Sandhill Preservation

[Chickndaddy]

I just wanted peoples experiences with this hatchery. Customer service, quailty, etc. They have a few breeds I have been interested in but I'm not currently somewhere I can have birds. If they have really good quality birds then I can stop looking with them. If not then I will continue my search. Also if you have purchased birds from them I would love to see pictures. Sandhill doesn't have any so it would be nice to make my own assessment of their stock.

 

[EweSheep]

Well I got mixed feelings about Sandhill.....

Two orders of Faverolles were disappointing at best. The first batch it was good but had some weak chicks, lost about half of the 25 chicks. The second batch, it was pure struggle to keep them alive after two months and after they went to new home, the majority died. They are so weak and wrong colors. When they started laying, they were pretty poor. Not like my show exhibition lines like Isgrigg, Boulanger, Stapish lines.

The Polishes, they were pretty but not the best example of colors, alot of smuttiness in feather patterns, crossed beaks and crooked toes.

The Australorps were pretty good, big and black.

The common breeds I would not hestitate getting them but the rare breeds, have to be so careful.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I just wanted to say I am happy with them. When we got our first order a couple years ago the chicks were weak and most died.
We ordered 25 chicks and 15 ducklings from them for our chick sale and they donated 54 chiks and 32 ducklings. The minorcas from them look amazing, the black sumatras look great, the blue andalusians have great color and good type, the catalanas are just like the ones in the standard, overall the chickens were amazing.
We ordered the ducklings expecting the common breeds like campbells and such. They sent 1 khaki campbell, a pair of dark campbells, a large group of golden cascades, some saxonies, gray runners, cayugas, and buff ducks. The person that got them said that they are all amazing and good birds.

 

[Western Chick]

I placed an order last fall to be shipped this spring, Sebbies and runner ducks. Just yesterday I got a message saying that there weren't any sebs avaialble this year and they assumed that I just wanted the ducks as fillers. The ducks were actually to be a birthday present for my daughter back in May.

I guess it comes down to poor communication. I tried to email earlier in the year to see if anything would be available and if I could switch my order to get something but no reply. They only answer the phone 4 hours out of the week (while I'm at work) making it nearly impossible to get a hold of them.

I understand that with poultry nothing is guaranteed and these guys have a lot on their plate but I would have liked to hear from them earlier. The check I sent with my order was cashed back in the winter and I just got a refund yesterday.

I would say if you can get it somewhere else, do it but they do have a very nice selection of rare birds.

 

[momof3]

I've ordered from Sandhill the last three years. Next year they will be the only ones I order from. My camera isn't working so I can't get you any pictures.

I have from them salmon faverolles(this year and last year). All mine survived. I also have silver polish and white crested black polish. I also have from the buttercups, dorkings,blue andulsian(a hen, she is so beautiful compared to the one from McMurray). I also have blue, white and black cochins from them.

I really like them. When I tell people about them I emphasize that you have to be patient when getting chicks. I waited over a year for spitzhaubens from them and I was not disappointed.

You can actually put in an order for next year right now. Also Iowa's winter was really harsh last year. It was June before my hens were really laying eggs.

They are really nice to work with. Make sure you read the entire page on ordering from them.

They also have an answering machine. I've never had a problem with them returning my call. Just make sure you are not calling them during their peak busy time.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

When I called them this spring for info, Linda was always very helpful. We talked for about 5 minutes about 4-H and such, she was very nice. I was expecting them to be blunt kinda like some hatcheries but she was very kind.

 

[Small Town Girl]

When I first decided to bite the bullet & get me some chickens, Sandhill was the first place I looked. I had read a wonderful article several years ago in Martha Stewart's Living magazine about rare breed chickens that peaked my interest in chickens. When I called Sandhill to ask some questions, I found out from Linda that THEY were the farm featured in the article. Anyway, Linda was very kind and helpful, giving me some good suggestions and advice. Although I ended up ordering from mypetchicken.com because I could only handle a very small number of chicks, I was impressed with her knowledge and willingness to take the time to talk with me.

 

[coopist]

Sandhill Preservation is a small family-run preservation business that sells heirloom seeds and poultry. They are very diversified and probably spread a little too thin. Sand Hill is also known widely for having mediocre customer service. However, I'll have to say that my experience with them has been pretty good (I got my order on time, it was what I ordered, and the birds were healthy when they arrived), but I've read plenty of posts from others who have had complaints, mostly about late shipments and the like. From what I've been able to gather, the breeds they carry are also spotty with regard to quality. I've seen remarks about off-color legs and non-standard traits (never much worse than you'd hear about from just about any hatchery, though). Some breeds are actually quite good, and others are poor. I have it on pretty good authority that some of their bantam breeds leave a lot to be desired.

You have to watch out when you ask for assessments of Sand Hill because there is a faction of poultry folks out there who start spitting nails at the mention of the place--it has to do with a long-running animosity between preservationists and show breeders and IMO doesn't have much relevance for the typical hobbyist who just wants to order some birds, and people can sometimes be thrown by the strong opinions they hear if they're not aware of the existence of this feud. IMO Sand Hill is a perfectly okay place to order birds overall. You'll have to wait for your order, but if you get lucky and order the right breed you may get better stock than you would from a hatchery.

 

[DawnSuiter]

I haven't ordered yet but will be as soon as I can get my printer setup to print their order form.

I waited because I wasn't sure about them, so I emailed a few questions. Got a response within a couple of days, replied with a couple of dumb questions I probably could've found if i would've kept clicking, and I got another response back. All very friendly, and prompt for only having one person to handle them.

 

[apbgv]

I wouldn't order faverolles from them all the ones that I got from them either have no beards, bad colorings, most have crooked toes. One has a cross beak and crooked toes.
The Jersey Giants are pretty nice large, friendly birds at 2 1/2 mos.
The buff Chanteclers from what I can tell most aren't too bad only 1 with a crooked toe.