I know this is an old thread but I think it's important to keep reviews about this hatchery (or any hatchery for that matter) current. I first learned of Heartland Hatchery last spring through their craigslist ads. Heartland is about an hour away from me and his chick days are held nearly every weekend at several locations anywhere from 30 min. to 1 1/2 hour drive from me. I really liked the idea of buying from a local hatchery rather than having chicks mailed to me, so I started researching their track record and that's what brought me to this thread. I was already a lurker on BYC at that time but had not yet joined.
Now for my experience with Heartland. I'll admit that I was genuinely concerned after reading this thread, but there was enough positive input to encourage me to at least check out his chicks in person. I wasn't ready for my chicks until late summer and it was pretty hot. I knew what breeds I wanted and how many so I called Allen to find out if he would have what I wanted at his next chick day. I got his voice mail and even though I told him there was no need to call me back, he did return my call within a couple of hours. Allen assured me that he would have plenty of chicks available in the breeds I wanted.
On that particular weekend Allen's schedule had him in Paola on Friday which is about 45 minutes from Heartland. Then on Saturday he was in Warrensburg in the morning (about 1 1/2 hours from Heartland), then in Harrisonville in the afternoon (about an hour from Warrensburg). Harrisonville was the only location I was going to be able to make it to. I figured that if his chicks were weak or ill they would surely be showing signs of distress after being dragged all that distance in the heat for two days. When I arrived Allen was very friendly and professional, his chicks were all bright eyed, alert and very active. They were chirping like crazy and jumping from box to box. Allen had his hands full trying to keep them sorted. I may have had no experience with chickens at that point, but it didn't require an ornithologist to tell that those chicks were all very healthy.
I wanted only five pullets but everyone told me to expect to lose one or two and expect a surprise roo or two, so we got eight to be safe. As promised, Allen had plenty of chicks in the breeds I wanted. We experienced none of the common chick illnesses and they did fantastic from day 1. We are now 5 months in with no issues, have sustained zero losses and all of them turned out to be pullets as promised. They are laying well too. I have no regrets about buying from Heartland and when I'm ready to add to my flock next year I will not hesitate to go back to Heartland.
The one and only negative point I would give is that the Amerucana I asked for turned out to be an Easter Egger. This is probably my own fault however because I didn't realize at the time that most hatcheries sell Easter Eggers as "Amerucana" and I should have let him know that I was specifically wanting a true Amerucana. Having said that, I wouldn't trade my little EE for anything, she is a really neat bird.