I called about purchasing a poly stock tank and spoke to Ryan. He was very helpful. He said sure…read morewe can deliver for about $70.00, no problem. There was a glitch in the on line store purchasing, so we had to go in and purchase it there. When we got there, I'm not sure about the miscommunication, but we could not get a delivery. The next day i called. Problem solved and the delivery fee was waived. Thanks to Ryan and John. The delivery driver did a great job and was very professional.

I was at Tractor Supply today to purchase items for my horses and chickens. It was about 90…read moredegrees. I happened to park next to a truck with metal cages crammed with chickens. They had no water and the cages were very hot.I asked the man why he had the chickens in such horrible conditions and he told me that he was collecting chickens to roam his sanctuary. When I was in Tractor Supply I asked a couple employees what was going on wth the chickens. I was told it was a rooster roundup. if you had purchased baby chicks at Tractor Supply and they turned out to be roosters or simply unwanted hens you could give them to this man and he would take them to his sanctuary. When I returned to my car there was a second man handling the chickens very roughly. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was going to kill and eat them all. Then he cursed at me and asked me if I eat chicken and I told him that I do not. Then he and the other man both cursed me. What a horrible deception for your customers. I have shopped here frequently for my animals but never again.

Love this shop! Family owned. So friendly. Great selection! They let us pet their pig!read more

Great conveniently located feed store. The owner is very kind and helpful, the prices were very…read morereasonable with a wide selection of feed and small farm supplies. They even have some small livestock like pullets, bunnies and bird. This will be my go to feed store! P.s. the entry is located on the side of the building so you may think it's not there based on where maps navigate to. You'll see a sign to go around the back.

Back in January we got a wild hair up our you know what and decided we needed chickens. We called…read morearound but most places don't have chicks until the spring. Ranch Feed was the only place we could find them! They helped us pick out four chicks and even had a convenient starter kit with heating lamp, feeder and waterer that's pre-packaged and ready to go. Since then, we've been coming to Ranch Feed for our chicken supplies and always receive friendly service and good advice.

They sell the dog food that we've been looking for, puppy vaccines, and they have baby chicks!!…read more They sell a variety of dog treats (chicken feet, pig ears, etc), treatment shampoos, and any other dog care item you might be looking for. They're super friendly and always offer to take everything to the car (I've watched them do it for multiple customers). This is a business I can rely on!

They're always out of the thing that I need and it's very frustrating especially since they never…read moreanswer the phone, so I always have to drive there to see if they have the item which makes it even more frustrating. If it's just a matter of bringing it from the Escondido store then why isn't it stocked regularly? Obviously people are buying it so it should be noted and stocked. Having owned quite a few businesses myself I'm always surprised that they're out of stock.

I had two propane tanks that were expired, so I had to exchange them. I took them to a store with…read morethe propane cage out front. Two full tanks = $55 and change. I had four additional tanks that were not expired. I took them to Hawthorne Country Store to be refilled. Four full tanks = $55 and change. I'll let you do the math. Exceptional service. Always friendly and efficient.

We just got our three baby chicks and we couldn't be happier. Ours are about 10 weeks old and very…read morehealthy. We bought one barred rock, one Rhode Island red, and one buff Orpington. We are excited to get the eggs in a couple months! Renee is very easy to contact via text to ask any questions. She also gave great suggestions on which breeds would work well together and which are the quietest.

We were so excited to get chickens and chose Backyard Chickies based on the cute branding and…read moreoverall tone of the website, so excited for our backyard chickies! Well this business does not match that vibe and it's unprofessional. I am giving 2 stars instead of 1 because because our situation hasn't turned out fully awful (yet) and Rene did help us out in a unique situation. I originally contacted Rene to purchase 4 baby chicks. Immediately the communication was tough. Only through text, the responses were very slow and short and wouldn't answer all of the questions, the tone was very dry. I get it, she's busy on the farm. But we discussed which breeds and I paid. She met me in a random motel parking lot and handed over the 4 babies, it felt like a chickie drug deal. She said customers cannot come to the farm because of bio hazards, I'm sure that's a legitimate reason but it also feels like a convenient excuse to keep people away from seeing what I assume is just a mess. I asked if she could send me any photos and her response was "if I sent customers photos I'd be doing it all day". That should give you an idea of the vibe of her texts and again seems weird we can't see the living situation before adopting live animals. Rene it sounds like you have a need for photos, maybe get someone else to do it??? One of the babies was NOT what we had agreed upon and she didn't even tell me ahead of time, just handed me that baby along with the others. Whatever. One of those babies ended up dying on night number two, who knows why, it's probably not Rene's fault. The other 3 grew up to be healthy and thrive. Unfortunately that one she gave us that was different from what we ordered grew up to be incredibly loud and obnoxious. It was an issue with our neighbors. So I reached out to Rene and asked if there was any way I could trade her for the type we originally wanted. She agreed to it and I also said I'd like to buy an additional one since we originally wanted 4 anyway. I wanted adults this time to make it easier to introduce them faster to our other two and she told me she only had young babies. Fine. Again the communication was so slow but we finally got her to do it. She brought me two full on adult chickens. This is after we prepped for babies and bought baby chick food, etc. I thought she said she didn't have adults?? So here's the bigger issue now. The 2 new ones she brought arrived sick. Their eyes are bubbly and watery, they're sneezing. She claims she examined them before selling them but I'm calling BS. Within one minute of getting them home I could tell they were sick and I'm no expert. They were also all grimy which she claims is because she sprayed them with something to kill mites. She offered to swap them out again but now I actually feel bad about sending these girls back to this disaster and feel terrible we sent the baby we raised back there. So we took these two new girls to the vet and spent $300 on antibiotics that didn't work and the vet said she's heard of this place and people having health issues with their chickens so this is common. In summary, Rene is not doing this because she loves Chickies. It's clear they're just livestock to her and she seems completely unorganized and unaware of what breeds she has, what ages of chickens she has, and the place is covered in mites and obviously mareks too and good luck getting responses out of her. Please go join the group on Facebook called Backyard Chickens (similar name but not associated with this farm) and you will find resources and people there to help you start your flock if you're looking to do it.

I have been wanting my own flock of chickens for a long time and now with the help of Elston Hay &…read moreGrain it's becoming a reality. The prices are very fair (way better than online). Alyssa is very knowledgeable. She told me everything I needed from the type of chickens I wanted (I want a friendly group to be a part of our family) to the best way to build my "predator proof" chicken run. She helped me make a plan so I can have a different variety of chickens in my flock as well. Her sister was very helpful in store, she showed us around all the chick needs and even helped us to find a heating lamp because they had run out in the store. She helped us learn some tricks of the trade to keep our little chicks healthy until they are capable of handling the elements. I was nervous to start this new adventure, but what is so wonderful about Elston Hay and Grain is the knowledge and expertise I found with the employees. I am excited to raise my first flock of chickens and with the help of the Elston's I feel even more confident that it will be a huge success!

So impressed by how caring, helpful & knowledgeable (horse needs and more) the Elston people are!…read moreLoved their customer appreciation event but you can tell they appreciate their customers everyday! Great value and great place to stock up! ~ I'm definitely coming back! * Jan, Reviewer

I've been coming here for so many years I forgot when I started. Pre-2015, probably before that…read more I can't believe I never reviewed the place. I love this business. Everything's neat, clean and organized. They always have what I need and sometimes introduce me to something newer or better. Their prices can't be beat, easily the best price on Star Milling that I've seen anywhere in the county. My cats have also gotten a better grade of food since I started buying for them here as well. Once again, they're still a bit less than the big guys down the block but for the same quality food.

I've been coming here for just over ten years. I can't recommend this place enough. I normally…read morecome for waterfowl feed but have been frequently surprised to find things I normally get elsewhere ( cat food ) here, but at a better price. Mostly they stock things you simply can't get in a chain pet food store. This place is clean and organized, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and I've never had a bad experience here. I miss the cats that used to stand guard but times change. I try to come here for as much as I can because I'm always concerned about our local businesses surviving. If you're in Escondido and looking for pet food, consider starting here just to get familiar with the place. The big chain places will be around forever, and so will the lesser grade foods they sell. This place sells only the good stuff, no garbage foods.

What an adorable place to pick up some unique gifts! They have much more then you might think, well…read morebeyond traditional feed store expectations.

Farm, Homestead & pet people beware when you purchase your chicks from Hawthorne Country Store!…read more They put tiny rubber hair bands on the chicks legs. We found 1 on one of chicks that was green, easily seen & immediately removed it before it cut off circulation and damaged the chick BUT...... there was a light purple band on another one that we didn't see! Now the chick needs medical attention, her foot will need to be removed for her to survive. This is a pet of ours, a silky chicken that has been put through so much already. We contacted Hawthornes and they said we could exchange the chick now 7 weeks old and attached to our family as we've been taking care of her round the clock. They say "they will take care of the chick as best they can if we exchange her" ..... BS, She will be euthanized. We've requested they have the rest of her foot taken care of by a vet and ensure she will be ok with just a peg leg on one side as a get her back to us as AGAIN, SHE'S OUR PET! They said no, exchange only. PROOF they will euthanize her.