Rare Feathers Farm

Patience, Perseverance, Perfection

Shipping & Policies

Policies & Shipping Information

How to Order

We do not keep a waiting list and do not take deposits on hatching eggs. Eggs will be posted in the online store if available.

Eggs are shipped in the order that payment is received. Typically, eggs are marked as "SOLD OUT" if we have more than three pending orders at the same time. We sell eggs as they are laid, we do not stockpile eggs.

Eggs are sold by the 1/2 dozen (with up to three) extras included at no additional cost, IF available.

If you have questions you may contact us by e-mail at the following address:

rarefeathersfarm@aol.com

Payment

We prefer PayPal and only accept checks and money orders through the mail. You may e-mail us for the mailing address if you wish to order by check or money order if you don't have PayPal. Your order is not shipped until we receive it (together with payment) in our mailbox by regular mail and your check clears our bank (usually 7-10 business days).

Deposits for Chicks/Started Juveniles/Adults

Deposits are accepted when you're local and buying chicks, started or adult birds that do not require shipping.

We do not ship live birds at this time.

Please also realize that we require a 50% down-payment which is NOT refundable for ANY reason, or ANY excuse to hold a chicken for you.

We are NOT a hatchery and ONLY hatch based on interest & commitments to buy. There is a $10 incubator charge for custom hatches. It is not fair to us or to the chicks/ducklings/goslings that I hatch if they have no one to pick them up once they are ready.

Starting in 2008 there will be a $10 charge for delivery for all sales outside of Okanogan/Omak.

Patience

We cannot guarantee specific availability dates, as we cannot predict the laying rate of each of the many breeds that we have. Eggs, if available will be listed in the web store (hatching eggs) page. We will get to each and every person that places an order - in the order of the date that it is received through the web store.

Office Hours

Our "office" e-mail is available 24 hours a day. Please allow 2-3 business days for a response, sometimes longer during shipping season (April through September).
Visitor Policy

We are not set up for drop in visits and cannot accommodate them. With the Newcastle and Avian Influenza precautions we cannot allow any visits. We are doing our best to try to promote good bio-security.

Picking Up Hatching Eggs Or Birds

After reading the above statement about our Visitor Policy, please realize if you order young birds or adult birds from us & you live in the area we will have to meet somewhere as we do not allow farm visits. We do require prepayment to "hold" a bird for you until you're able to pick it up & NO REFUNDS will be given for ANY reason if we are holding a bird for you and you change your mind. A 50% down-payment is required for us to hold a bird for you.

Hatching Eggs

Eggs can be difficult to hatch without shipping. Some breeds (geese in particular) are even harder to hatch than others. Please understand that while we can guarantee eggs are fertile & fresh, we cannot guarantee hatch rate due to handling during shipping, incubation techniques, etc. We are no longer issuing refunds or sending replacement eggs (unless they are damaged in shipping) due to people lying to us about hatch rates (and then bragging about their chicks from us on the internet). If you're new to hatching, we would highly suggest starting out on some less-expensive eggs first, until you've gained enough experience to tackle more expensive eggs. We do (on occasion) offer "test" eggs at reduced prices for fertility checks. This usually occurs in the early spring and is first-come, first-served.

Shipping Information:

Eggs are shipped out on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, only--unless you make a special request for them to be mailed on Thursday or Friday.

We do NOT wash eggs before they are sent! This will destroy the protective coating the hen/duck/goose puts on the egg, allowing bacteria in! However, each egg is brushed off with a stiff bristle brush prior to being sat into a holding carton for shipment. I do strive for clean eggs by using clean nesting material, but they are chickens, ducks & geese and not always the cleanliest of animals. Eggs that are deemed unfit for incubation will not be mailed.

Before being mailed, all eggs are individually inspected, wrapped and the date they were laid/collected is written in pencil on them, along with the breed type. On occasion, eggs will also contain other codes--depending on which pen(s) they were collected from. This is for my own tracking.

The eggs are then sent USPS Priority Mail (2-3 business days to most locations).

Shipping charges include the cost of hand-collecting, storing, our time (it usually takes an hour to collect eggs, mark them, wrap and box them) and then of course, you have the actual shipping charges on top of that. Shipping charges sometimes vary greatly, so we have calculated an average cost, based on my materials, time and weight of packages.

A Word About Shipped Eggs

We have personally shipped and received eggs through the mail for over a decade. In fact, my first hatched eggs came from Iowa (to Oregon) and were two Muscovy eggs. Both hatched & started my obsession with poultry.

I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason!