Weird interaction with breeder - am I wrong here?

[mountaintopchicken]

I contacted a breeder in December about getting a rooster from him. He was recommended to me by someone I really trust and he has an official position in the poultry world, so I thought I had a good contact. He was extremely nice, said he had something for me but wanted to wait for better weather and don't send a check yet. Well I checked in once in a while all through the winter and there was always a reason he didn't want to send him yet. I thought he was being really concerned about the conditions the bird was mailed in in terms of weather, and he was really friendly, so I just kept waiting.

Finally in spring/late winter he says send a check. I send a check and because he has been so friendly on the phone and chatted with me about my birds, I also send some home made maple syrup, which I have never done before w/any breeder interaction but I thought it would be a cool gesture. Well, with one thing and another weeks come and go and the bird doesn't get sent. At this point my breeding season is going by and I have planned it all around this new roo. I call one week and get no answer, leave a message, no call back. Finally I get a hold of him and he says he's been away but he'll send not the coming week but the week after. I wait. No phone call from him by Thursday. I call, he answers, and when I tell him who I am he starts going, "Hello? Hello? Hello?" as though he can't hear me, but his voice is crystal clear on my end. I dial again and it goes straight to voice mail. I left a nice message saying I was checking in, I wanted to know if the rooster was coming, and it was o.k. if it wasn't but I just needed to know because I had my breeding season planned around him. He didn't call back.

The next day I call, and when I tell him who I am, he starts going, "Hello? Hello?" again, and then I just wait and say who I am again and I guess he decided to talk to me. He sounded really put out with me and not at all the friendly guy i had been dealing with. He said that he had been away for work, and that he has a job to do and he's sorry that that is going to be his priority and he's SORRY if that's a problem for me. I felt like I had been kicked. I told him calmly and as nicely as I could considering how I was feeling that that was fine, and it was fine if the rooster wasn't coming, but I just really need to know one way or the other. At that point he said he had the rooster for me and he was thinking of sending Monday or Tuesday. Then we hung up and the whole thing was not friendly.

Now, am I wrong to keep checking on whether this rooster is coming? I am asking because I had an interaction with another breeder in November that was similar. I had placed the order in August and my ship date in November came and went with no contact. I called persistently to find out if the birds were in the mail or not, with no answer. I only got an answer when I started asking questions through another breeder, and it turned out the birds were not available and not coming. But they seemed to think I was awful for not understanding that they had a farm to run and couldn't contact customers about their orders. Is there an unspoken rule that customers should have really low expectations about delivery and not contact the breeder? I can't believe how quickly that guy turned from friendly and welcoming to just awful

.

 

[scbatz33]

If he has your money, you have the right to be as pushy as it takes to either A. get the bird you paid for or B. get your money back.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Something similar happened to me. Sent money for chicks to be hatched/shipped by breeder, then breeder remembers vacaction, so I wait. Then I wait another two months due to fertility issues, then it is winter and no eggs are being laid. But breeder assures me, I WILL be first to get chicks in spring. Spring rolls around and now breeder does not want to send me chicks but does refund my money. Then breeder offers me chicks again but at 3x the price.

All the plans/dreams about these birds - down the drain.


I sure hope you get your money back.

 

[mountaintopchicken]

If he has your money, you have the right to be as pushy as it takes to either A. get the bird you paid for or B. get your money back.

He has the check but the conversation before the last one he said he hadn't cashed it yet. I've got to check with my bank.​

 

[Oregon Blues]

About half and half, here.

The breeder took your money, he should have mailed the bird to you at the time he promised it.

The flip side of the issue is that a hobby breeder is not a business and you can't expect to receive the same service that you would get from an efficient business that focuses on customer service. There is no secretary answering the phones and doing paperwork and no shipping clerk getting the mail out.

There has to be a job because breeding show chickens costs lots of money and there is no profit in it. So there is probably nobody there full time doing chicken business stuff.

It is OK for you to call occasionally and ask about the bird you were promised. It's OK to call and ask when the bird you paid for is getting shipped. You were not in the wrong.

The breeder obviously is not good at public relations.

Just a suggestion for the future. When you are trying to purchase something and the seller won't make a commitment, go someplace else. If they can't make a commitment, can't tell you when they can have a bird for you, take it as a hint that they are disorganized and suspect that they might possibly have problems with delivering.

There are all sorts of people involved with the poultry hobby. There are always going to be a few that can't get their act together, some who can't make up their minds, some who are forgetful. There are also some very nice people. Keep looking.

 

[wonders]

When planning something so important, always have a Plan B in place.

 

[onthespot]

I would flat out ask the breeder if he had a disease making its way through his flock, and if he was waiting until the birds looked healthy again enough to ship. You do NOT want the bird if it, or flock mates have been sick this winter.

 

[Mom2sixpeeps]

You paid him in good faith expecting he would deliver the roo within a reasonable time. It's one thing to not send the roo and have a good excuse, but not sending the roo and refusing to communicate with you is simply rude and illmannered. If you get your money back that's great. It sounds like you won't though. Here's the botton line - we are supposed to love each other and let God's love flow through us. You were so sweet to send the extra treat with your money, what a kind gesture. You will be blessed for that. If I were you, I would stop calling him and let him have the money. Put it our of your mind and don't be angry with him. Anger is something that will eat you alive. Forgive him and move on. You sound like a sweet lady anyway, keep being sweet! Life's too short.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

Seems like he's stringing you along. I would ask for your money back. If he says no I would go to your bank and explain the situation and have a hold put on the check. No sence paying for something it doesn't seem like you are going to get. If he wanted that sale he would have taken it more seriously.

 

[scbatz33]

I think at this point, I'd ask for the money back as well. I just don't trust that he's gonna come through. Too much time has lapsed.

I realize hobby breeding is different than mass production. I've had the girls quit laying just as I take on too many orders. Some times things happen. BUT that isn't any excuse for poor customer relations. Dragging someone along, accepting money with no product, not answering emails or phone calls promptly is poor business practice.....small time hobby guy or not.