Farm Policies



We value your time and very much appreciate your business. Building a trusting, long term  relationship with our customers is something of extreme importance to us. To avoid any  misunderstandings or confusion, we ask that you read our farm policy below as it applies to you. Please read in its entirety before requesting an appointment to pick up live animals or placing an order for chicks or hatching eggs. Thank you:-).

When you call my cell phone at (352)467-2600, I will say "hello" or I might say, "Hello, this is Ana." Please understand that both my husband and I have a full time job other than running our farm. For this reason alone, we are not always able to answer the phone. The best and fastest way to contact us is via private message on our farm page on FB https://www.facebook.com/vitoriafarms/. You can also send us an email through our website, using the "Contact Us" form. If you still prefer placing a call, please kindly leave a voice mail with your name, brief detailed message regarding the product you are interested in and we will get back with you as soon as we can. 

BIOSECURITY


Please be advised we follow strict biosecurity protocols set by the National Poultry Improvement Plan to ensure the long term health and wellbeing of our birds and of yours. For this reason alone, we do not accept any returns of animals whether they are live or deceased.  We do not trade animals. We do not take in free animals, nor we bring our own to shows/exhibitions, or auctions. In the same token, we do not purchase any birds from non NPIP certified folks that does not uphold the same status as we do or better.
Please make sure you have an appointment with us before heading down to our place. We do not have a staff. Our farm is our homestead and place of residence. We are a CLOSED farm and operate by appointment ONLY. 
The majority of time , when you come to our farm to pick up any poultry, gamebird, or waterfowl, they will be ready for you at the front of our property in a checkout pen. 

When visiting our farm, you are required to wear shoe covers that we provide or step into a shallow pen with disinfectant.  Either procedure is a requirement to ensure you are not tracking anything from our place to yours, nor bringing anything from your place to ours. This is to avoid cross contamination. For this reason, it is best that you wear tennis shoes or garden boots when visiting. I may also provide you with a hair net which keeps your from accumulating bird dander on your hair. These are the two most common ways people can, inadvertently, contaminate a flock with infectious poultry diseases that will dwell on the soil for generations to come. Best way to keep a flock healthy is preventing it from ever happening.


LIVE ANIMAL PURCHASE

When you purchase any live animal from us(baby chicks, pullets, cockerels, laying hens, roosters, quail, ducks, etc...), please understand ALL sales are FINAL. Under no circumstances, there will be returns or replacements.  In extremely rare and special cases, we may issue a refund or offer a replacement at our discretion. Every six moths, our flock is tested for potential deadly diseases prone to our State. Once a year, we also undergo hatchery inspection. 

We do not willingly sell anyone an unhealthy bird. We make sure  that all birds leaving our premise to yours are healthy, actively engaged in activities that emulates their age (eating, drinking, walking, dust bathing, laying, being vocal, producing normal droppings, displaying normal interaction with other birds), free of external parasites (we always check the bird before it is adopted). If for some reason, your bird shows symptoms of any health distress during the recommended quarantine period, you are more than welcome to contact us for support. If we are unable to help, we will direct you to a vet or support group we trust. 

Please understand that once you drive off with the animals you have chosen to raise, they are yours and are under your care.  Anything that happens to them after you take them is beyond our control, thus we cannot be held responsible. 

We have the right to cancel any order or appointment due to unforeseen circumstance  or if we need to retain for our own breeding stock.

WE DO NOT HOLD BIRDS UNLESS WE CHOOSE TO DO SO, GIVEN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 

WE DO NOT TAKE PREPAYMENTS FOR LOCAL BIRD PICKUP. YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO CHECK AVAILABILITY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO COME HERE AND PURCHASE.

VACCINATIONS AND DISEASE

We choose to vaccinate all birds we sell (except broilers or male chicks kept for food) and keep for breeding purposes against Marek's disease in order to give them the best chances of survival as possible. Per the experts in the field,  please note that Marek's vaccine is not 100% effective and even vaccinated birds may later contract the disease, depending upon the strength of the strain that is present where they live. Marek's is very common in backyard flocks worldwide, and yet it remains undetected as the flock builds resistance to it. Any birds of 8 weeks or older we intend to sell or keep as potential breeders are also vaccinated for Fowl Pox, which per our experience, it is a highly effective method of prevention against Fowl Pox.


TRANSPORTING YOUR BIRDS

Please bring your own carrier for anything other than baby chicks. We are not responsible for losses that may occur during transport. Please ensure your carrier is adequate (will keep your bird (s) comfortable and safe, with enough room and good ventilation).

QUARANTINE

We recommend all new additions be quarantined for 30 days from your existing flock. This time allows for your new birds to acclimate and get used to their new environment, thus reducing stress which is the leading cause of the onset of most common poultry diseases.

BIRD SEXING

Unless you are purchasing autosexed breed such as hybrid Sexlinks, Bielefelders, or Cream Legbars, we can't guarantee you are purchasing pullets when choosing your chicks from ages 0-8 weeks. Some breeds, such as Lavender Ameracuanas, BBS Ameracuanas, and Silkies may take even longer to clearly show gender. When you come to our farm, you are given the space and time to choose your birds. We do not pick your chicks for you. At times, we do practice vent and wing sexing in day olds from non autosexed breeds, EXCEPT Silkies; however, we still can't guarantee gender with 100% certainty. 

BIRD OUTCOME

We are not responsible for bird outcome, such as temperament or gender. We do not have nor breed aggressive birds. We cannot re-home your male birds for you or take them in. If your bird has turned out to be something other than you expected, there are several backyard chicken support groups on Facebook that can be a wonderful resource to you. One I always recommend and the only one I like to use  myself is Chick N' Feed. Please be sure to read their policies so that your post can be approved as quickly as possible.

OUR GUARANTEE

We will only sell you birds from NPIP tested flocks and that are healthy and antibiotic free since day one of their lives.  We are real people with hundreds of birds under our care. It is not always perfect. Raising chickens and birds in general is a very rewarding and fulfilling experience that is also accompanied by many challenges that arise from time to time. Any birds we have treated for anything at some point become food for our own consumption. 

From time to time, we may advertise pet quality birds. Full history of the bird is then disclosed to buyer prior to purchase. Feel free to contact us if interested in those.

HATCHING EGGS


We do not sell anything less than 6 eggs. When ordering hatching eggs, please  factor  in the number of eggs that may not develop nor hatch; please be also mindful of the ratio of males vs. females you might get. Due to factors beyond our control (hatching techniques, humidity, weather, USPS handling) we cannot be held responsible for eggs that don't develop or poor hatch rates. There are no refunds nor replacement for eggs that don't hatch. Please note that just because an egg does not develop, it does not mean it is infertile. There is only one way to know if an egg is fertile and unfortunately, that means breaking the egg open to look for the white spot, which is the germinal disk (looks like a  donut !! You will see a yellow hole in the center and there would indicate that the egg is fertile. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE HATCH RATES. Avoid counting your chicks before they hatch!! We do not offer eggs from any breed that we have not successfully hatched ourselves. We only sell and send the freshest eggs collected within a max of 72 hour collection, kept under appropriate temperature and turned frequently throughout the day. 

SHIPPING OF HATCHING EGGS

For now, we only ship within the 48 contiguous states. This excludes Alaska, Hawaii, America Samoa, The U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

All eggs are shipped unwashed in foam egg shippers or individually wrapped and packaged with love and care. 

Buyer assumes all risk when purchasing hatching eggs.

There are no refunds and/ nor replacements for undeveloped on unhatched eggs.

Buyer must provide a good contact number that USPS can use to call when eggs arrive.

Eggs are not be shipped to be delivered as regular mail. Most damage to eggs occur between the last postal facility and the buyer’s house.

If you can’t pick up your eggs at the local post office, please do not place an order with us.

 Upon arrival at the post office, please open the box and carefully inspect the cargo inside. If you receive a broken egg, please report it to the clerk and file a claim to recover your loss at that time. I purchase additional insurance on any orders above $50.

PAYMENT

As of right now, we only accept cash and Paypal. For local pick up we ask that you use the friends and family option. For shipped goods, shipping and small handling fees are applied to the invoice I send you for payment collection.