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Online Scams of Backyard Chickens, Hens, Pullets, Coops, Henhouses, Equipment, etc.

Product Scams:
Chickens, Hens, Pullets, Layers, other Backyard Poultry Scams

You may have seen an advertisement for "Premium Poultry", Chickens, Hens, Pullets, etc." on on a blog or website? Backyard chickens have become very popular, and that means scammers have gotten involved. The create scam websites or use social media pages like Facebook to take your money and never send you the chickens. Below are reports from consumers. Until the FTC, FCC SEC, or a state enforcement agency gets involved we can say they are scammers, but you can read the consumer reports and make up your own mind.

We will say this: if the language on the website is very generic, uses bad grammer, many misspellings and phrases things in an odd or unusual way, those are classic signs of a scammer's website.

Reports from consumers:

A visitor writes on July 05, 2024: "I ordered 10 chicks from the website Premiumpoultrybreeds.com. I found it fishy that they sent me details and invoice then requested i send payment through venmo. I sent 154.90$. When they finally sent information, I was given a tracking number from a company I have never heard of Globalsshipping.com. The expected delivery date was July 4th which I thought was fishy too since its a holiday. They said they were shipping with USPS (where I work) yet never supplied me with a USPS tracking number. When I contacted the site today, they said to contact the shipping company. When I contacted them they said the chickens needed a 210$ health certificate which was never mentioned when I purchased. also the shipping company never contacted me, waiting for me to contact them even though they supposedly had live animals that would die without delivery. The phone contact information was on all the forms. They now want me to send another 210$ and I don't even know if these animals are even alive or real. Now both the PremiumPoultrybreeds.com site nor the Globalsshipping.com are responding to me anymore. I work with US Postal inspectors which i considering contacting over this."
(UPDATED: July 05, 2024)

Facebook scams regarding backyard chickens

There are many scams involving backyard chickens, sales of henhouses, coops, pullets, hens, etc on Facebook. Here's what to look for:

Warning signs and red flags of a poultry scam

Genericly named business in all lower case letters
The account posting is a new member
The account does not give a specific location
The poster does not live in the area of the group,
Their Facebook page is new or has very little history
They clearly don't know much about chikens, demonstrated by mislabeled photos or vague and gibberishy answers to questions.
If they respond to questions with a request for a Private Message.
Simply Too Good To Be True: They always have whatever you want and/or absurdly low prices
They only offer deliver, and you may not visit them, go there to pick up or visit the farm. They may claim it is about biosecurity or avoid the spread of disease, but that's nonsense.
The account often has a women's photo and a male name, or profile photos of different people.
The account's profile is locked down with very little information and no comments
The writing is usually generic, with many typos, misspellings and written in poor syntax and unprofessional.
The account does not respond to people asking for more information, like a location
The photos usually show birds outside with a scene that does not match the current weather or season, like green grass in the winter.
The photos are inconsistent, as if taken from different places entirely, the backgrounds do not match, like different fencing, bedding, and buildings . These photos and videos are obviously taken from legitimate websites.
When challenged, the ey respond beligerantly and accuse others.
If you ask a question that shows you know it is a scam, they will usually immediately block you

How to avoid a scam or check on them:

One of the best ways is to check the pictures they post. Use Google image search or tineye.com to see if they were stolen from another website. This is VERY common with these scammers.
If you pay using Paypal, DO NOT check the Friends and Family box. The default is Goods and Services. Paypal may reimburse your for a business scam if the Goods and Services category is checked, but PayPal WILL NOT if you checked Friends and Family.
Check the National Poultry Improvement Plan list for the state they claim to be in and see if they are listed.
Always use Secured Payment Systems, never a Western Union MoneyGram, money order, cash, or wire transfer. You want to stay within the system so it is traceable and refundable.