SandHill Preservation review

[h2oratt]

My experience with them was less then ideal. We ordered 3 speckled Sussex and got 6 (along with the other birds), which was great because we love that breed. But we also got 4 old muffled old English game as filler which we didn't order or have on the form so we had to research how to keep them and found out they're highly aggressive...which means they could never be kept with the other chickens. On top of that of the 6 SS we got, 3 died within 2 days. Just wouldn't eat or anything. I think next time I order I'll do it through Meyer again

My favorite place is mcmurrays.

 

[Finnie]

My favorite place is mcmurrays.

McMurray's is ok. But all the Redcaps I got from them were weak and sickly. At a year old, I only had one surviving hen, and then she died too. The Sandhill Redcaps are doing great. I would order from both companies again, but would stick with Sandhill if the breeds I wanted were endangered.

 

[h2oratt]

I got a nice email from sandhill. They offering to replace all my blue Orpingtons I ordered last year. They replaced them with blue jersey giants but these are not jersey giants. I finally wrote an email complaining about them. He checked his records and the day my order was packed was the day his wife was seriously ill. He had someone help him. Apparently my order was not the only one messed up. I had no idea what had but now they are adults and they are not jersey giants.

 

[The Moonshiner]

2+ years later I'm still waiting for my refund.

 

[h2oratt]

2+ years later I'm still waiting for my refund.[/QUOTE



Really, I would email him. He answered me right away.

 

[Acre4Me]

This year I placed an order with them. Open for any date, several breeds with several subs listed. Hopefully this works out as we are looking to still experience different breeds. Redcaps were on my Order, as are white Chanticleers, which are the two I’m most interested in. Also ordered Marans, and some Wyandotte’s among a few others. They are still recovering from 2 major events: long term, serious illness of wife (now at home, still gaining strength) and some major losses due to mink (?). So, I’m hoping for what I ordered to arrive alive and healthy. Definitely an interesting list of breeds available, though.

 

[Finnie]

This year I placed an order with them. Open for any date, several breeds with several subs listed. Hopefully this works out as we are looking to still experience different breeds. Redcaps were on my Order, as are white Chanticleers, which are the two I’m most interested in. Also ordered Marans, and some Wyandotte’s among a few others. They are still recovering from 2 major events: long term, serious illness of wife (now at home, still gaining strength) and some major losses due to mink (?). So, I’m hoping for what I ordered to arrive alive and healthy. Definitely an interesting list of breeds available, though.

You reminded me that I never came back on here to tell how my 2018 Sandhill chicks turned out.

My Mille Fleur Leghorns were a complete dissapointment. Not a single one had the mille Fleur color pattern. One cockerel seemed like his color was close, and I was going to hope that the 2 pullets I got were at least split to the necessary genes. So I thought I might get some Mille Fleurs in the next generation. But unfortunately, since I was letting them free range, the good cockerel flew into the neighboring property and got killed by their dog. That left me with a trio that I didn't feel like working with, so I sold them on CL as "mixed color Leghorns". I still have their photos on my phone:

Then as to the Redcaps, I think the males ended up ok. (I don't have photos at the moment.) They are small birds, but I think that's the fate of Redcaps in general in the U.S. They look like typical black breasted red males, with a little bit of lacing on them.

But the females. I ended up with four, but one doesn't count, because she is solid white! So I can't use her, and she makes me afraid that more white will be lurking in the rest, and I can probably expect the odd white bird to always turn up. The 3 colored birds are all different than each other, and I'm not sure if any of the 3 are correct. I'll just have to study up on it, and figure out which one is most correct to go forward with.

So in the end, my opinion became such that I will not be ordering from Sandhill again. It seems like their birds turn out all mixed up. You probably have to resort to mixing things up to save them from extinction. But I don't think they should be sold as pure breeds if they are still in the project stage. Or maybe they had a lot of "oops" breeding that they weren't aware of.

I'm real sorry to hear about his wife's health. That is a tough thing to have to deal with, and it can really ruin folks' ability to carry out their plans and their vocation. I hope she will recover well. That's more important in my book than chickens.

 

[Acre4Me]

You reminded me that I never came back on here to tell how my 2018 Sandhill chicks turned out.

My Mille Fleur Leghorns were a complete dissapointment. Not a single one had the mille Fleur color pattern. One cockerel seemed like his color was close, and I was going to hope that the 2 pullets I got were at least split to the necessary genes. So I thought I might get some Mille Fleurs in the next generation. But unfortunately, since I was letting them free range, the good cockerel flew into the neighboring property and got killed by their dog. That left me with a trio that I didn't feel like working with, so I sold them on CL as "mixed color Leghorns". I still have their photos on my phone:
View attachment 1670115 View attachment 1670116 View attachment 1670117

Then as to the Redcaps, I think the males ended up ok. (I don't have photos at the moment.) They are small birds, but I think that's the fate of Redcaps in general in the U.S. They look like typical black breasted red males, with a little bit of lacing on them.

But the females. I ended up with four, but one doesn't count, because she is solid white! So I can't use her, and she makes me afraid that more white will be lurking in the rest, and I can probably expect the odd white bird to always turn up. The 3 colored birds are all different than each other, and I'm not sure if any of the 3 are correct. I'll just have to study up on it, and figure out which one is most correct to go forward with.

So in the end, my opinion became such that I will not be ordering from Sandhill again. It seems like their birds turn out all mixed up. You probably have to resort to mixing things up to save them from extinction. But I don't think they should be sold as pure breeds if they are still in the project stage. Or maybe they had a lot of "oops" breeding that they weren't aware of.

I'm real sorry to hear about his wife's health. That is a tough thing to have to deal with, and it can really ruin folks' ability to carry out their plans and their vocation. I hope she will recover well. That's more important in my book than chickens.

Thanks for the update! We know we may be in for some variable chicks, but similar to you, it may be just due to the limited genetic supply or mixing. Looks like the health problems began around Mid-March 2018 - at the extremely busy stage of chicks, planting, seeds, etc. Wife only came home in Dec, and is still having some issues. I think there were some problems with helpers mis-filling orders (maybe just seeds?). Anyway, we are interested in trying some new breeds, before settling on certain ones without paying a fortune, so we placed an order. Due to some of their stock not being available 2019 (because of the mink problem), it actually made choosing breeds a little easier.

This year, due to the harsh winter, they will be at least 2 weeks delayed with their first chick orders. I'm hoping that I'll get what I ordered rather than getting them as soon as possible since I did indicate that any ship date was fine for us. We will see!

 

[Finnie]

I think there were some problems with helpers mis-filling orders

I did wonder if this could be the case too.

Wow. 9 months is a long time to be in the hospital, or away from home. I'd expect that to set them back more than the weather would.

I agree with your strategy of being absolutely flexible on dates, and having plenty of alternates for them to work with. Especially if your order contained several breeds. Cuz it can't be easy to coordinate which breeds hatch together, and them all have good hatches. Be sure to come back and update when your chicks arrive. It will be interesting to see what you get.

 

[Acre4Me]

Wow. 9 months is a long time to be in the hospital, or away from home. I'd expect that to set them back more than the weather would.

Agreed. Very tough to deal with an unexpected, long term illness. No time to plan and a whole lot to take care of.

I agree with your strategy of being absolutely flexible on dates, and having plenty of alternates for them to work with. Especially if your order contained several breeds.

Yes, that was my strategy too. I am hoping that since our order has a lower number for each breed we ordered, that we will get the breeds we selected (or only from the sub list).