Hoover hatchery? Any good?

[chikN addict]

I ordered 31 chicks from through e-fowl who goes through Hoovers. It was a mix of Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers and Barred Rocks. They arrived the day after they shipped which was great. One was not doing well right off the batt but everyone was alive. That one passed away that night and four others passed as well within a couple of days. We were going through a cold snap in WY so I am not sure if that was part of the reason we lost some or if they were just weak birds. We got them under the heat lamp right away with food and water. The weak looking ones were fed electrolytes with an eyedropper. I had fantastic customer service through e-fowl who refunded my money right away and were very nice about the whole thing. For my second batch of chickens I ordered a few Welsummers and Broilers directly through Hoovers. They haven't arrived yet but I'm hoping for the best. I did contact their customer service to ask about extras because we lost 20% the last time we got chicks through them and they said they would - who knows if they will though... I had asked them what they did with their extra roosters and they said they typically gave them away. I said I would happily take some if they wanted to throw them in the box with my order I had paid for and I would raise them as meat birds. That person was very friendly and asked how many I would take. I said 25 and she said fine and that when the order came through, she'd add it in as a note. I called back about a week before my order was supposed to ship to confirm and got someone else who all but yelled at me saying they never gave away anything... It was an odd experience. The chicks who are alive all seem healthy and have taken to being tamed well. One of the easter eggers will even jump into my hand when I put it into the brooder. I'm hoping for the best with this next batch.

 

[heavyhanded]

We received all the chicks alive after many headaches and inconveniences, but the customer service is terrible!

 

[heavyhanded]

We received all the chicks alive after many headaches and inconveniences, but the customer service is terrible!

 

[tthekraut]

I just a order with them. Someone called to ask if they could replace some buff Orpington with golden nuggets since they will be out of buffs until spring. They let me know about golden nuggets and were really friendly.

They shipped today so I am hoping for the best. I ordered through purelypoultry so I have heard the good and bad about both. The lady that called was really nice even though she was busy.

 

[cruml]

I work at Tsc in South Dakota and that is where we get all of our chicks from during our chick days. That is where all my chicks are from and haven't had a problem with survival from chick stage

 

[Freethinker77]

I know this is old, but I always read old comments anytime I am looking for answers.
So I have been buying chicks from hoover's for years and never had a problem. Free shipping got my attention quick and I've bought A Lot! Of chicks from them. Most are still thriving and doing well years later. I start buying my chicks and of October early November all the way until May. Well this chick season got off to a really bad start that has stopped me dead in my tracks from buying from hoover's. Black Australorps are my favorite chickens so I decided it was time to add some more. So I ordered 20 of them. They arrived 2 days later, 8 DOA and 3 more died before the day was up. The next day I lost all remaining chicks except for 1. Keep in mind. I've been raising chickens for 15 years and fair to say I know what the heck to do or how to care for chicks. So I called hoover's and let them know what happened. They were very nice and offered to ship out replacements a week later. I was perfectly okay with that. I guess what they didn't know is that I'm not knew to chickens and know chicken breeds pretty well. When my next batch arrived, all were fine and living, but their was a huge problem, one that as an experienced hatchery such as hoover's it was immediately obvious to me that it was not an accident and really rubbed me the wrong way as I could never do what they did to anyone. My replacements were supposed to be 20 Australorps, well 16 of those had Bright yellow feet meaning they slipped in Jersey Giants thinking I was a fool and wouldn't tell the difference. Now I love Jerseys, already had plenty. The problem, I expect to get what I paid for. I expect to deal with good, honest people and once you fail at that, I'm done never to trust you again. So I'm hear to say that I've gotten a lot of great birds from hoover's and have had wonderful experiences with them, but hoover's will always scam, cheat, lie and send the wrong chicks if they don't have replacements for their dead ones on hand and that is enough for me to never want to hand them my money again. I did call them and wanted nothing in return. I simply wanted them to know that what they had done was wrong and it was caught because I know my chickens and that they've lost a very long time customer that has spent a lot of money over the years with them.
The Jerseys and Australorps are now 6 months old and both breeds are big, healthy and beautiful. Of course Jerseys are huge and grew a lot faster already with huge, bright red combs.... I still look at my birds and shake my head wondering how many other people have they pulled a switch on simply taking advantage of so very little details chick give.
Anyone who don't know, there is an easy way to tell Jerseys from Lorps and it's all in the feet. Jerseys have all black or dark olive green legs with bright or deep yellow feet. Lorps have white or pink under feet. As they start to grow you can definitely tell the difference as Jerseys grow, fill out and Mature a lot faster.
Hope my experience helps, although it's a very mixed one.