Review Hand Me Down Farms (grow out hatchery)

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Pictures of the chicks when they first arrived can be found here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-tell-me-not-to-panic.1428356/post-23525387


I believe the one that died the first night was the one in the individual chick picture.

Poor things. It definitely looks like they were severely neglected before shipping.

 

[HappyChickenLady80]

Hand Me Down Farms, NM -- 0 stars -- stay away

I know, they have a terrible name. So what was I thinking purchasing young pullets from them? Well, first, I didn't realize that they were basically a (grow out) hatchery. I thought Sylvia Martin (the proprietor) was a breeder and that she bred the varieties listed on their website. I really wanted some Salmon Faverolles, and it was Fall, and no one else in the country was willing to send young faverolles during this time. I called up every local farm in the area and there were no Faverolles to be had. Even hatching eggs were virtually impossible to find, and hatching eggs through the mail often have a poor outcome.

In short, I bought 5 "still needs heat' Faverolles pullets in mid-October from this farm. For various reasons (not on my end) they were not sent out until mid-November, when, according to the seller, they were over 7 weeks old. Communication with the proprietor prior to when they were sent was sparse and confusing. Sylvia often didn't answer for a few days, and I would have no idea if the chicks were in the mail or not. At one point, on a Friday in October, she sent me an email that they were being mailed Saturday (which would have left them stranded on Sunday.) Then, it wasn't until Monday evening, after I worried all weekend, that she wrote to me one line saying that was an erroneous message. I also asked for them to be vaccinated for Mareks, since my flock was unvaccinated. She did tell me she then vaccinated them, but was sort of odd about it. She did not charge me for the extra vaccination.

The chicks were sent out in mid-Nov., the day before a Federal holiday, but they still arrived within 40 hours of being sent. They arrived in very very poor condition. The chilcks were packaged so they were basically on top of each other. They were filthy and out of food and liquid gel on arrival. They were also extremely ill, all having bloody diarrhea, all huddled and fluffed. Some had been pecked. One of the 5 died the first night. I talked to Sylvia Martin, and suggested giving them Corrid. She concurred. I did so, but they did not improve. The next day I had a fecal float test done. The chicks were still sneezing and were huddled. They were willing to eat but still had bloody poo. The vet determined they had severe coccidiosis, and probably a bacterial infection on top of that owing to the sneezing. The vet prescribed an antibiotic to be hand administered daily.

They are now on day 4 of the antibiotic. While they are perking up, one keeps sneezing is now drooling. I fear the may have a respiratory infection that would be transmittable to the rest of my flock. They are all quarantined in my basement.

Aside from illness, it should be mentioned these chicks were extremely stunted on arrival given their age. Their feathers were dull and broken. They were the size of 4 week all chicks and not the size of 7 week ones. Some of them have grown tremendously in the 5 days I have had them. I believe they were not given proper conditions or nutrition at the farm. I did write to Sylvia mentioning that there was some doubt they were even SF's. I think they were in such poor condition at first, they didn't look like proper chicks. Now, after they have perked up a bit I am pretty sure they are SFs, although with bizarre hatchery quality coloring.

Needless to say, I asked for a refund for these chicks upon seeing how sick they were. The response from Sylvia Martin was as follows:

I am willing to refund you for the bird that passed if you supply me with pics. I won’t be extorted by your threats of bad reviews. You are welcome to go the the credit card company. They will deny you because you did indeed get live birds. It does me no good to ship sick birds as we have a live arrival guarantee and I would be out for price of the birds and the shipping cost. As far as your friends saying that they aren’t Salmons goes. I can assure you that they are mistaken. If you are friends with so many breeders then why would you buy birds from someone else that you don’t know and have them shipped instead of going to your oh so knowledgeable and reliable posy? You have been high maintenance from day one. You wouldn’t have been happy if you got full grown hens for the price of chicks. Unless you are sending me proof of the dead bird don’t contact me again. ​

So, I sent a picture of the dead bird, and she refunded me for one of the 5 chicks, but not the shipping. However, her reaction to the other matters, including the expense of medicines and vet costs, was as follows:

​

The float test and antibiotics were your decision and your responsibility. We had already agreed that they had coccidiosis. I am giving you the refund as a courtesy and have no obligation to. As I said before. You can leave whatever you want in your review. I stand by every word. It’s also needs to be noted that you weren’t charged for the mareks vaccinations. My cost was $48 for the vial and shipping. There was also no mention of the extra 2 weeks of care they received for free. The weather and the election weren’t your fault but they aren’t mine either. Technically you got coop ready birds for the price of chicks. Make sure that’s in your review as well. You have been refunded for the lost bird. I recommend Texas A&M for the necropsy they are great.​

Meanwhile, I have very sick birds still in my basement. They are in no way "coop ready", as (1) they are still hovering on the heat pad and don't yet have any feathers on their heads, (2) they are ill and need constant care, and (3) they are still infectous and can't be exposed to my other chickens, even in a separate coop in the same pen.

I am afraid if they have a long term respiratory infection, I may have to cull all of them. It is all very distressing.

I can agree 100% with this review. Sylvia is rude and shows no empathy to her customers. I almost got tricked again from buying hens from her. Thank goodness her address sounded familiar from our last incident and I confirmed she was from Hand me down farms. The should’ve seen the red flag from our text string we had going for the sale of her hens. Confusing and tedious. At some points she was rude again. I did hesitate to call her out but I had to do it for my lost babies. We bought 5 pullets from her and we lost them all within months. When I informed her again of what happened she blamed me for not properly caring for them. Which is the furthest thing from the truth. I’m an amazing chicken mom to 30+ hens of different breeds. Buyer beware!!!!