND ALSO MY OWN HEALTH PROBLEMS.
- Jan 14, 2008
- 5,644
- 484
- 303
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