I recall now what happened to my friends order. They told him they couldn't fill his order because something killed all of their Delawares. They never did give him a refund only a credit.
Quality of birds from Sand Hill Perseveration?
- Thread starter PioneerChicks
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #32
I'd recommend @cmom for all your Rhode Island Red needs. I'm not sure of any Holland breeders. Have you checked the BYC Breeder Directory? Speckled Sussex aren't super hard to find, although quality birds might be a chore to find. You should just go with Jubilee English Orpingtons.lol
I look more into the breeder's director (I have only skimmed through it). You're definitely one of the top on my list, cmom!
My experience with Sandhill was fine. Of course, I went in after reading their fine print and their updates, so I wasn’t surprised by them.
we ordered several breeds to fill up a 25 chick order. We got 28 chicks. 3 died, leavingus with 25. We got about 60% females, so that was a bonus.
All breeds appeared to be pretty good representations of the breeds, show quality?....mmmm not sure but proabably needed some work I’m just not an expert here, but I do have a recent APA guide. Of the APA breeds we received from them, we did get some good birds.
we did get some cream Legbars - laid beautiful eggs!! Unfortunately all three ended up with weird growths, one recovered but the other two we culled. I sent them pics wondering what we were experiencing and they did respond promptly. Of course, just from pics can’t make a firm diagnosis, but Glen (owner) was responsive and interested. None of our other Sandhill birds experienced this issue and none of the rest of our flock did either.
I specifically placed an order with them bc they offer many breeds for a good price. We wanted many breeds, it worked for us.
as far as APA quality or show birds, I hear that a breeder hatches many but keeps maybe 10% as the other 90% have some issue or another, so receiving a non-perfect bird should not shock. As an example, this past fall we ordered all males across 8 breeds from Murray McM. Only 2 of the 16 were decent examples of their respective breeds. Two had wry tail (both same breed) which is a genetic issue in their flock. Two other breeds suffered and died from an unknown ailment, yet all the rest were fine, so a weakness in those two breeds? A genetic issue? Did they come with it? These males were raised in a brand new pen and not near the main flock. When the 4 keepers were added to the main flock, none of the main flock suffered from whatever it was that took down some of the Murray mcM birds. But, things like this happen with chicks...wish it didn’t, but it does.
overall, Sandhill is pretty open about what their objectives are. They never gave me the impression that they were selling immediate show quality or breed perfection - that doesn’t exist within a batch of chicks anyway. Read their fine print. Read their updates. They are apparently working on their pens and building new buildings. There was a long illness experienced by the wife who was in an extended care facility for months, but has recovered and is back. Their staff seems small. The owner, Glenn works as a teacher, I think. They are working on updating their website too.
I would order from them again, but I don’t have plans to right now.
we ordered several breeds to fill up a 25 chick order. We got 28 chicks. 3 died, leavingus with 25. We got about 60% females, so that was a bonus.
All breeds appeared to be pretty good representations of the breeds, show quality?....mmmm not sure but proabably needed some work I’m just not an expert here, but I do have a recent APA guide. Of the APA breeds we received from them, we did get some good birds.
we did get some cream Legbars - laid beautiful eggs!! Unfortunately all three ended up with weird growths, one recovered but the other two we culled. I sent them pics wondering what we were experiencing and they did respond promptly. Of course, just from pics can’t make a firm diagnosis, but Glen (owner) was responsive and interested. None of our other Sandhill birds experienced this issue and none of the rest of our flock did either.
I specifically placed an order with them bc they offer many breeds for a good price. We wanted many breeds, it worked for us.
as far as APA quality or show birds, I hear that a breeder hatches many but keeps maybe 10% as the other 90% have some issue or another, so receiving a non-perfect bird should not shock. As an example, this past fall we ordered all males across 8 breeds from Murray McM. Only 2 of the 16 were decent examples of their respective breeds. Two had wry tail (both same breed) which is a genetic issue in their flock. Two other breeds suffered and died from an unknown ailment, yet all the rest were fine, so a weakness in those two breeds? A genetic issue? Did they come with it? These males were raised in a brand new pen and not near the main flock. When the 4 keepers were added to the main flock, none of the main flock suffered from whatever it was that took down some of the Murray mcM birds. But, things like this happen with chicks...wish it didn’t, but it does.
overall, Sandhill is pretty open about what their objectives are. They never gave me the impression that they were selling immediate show quality or breed perfection - that doesn’t exist within a batch of chicks anyway. Read their fine print. Read their updates. They are apparently working on their pens and building new buildings. There was a long illness experienced by the wife who was in an extended care facility for months, but has recovered and is back. Their staff seems small. The owner, Glenn works as a teacher, I think. They are working on updating their website too.
I would order from them again, but I don’t have plans to right now.
I originally bought some Rhode Island Whites from a gal who bought them from Sand Hill. This was probably around 15 years ago MOL. She decided she didn't want them and I was looking for some and a friend put me in touch with her. They were very nice birds. I have bred them to the SOP. The chicks I got a few years ago weren't as nice as the originals. I don't think they breed to the SOP anymore. They may say they do but people I have heard from have been disappointed with birds they have gotten from them and have had issues too. I posted in a previous post my dealings with them. I won't order any birds from them again.
I got my start many years ago from quality breeders. Lots of good info. My birds came from Matt.
http://jimspetsandpoultry.weebly.com/
Bob was a BYC member who gave me a lot of good advice sadly he passed away a few years ago but I still value his comments.
https://bloslspoutlryfarm.tripod.com/
https://www.poultryshowcentral.com/Breeder_Directory.html
https://www.poultryshowcentral.com/Gold_Standard_Breeder_Directory.html
http://jimspetsandpoultry.weebly.com/
Bob was a BYC member who gave me a lot of good advice sadly he passed away a few years ago but I still value his comments.
https://bloslspoutlryfarm.tripod.com/
https://www.poultryshowcentral.com/Breeder_Directory.html
https://www.poultryshowcentral.com/Gold_Standard_Breeder_Directory.html
This is true, but the 90% may have a flaw only as far as exhibition may go but not a serious flaw to the average backyard chicken owner such as having an extra point on their comb. I hatch out a few hundred chicks every year. The ones I don't show or use for breeding go into what I call my general population coops and pens. I do sell eggs.
Here are some pictures of my birds.
An RIR hen. She was a champion.
Some of my cockerels. The backs should be fairly long and wide down the back to the tail.
A young Rose Comb male and female below.
- Thread starter
- #38
They are beautiful! So different from industry RIRs!
Thank you everybody for your replies and advice!
They look great on paper though.
Sucks
- Thread starter
- #40
I ended up buying from a breeder in Washington who actually sourced her birds from Sandhill a few generations (of chickens) back.
She informed be that the owners of Sandhill have been dealing with severe, life threatening health issues in the past few years.
She informed be that the owners of Sandhill have been dealing with severe, life threatening health issues in the past few years.
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