Policies and Info
HATCHING EGGS
By completing your purchase with us, you agree with our policies and terms. It is YOUR responsibility to read our policies in full BEFORE completing your purchase.
There are NO cancellations, changes or refunds on hatching eggs. Payment is accepted at the time of the sale. Because we are dealing with animals and nature, if we are unable to ship during the month you have selected, we will let you know so we can arrange a different month to ship.
We have a flat rate shipping cost for hatching eggs. This covers the shipping charge and the packaging material used to safely ship eggs to you.
One thing to take into consideration is location. We are located in Amelia, Virginia. We use USPS for our hatching eggs and USPS for our chicks. Most of our hatching egg orders going to the East Coast are delivered in 1-2 days. Any hatching egg orders being shipped to states west of Missouri can take 3-7 days. We make sure to pack the freshest eggs to the states going further west.
There are NO GUARANTEE ON HATCH RATES. We send fresh fertile eggs to you, however, once the eggs leave our farm, we have no control over what happens, other than it arriving to you. Hatch rates depend on your incubator, incubation techniques, environment, and housing as well. We do fertility tests multiple times before we will show hatching eggs in stock.
Please understand that once the package leaves our possession, we have done everything possible to ensure that the hatching eggs reach you safely and that by labeling the box, we have done everything possible to prevent the transport process affecting the viability of the hatching eggs being shipped to you.
Payment for a hatching egg order will be accepted at the time the order is placed.
Please select the correct shipping option at checkout. If the wrong one is selected, we will send you an invoice for the remaining balance. Shipping must be paid in full to complete your order.
We ship out hatching egg orders on Mondays and Tuesdays ONLY.
It is YOUR responsibility to check the condition of the box and to open it and check on the status of the hatching eggs contained inside.
If any of the eggs contained inside were damaged during transport, whether the box is damaged or not, you should report it to USPS as soon as possible. File a claim for your losses with them at that time. Cotton Top Silkies is NOT responsible for broken eggs once they leave our possession. And we cannot submit the claim for you.
Any claims made through USPS MUST be made within 24 hours of receiving your hatching eggs.
If you have questions about these shipping policies, please contact us BEFORE placing any orders.
If you do not agree with any of our policies, please purchase elsewhere. Our policies are firm no matter the circumstance.
Some of the breeds of chickens that we offer we are able to determine the sex the day of hatch, some are not. We recommend that you give some thought to the possibility of receiving a male and what you would do under the circumstance.
SHIPPING LIVE CHICKS
Chicks can ONLY be shipped via USPS the same day they hatch. Your local post office will call you when they arrive. They will be less than 72 hours old. Newly hatched chicks ingest the yolk before they hatch, which gives them enough nourishment to survive the shipment. We include a heat pack and add Gro Gel to give them a boost of nutrients.
It is your responsibility to pick up the chicks from the post office. Sometimes when the post office calls it will show up on caller ID as “Unknown” or “Restricted”. It is important that you mark your calendar when you place your order. We will not issue a refund if you forget to pick up your order. You must have your brooder setup and ready for your chicks. Chicks must be kept at the correct temperatures in the brooder. Please reference the chick temperature chart below.
Week 1 – 95°f
Week 2 – 90°f
Week 3 – 85°f
Week 4 – 80°f
Week 5 – 75°f
Week 6 – 70°f
We place extra chicks in each box to help fulfill the total count that you ordered, in the event of any loss during travel. We do not re-ship chicks if there has been a loss. A new order must be placed and paid in full.
If a loss occurs during shipment, our policy requires that you notify us within 24 hours of arrival.
Please provide us a total count of ALL birds received, a LIVE count and a DECEASED count. Pictures of deceased chicks is REQUIRED.
Please send us an email at: cottontopsilkies@gmail.com
If you have questions about these shipping policies, please contact us BEFORE placing any orders.
If you do not agree with any of our policies, please purchase elsewhere,
Our policies are firm no matter the circumstance.
We strive to be honest, however as a running farm business, we have strict bio-security protocols in place to prevent the transference of outside flocks to our own. THEREFORE, WE CANNOT ACCEPT RETURNS OR EXCHANGES ON ANY POULTRY OR EGG PURCHASE.
Nothing can return to our property once it has left.
We spend lots of time with all of our chickens throughout the day, so we are always aware if one becomes sick. We immediately separate any ill chicks or chickens from the rest of our flock. Each time a chicken is held, we check it for lice, mites and the overall health of the chicken.
Please note, that with chicks it is common for a chick to pass without any known symptoms. It is up to the customer to inspect the chick before paying, however there are many things that can cause a young chick to pass. It’s nothing you did wrong as the care taker and nothing we did as the ones that hatched the egg.
Chickens are highly sociable animals that thrive on the company of their own kind. Therefore, we always recommend having at least 2 chicks in the brooder. But it is much to their liking if there are 4 or more for increased chances to thrive and be social.
CHICKENS AGES 2 WEEKS AND UP
Occasionally, we offer chickens ages 2 weeks and up. As they get older, the cost per chicken increases. This covers the time and feed we have used to raise them to that particular age. Silkies are not a breed that you can tell the gender immediately. Time will tell and you might not know until your Silkie lays eggs or crows! If you purchase chickens from us and they grow up to not be the gender/sex you want, we cannot allow any animal back on our farm once it has left due to biosecurity regulations, nor can we refund you. Any chicken or poultry on our farm over the age of 4 months has been NPIP tested through the state of Virginia.
We are a small family farm that loves our chickens and if you have any questions or concerns just contact us.
Cotton Top Silkies, LLC
Amelia, VA 23002
Phone: (804) 229-3725
cottontopsilkies@gmail.com