Sand Hill Preservation Center

[ki4got]

well i can't say i've had that experience. my estimated shipping was mid june. i got an email saying that due to better hatch rates than expected, it may be a bit earlier. i got them april 9. and they do call the day they ship and notify you. it was awkward for me, as i'd just hatched out 30 dorkings, only to get a call that i've got more on the way. so needless to say i was up to my eyeballs in chicks for a while, where i'd planned on having one batch out of the house and free ranging, before the next was due. but i managed.

 

[NYREDS]

I get it. But why bother having a website with availability lists if you're never going to update it? Why bother having an email if takes them 2 weeks to say a few unhelpful words? Besides...the 2 people I know who did get a hold of her via phone told me she was very unpleasant and short with them. If they want to better business (and preserve rare birds) they need to change a few things. I myself and a few others I know would gladly have bought quite a few birds from them had it not been for their lack of customer service.

Demand for their birds exceeds their ability to supply them. I think they'll continue without you. I've dealt with them twice & both experiences were positive including their communication.

edited by staff

 

[snowpetals907]

No need to be rude. I'm just sharing my experience. I'm sure there are good ones....however, everyone I know has had only bad ones with them. I don't expect anything to be *kissed* as you put it. The only thing I ever wanted to know was what their availability was...which they couldn't even provide. They are losing a lot of money, not just from me, but from quite a few others. Their loss.

edited by staff

 

[NYREDS]

They may be losing your money but they still have more request for birds than they have birds to sell so it's not really a loss is it?

 

[snowpetals907]

Perhaps. But by losing customers (no not just me) they are losing money they could be used to improve their stock, obtain more breeds, and hire some help that would make their jobs a lot easier

 

[EweSheep]

the laws of supply and demand.

Linda was very nice to me in emails and she was telling me stories how she remembered being near my town. That was a long time ago. It was in the winter when she emailed me so obviously their slow days.

Sandhill will eventually be behind in technology...many more business are going credit cards, and checks and cash may be out in twenty years (if they can resolve issues with paper money for people who wants to pay with cash or poor people with no bank accounts). If Sandhill don't get on with the times, they will be losing out.

I know customer service and email response time sucks but it was clearly stated in their website and brochures. With growing numbers of breeders raising certain breeds, we have better options in getting rare breeds from the breeders than Sandhill.

There has been past posts on Sandhill on BYC forums...you as a buyer have the decision where, how and what you want from the hatchery/breeder and what your goals are. I personally won't buy anything (but the American breeds) from them due to the fact they are not breeding for standard of perfection and why would I want to take more time and money to heavily cull and buy more chicks to fufill my 12 hen per breed stock? I'd go to the breeder who has eliminated most of the flaws found in Sandhill's birds and be able to work with the standards and not having "any throwbacks".

IMO, they are just like another hatchery but in limited supply.

 

[Narragansett]

NYREDS is right. They don't need me, and it's obvious, and I don't need them. I admire what they do, and some of the breeds that they are promoting you really can't find anywhere else. I choose to deny myself having them rather than accept what I see as unreasonable treatment. Their policies are quite clear about their limitations, although I do wonder why on earth they keep some breeds which are in absolutely no danger, if they are so miserable from being overworked. I'd never expect them to take the time to speculate for me about availability. For that, I just need to place an order. Despite the good work that they do, I wonder in the end how worth it it will be for them if they are so disliked while doing it.

 

[EweSheep]

Miserable being overworked? Disliked doing it?

Not sure but we all have days like that when we get so bogged down in other things and thinking, why in the heck I got chickens for? Then you know the next minute, ah ha moment, yes, I got them because ____________!

If they have too much on their plates, it is not a bad idea to pull out several breeds in the back burner. Review what the customers' best picks are that are selling very well. If a breed is not selling well in the last few years, and it is just "a project" to them, they can sell it out and get more rare breeds.

Sometimes they just don't know when to stop when things get over their heads. It can happen to anyone. Like every new breed that comes along, it waxes and wanes with time.

 

[Narragansett]

Despite my criticism, they don't strike me as the type who don't know when to stop, getting in over their head without realizing it. Fools do that,
and children. All the more reason why I don't understand how they can be so unreasonable. These are not stupid people.

Breeding only what sells well and is popular goes against all that they are trying to do in breed preservation. It's exactly why a lot of these breeds became scarce in the first place. Sandhill was around long before most backyard chicken owners even knew a Leghorn from a so-called Easter Egger. Catering to fads driven by the breed of the month crowd is not what breed preservation is all about.

 

[EweSheep]

Despite my criticism, they don't strike me as the type who don't know when to stop, getting in over their head without realizing it. Fools do that,
and children. All the more reason why I don't understand how they can be so unreasonable. These are not stupid people.

Breeding only what sells well and is popular goes against all that they are trying to do in breed preservation. It's exactly why a lot of these breeds became scarce in the first place. Sandhill was around long before most backyard chicken owners even knew a Leghorn from a so-called Easter Egger. Catering to fads driven by the breed of the month crowd is not what breed preservation is all about.

That is VERY true! Preservation breeders (not too many of them tho) would do just that just to get on the bandwagon to get the most out of their money before it goes to bust with so many people breeding them.

Sandhill used to be the "important" breeder for RARE breeds. Greenfire Farms is another one right now for rare of rarest breeds not found here in the US. These two different rare breed breeders both have different marketing stragities (sp) and both of them work hard in getting customers to buy their chicks or eggs.