Greenfire?

[Poultrybreeder]

Does anyone have any information about this site? Good and bad reviews are needed. Thanks!

 

[Pyxis]

Greenfire Farms is a legit business that many people buy from. I've ordered before and not had trouble.

However, because they import a lot of the breeds into the country, they charge big bucks for them. If there's a breed you're interested in, you can probably find it cheaper from a breeder that's already bought from them, and many times you'll get better quality if the breeder has been improving their stock for a couple years.

Or if you're not picky about breed, you can bid on one of their auctions on RBA for a mixed chick package. You'll get the chicks cheaper, but you won't know what you're going to get.

 

[Poultrybreeder]

I just purchased 10 Flarry Eye Grey chicks from them through the RBA earlier today. I started reading things about Greenfire shortly after being very dishonest and not caring about their customers. "Dead or sick chicks, horrible communication. Never getting refunds etc." These were old, so I thought I would ask what the farm is like now.

 

[Nambroth]

I know this is an older thread but wanted to mention my experience. I decided to order from Greenfire last year, for their spring 2018 hatch. I went with them because I needed vaccinated chicks, and wanted to try to get away from the commercial hatcheries. I knew Greenfire is a smaller operation (by a lot) when I ordered, and that it's harder to fill orders of several different breeds when you are a small operation. I think that ordering many different breeds and wanting them to all ship together can really complicate things when you buy from a small farm operation. I went with just one breed to simplify things, and chose Bielefelders for their temperament and auto sexing. I had very good email communication (it appears that only Josette does email, at least in my experience) and had my questions answered in a polite way. I did keep my emails short and to the point, as I know what it's like being busy and sitting down to long emails!

Payment was made via Paypal (you can also use a credit card this way) and was easy to keep track of exactly how much I paid and when. I paid a down payment on the chicks then finished paying them off right before shipping.

I was told when my hatch date would be, and my chicks did indeed hatch on that date. I received an emailed tracking number from them the night that my chicks shipped, and had them in hand less than 24 hours later.
I should note that when I ordered from a hatchery closer to home, it took three days to get them in the mail. I think that since I am so far from Greenfire/Florida that they got right on a flight to me overnight. Shipping was VERY fast, because of this.

Unfortunately, my chicks shipped during a bad storm with unseasonably cold temperatures and winds which is no fault of Greenfire, and the two tiniest/weakest chicks didn't make it past the first week at home as I think they were chilled too much on their short trip to me. The rest are very healthy and doing well, though, and are very friendly. I had one have a vent prolapse for a single day when she was 7 days old, but with treatment she recovered, and this could happen to any chick regardless of source. Greenfire sent 5 extra chicks, 4 of which were female, which I feel is generous given the price of their birds. Even with the loss of the two smallest/weakest birds (RIP little ones) I have more chicks than I ordered. I am also happy that they didn't send a bunch of males as the extras.

Full disclosure: My chickens are pets, so temperament and overall longevity/health are important considerations for me. I'm one of those that will take a bird to the vet if it needs help beyond what I can do at home, and so in the long run the higher price on their chicks pales in comparison to what I have spent at the vet trying to help poorly bred chickens overcome health problems. Time will tell if better sourcing translates to better long term health, for these birds (I do hope so). This is only my experience, and we all keep chickens for different reasons, so your goals might be different than mine.

Greenfire does seem to require a bit more patience than a commercial hatchery that has a large staff and people dedicated to answering calls/emails, but I am happy with them, and barring any trouble with the chicks as they grow, I would personally order again.

 

[Scottiemom]

I know this is an older thread but wanted to mention my experience. I decided to order from Greenfire last year, for their spring 2018 hatch. I went with them because I needed vaccinated chicks, and wanted to try to get away from the commercial hatcheries. I knew Greenfire is a smaller operation (by a lot) when I ordered, and that it's harder to fill orders of several different breeds when you are a small operation. I think that ordering many different breeds and wanting them to all ship together can really complicate things when you buy from a small farm operation. I went with just one breed to simplify things, and chose Bielefelders for their temperament and auto sexing. I had very good email communication (it appears that only Josette does email, at least in my experience) and had my questions answered in a polite way. I did keep my emails short and to the point, as I know what it's like being busy and sitting down to long emails!

Payment was made via Paypal (you can also use a credit card this way) and was easy to keep track of exactly how much I paid and when. I paid a down payment on the chicks then finished paying them off right before shipping.

I was told when my hatch date would be, and my chicks did indeed hatch on that date. I received an emailed tracking number from them the night that my chicks shipped, and had them in hand less than 24 hours later.
I should note that when I ordered from a hatchery closer to home, it took three days to get them in the mail. I think that since I am so far from Greenfire/Florida that they got right on a flight to me overnight. Shipping was VERY fast, because of this.

Unfortunately, my chicks shipped during a bad storm with unseasonably cold temperatures and winds which is no fault of Greenfire, and the two tiniest/weakest chicks didn't make it past the first week at home as I think they were chilled too much on their short trip to me. The rest are very healthy and doing well, though, and are very friendly. I had one have a vent prolapse for a single day when she was 7 days old, but with treatment she recovered, and this could happen to any chick regardless of source. Greenfire sent 5 extra chicks, 4 of which were female, which I feel is generous given the price of their birds. Even with the loss of the two smallest/weakest birds (RIP little ones) I have more chicks than I ordered. I am also happy that they didn't send a bunch of males as the extras.

So, I ordered 4 Bielefelder pullets and 3 LF Cochins from Cackle and then (6 weeks later) ordered 3 pullets and 3 cockerels from Greenfire. The chicks from Cackle are very healthy, friendly, and always curious about anything I am doing. However, I received 3 cockerels and 4 pullets (3+1 extra) from Greenfire, they are very skittish. I lost one GF cockerel that failed to thrive after 2 weeks and now have another one (almost 4 weeks old) I am treating for vitamin E deficiency.
I would love to know how your Bielefelders havery grown up!