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September 2023 by Debbie
Exact words copied from a man who helps this place. Please don't order from it if you don't have any patience. They are in it for the preservation and not to church out mass quantities of birds for your enjoyment.Chickens:Lavender, Cuckoo and Lavender Cuckoo Ameraucanas, Genetic Hackle, Breda Fowl, Ayam cemani, Ayam ketawa, Lavender and Mottled black Cochin bantams, Opal Legbars, Welbars, Lavender Marans, Swedish Flower Hens.Ducks:Australian Spotted and ShetlandsGeese:Embden and PilgrimsCould be others I don't recall now. Not everything does equally well for everyone and they struggle to maintain some breeds I find very prolific (Welbars and bantam Ameraucanas for ex) and I have totally abandoned some of those breeds as just unsuitable for my conditions and husbandry. There is no accounting for taste either. I never liked Breda Fowl when I kept them, but Glen loves them. He tries to maintain a vast genetic repository, something I am not able to do. I have other strengths, and so I can obtain and improve some breeds he does not have access to, then send those precious genetics to Sand Hill for more long term preservation and distribution.And the exchange works both ways, Sand Hill is sending me a few breeds that I wish to work with on some future (secret!) projects. The results of those projects will hopefully work their way back to their expansive collection. There are a number of breeds they have which have (for all practical purposes) no other source. Sure, if you search diligently, you might find another source for Iowa Blues or Barred Hollands, but those small producers are even harder to order from than Sand Hill, and if you ask enough questions, you will likely find out the Sand Hill was the source for those breeders as well.It frustrates some potential customers to not be able to call into a hatchery office to order their chicks via credit card for delivery next week. There are plenty of hatcheries that offer that service and they are not competitors of Sand Hill. In fact, they are more likely customers of SH, sourcing some rare line from them to introduce to their customers. This is very much the way things should work if you think about it. The experienced breeders, either small time like me, or actual hatcheries, get small numbers of breeders from Sand Hill, then figure out how to manage and maintain them for sale to their customers.Hatcheries must keep an eye on their bottom line, for the sake of their employees as well as their owners. Sand Hill does not have employees or owners expecting a return on investment, so they can keep breeds that have essentially zero interest, until the time when they are hot commodities again. I see them as filling an important niche between people like me and the hatcheries.
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August 2023 by Rose Pyatt
I ordered chicks from Sandhill Preservation. They were healthy and lively. I was very happy to get them.
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April 2022 by Ally Brown-Haglund
Sandhill is amazing! We have ordered chicks and ducklings from them.
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March 2022 by Richard C
Wow, what a great source of information. The descriptions of all of the plants and animals is like no other catalog. I've been gardening for 1/2 a century and until a few years ago didn't know most of what I have found even existed. We live in a border line zone2 planting area. I order things from here that no one else has. Some keeper varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons that we harvest the first week of September because of frost will keep and be enjoyed into the new year! I have never had a problem with my order. Can't think of anyone working this hard to provide so much historical genetics for so little money. Basically working for free and still have to hear that some people believe that they don't do enough. Shameful. We are grateful for the opportunity to be offered so much from Sandhill Preservation Center.
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March 2022 by Richard C
Wow, what a great source of information. The descriptions of all of the plants and animals is like no other catalog. I've been gardening for 1/2 a century and until a few years ago didn't know most of what I have found even existed. We live in a border line zone2 planting area. I order things from here that no one else has. Some keeper varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons that we harvest the first week of September because of frost will keep and be enjoyed into the new year! I have never had a problem with my order. Can't think of anyone working this hard to provide so much historical genetics for so little money. Basically working for free and still have to hear that some people believe that they don't do enough. Shameful. We are grateful for the opportunity to be offered so much from Sandhill Preservation Center.
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February 2022 by R S
The seeds I have ordered from here have done wonderfully in the past years. The orders take a little while to fill so you have to order them a month or two ahead of when you plan on starting your seeds; the seed quality and variety for the price makes up for that though. My kids love the children's collection of seeds and I am planning on giving seeds I have extra of away to friends who want to try out planting herbs and vegetables for the first time. So far these seeds have done as well or better than ones I have ordered online from other places in the past.
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February 2022 by Gary Glover
Excellent seeds! Generous amount of seeds in each packet-at reasonable prices. Where else has over 700(!) varieties of tomatoes, dozens of heirloom chicken breeds, seed potatoes etc. Sand Hill Preservation makes hundreds of varieties of hard-to-find heirloom seeds available to the world!
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February 2022 by Jeanne Leong Mitchell
They do NOT answer phone inquiries and email inquiries (sent about a month ago!) they haven't updated their voice message recording either. Are they still in business??
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December 2021 by Carolyn O
I've been ordering heirloom seeds and sweet potato slips from them for well over 10 years. They offer a wide array of hard to find varieties. Some of them I have not been able to find any where else. The seeds are always viable. They always send you extra complementary seeds for trialing. Although I have not ordered early enough every year to get the slips, but when I got them they were very hardy. Even though they are a small operation they have always been responsive answering any questions I have emailed to them. They are very dedicated to preserving the heirloom seed genetics. I have never ordered poultry from them but if I was in the market for heirloom poultry, I would definitely give them a try.
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December 2021 by Carolyn O
I've been ordering heirloom seeds and sweet potato slips from them for well over 10 years. They offer a wide array of hard to find varieties. Some of them I have not been able to find any where else. The seeds are always viable. They always send you extra complementary seeds for trialing. Although I have not ordered early enough every year to get the slips, but when I got them they were very hardy. Even though they are a small operation they have always been responsive answering any questions I have emailed to them. They are very dedicated to preserving the heirloom seed genetics. I have never ordered poultry from them but if I was in the market for heirloom poultry, I would definitely give them a try.
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October 2021 by E Flores
Incredible seed selection! I have bought from them for years. One of my favorite companies to work with. Truly devoted to preserving our agricultural history. Lovely, lovely people.
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November 2020 by Kristin Kelley
Great quality chicks, will order from again.
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November 2020 by Rebecca Mueller
Ive ordered from Sandhill for years. I always receive my order promptly and had super luck with my market garden.Understand, this place is run by two people, doing everything including their full time jobs. As anyone who grows anything knows, you cannot always predict what will be a crop success, failure, etc. They don't guarantee anything shipped by any date because they are totally at the mercy of the crops, weather, animals, time etc. Anyone who knows anything must realize that. This isn't Burpee. Thankfully.
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July 2020 by Jim Hill
I had a problem with my order and they took care of it! I'll be ordering from them again in the future!! Thank you Sand Hill Preservation!!! Very happy with how you resolved it.
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July 2020 by Recycled City LLC
Sand Hill Preservation Center is a gem. I ordered some Sweet Potato slips and they were very helpful!
