Carl

Trustpilot

Quality products and service: the best

Quality products and service - a true pleasure to deal with. I place about £2k of orders for wild food, and boxes/feeders etc - Vine House Farm are by far the best to deal with. They really know their products and birds and consistently over the last 20 years have provided wonderful service. The founder Nicholas Watts is the “go to legend” on all things bird conservation and knowledge - a true country man and passionate protector of wild life. I can highly recommend his guided country walks. His MBE needs upgrading to “National Treasure”.

Pamela B

Trustpilot

Review not posted on website

I’m reviewing on here because this company asked me to review my first order but didn’t post it on it’s website which suggests they could be cherry picking good reviews to post (as mine was slightly critical of the packaging). My first order of bird seed arrived unsealed at the top and with a cable tie loosely around so unsure whether it had been dispatched like that or had been tampered with en route. That said, the no grow seed has been fine and well received by our birds so I ordered some sunflower hearts which arrived today and were properly sealed. I’m sure this is a great company but don’t ask people to review if you are not posting them on your website, it gives a false impression. Later edit: Thank you for your reply below ref damaged packaging. My review only appeared after I had written this on Trustpilot as I checked a minute before posting on here. We’ll park that there!

Jill

Trustpilot

An outstanding local company, farm shop and cafe

An outstanding local company you have the environment at its heart. We have always bought our bird and wildlife food from Vine House Farm and the farm shop now has the addition of an excellent cafe attached selling locally sourced food. We feel privileged to have Vine house Farm just a few miles down the road.

Essex Birdwatching Society

Trustpilot

Essex Birdwatching Society farm tour

We arranged a bespoke tractor/trailer tour of the farm and it was superb. Nicholas gave detailed explanations of how he's developed the land over the years for the benefit of birds and wildlife, and the genuine passion that he has really shone through. The cafe and shop are both excellent with great food and produce, and the service received from all of the staff was second to none. We will be back!

Ali

Trustpilot

Our Garden Birds Don't Like It.

We ordered a large bag of the Won't Grow Bird Seed. Unfortunately half of it is wasted - the birds just throw half of it away. I did contact the company to ask for advice but received no reply. Disappointing as this company is recommended by the Wildlife Trust and we therefore expected better.

Rob

Trustpilot

Good Quality Seed and Service

I've been happily buying seed from Vine House for several years. On the one occasion when there was a mix-up with the order it was rectified immediately at no cost to me. Delivery is usually next working day but their carrier, DHL, has let me down twice without warning. On both occasions they simply failed to turn up. I started with Mixed Bird Seed, which the smaller birds used to sift through and discard in quantity. They and the birds waiting below seemed to struggle with the black sunflower seeds. A change to Premium Mix Seed, although more expensive, proved economical at it eliminated a lot of waste. I now use a squirrel proof feeder (to keep the jackdaws and rooks at bay) and sprinkle a bit of seed on the grass to keep the ground feeders happy. That alone attracts a wide variety of birds to my semi-rural garden. Fat balls in a feeder were a failure, only being eaten by jackdaws when I eventually put them on the grass. Dried mealworms, sprinkled on the grass, are a favourite of magpies, jackdaws and rooks but I can't say I've noticed any other birds getting a look in.

Roger Thomas

Trustpilot

Final comments

I had spent quite a lot of money buying bird seeds from Vinehouse Farm, then last autumn things took a turn for the worse(me not liking what they were selling me) 1,lots of dust in the mix which was causing clogging up of the hanging feeder in damp weather+ the birds were not wanting to eat it. So I put some of the mix through flour sieve + other stainless mesh to understand the amount of product dust therein ,and made up my mind to start making my own mix,which doesnt clog up or is wasted by birds just not eating it. So now I know my mix is stable in most conditions and is eaten. So l am now buying ingredients from Soarmill Bird Foods and things are returning to normal,with no problems. Roger Thomas.

Roger Thomas

Trustpilot

Update.

Update. Well I have sieved some of the problem mix and found that the dust is white,after checking the ingredients it points towards the peanuts as being the problem,because when peanuts are chopped up, there is a dust that is white, so now I have put out 3 mixes in hanging feeders and wait to see how they go in very damp conditions. But my peanuts are not so finely chopped, so if all 3 mixes are not clogging I understand what is going on with the Ultimate mix. So will build my own bird food ,which shouldnt clog up Roger Thomas.

Roger Thomas

Trustpilot

Problem with lots of dust in bird mix

Well,up until last summer I was extremely pleased with their bird foods. BUT something has changed with the ultimate seed mix, I will explain. Now when you put your your hand into the seed mix,your hand comes out covered in dust. So is this overmilling somewhere in the making process ,because I have put some of the seed mix through a 1.7mm (floor sieve), and found lots of dust which causes clogging in the hanging feeders over the past 2 months,so is a major problem feeding the birds in damp weather. So I have spoken to Lucy Tayler and explained about the dust issue. She explained that thing would improve and the dust issue would be removed , but it has not. REMEMBER DAMP DUST HAS A SEVERE CLOGGING ACTION IN DAMP WEATHER SO the way I see around this problem is to build a copy of this mix myself to provewhat I am saying,without the sunflower bits and dust and not to have clogging in the hanging feeders.So I will be using whole sunflower hearts + sieve them to be sure that that there is no dust. I will also check all other ingredients for high levels of dust, then know where issues are and be able to build really my own quality mix for my hanging feeders. I STILL LIKE VINE HOUSE PRODUCTS,BUT THEY HAVE TO BE GOOD, and work 12 months of the year without grief, like they did before. Roger Thomas.

Celia

Trustpilot

Top quality bird seed

Have recently started buying my bird seed from Vine House Farm and I have got to say this is the best quality bird seed I have ever used and I have been feeding the birds for over 20 years. I will not buy from anywhere else now. The birds love it and eat it all so there is no waste. Delivery is also great and very quick. 10/10! Thanks very much!

JG

Trustpilot

Total lack of care taken with ordered product.

Firstly the item bought didn't arrive the next day, as they boast on the website, not a major problem but be aware if you order something as a gift that you should give it two days rather than their advertised 'next day', and I ordered at 10:49am, way before 3pm. Secondly, when the item arrived, they hadn't even bothered to wrap it! They had simply stuck address information on the product box, which meant the box was dented, scuffed and damaged. So if you are buying as a gift for someone, as I was, you will be disappointed by the condition your products box arrives in. Won't be using this company again. A shame, because I wanted to support a smaller business rather than the usual online shopping company.

Bob

Trustpilot

The best for bird seed!

Strange to see some negative reviews. This company are, by far, the best for bird seed and customer service. Their sunflower seeds are definitely the very best quality. Other, cheaper sellers use filler and poor quality, dried out seeds, that the small birds can't eat. Not Vine House! Had to speak with customer services and they were really kind and professional. Have been disappointed so many times with other, cheaper sellers. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Christine Eglinton

Trustpilot

Excellent service

Excellent service. The bird seed I buy is very reasonably priced and delivery was fast.

Jane 👸🏼

Trustpilot

Our garden birds absolutely LOVE VHF…

Our garden birds absolutely LOVE VHF Robin and Friends Mix…I’m now refilling my ground feeder and hanging seed tray every few days. I also add extra VHF sultanas which go down very well with the blackbirds. Only complaint…the plastic packaging. I bought a bag recently that was made from strong paper, but it was the only one in the shop. Maybe time to cross over to paper? ❤️

Dean Leverett

Trustpilot

Low quality bird feeder

Bought bird feeder from these people. Delivered quickly, but product is extremely low quality, doesn't fit with pictures of website (fixings different) and really isn't worth anything like the £55 paid. I've bought lots of stuff from these people, but never again.....

Roger thomas

Trustpilot

When it comes to feeding the birds,we…

When it comes to feeding the birds,we find VINE HOUSE FARM really good. Since we switched to them 2 years ago we have increased the variety of birds that we are getting ,because when we talk to them we find the up to date knowledge of what foods they really like and use those.Their UEM feed is really goodand when you add 10% chopped peanuts,it getting them feeding really properly and of a morning now there are so many different varieties,such as. Wood peckers Nut hatches Blue tit Gold finches Great tits and all the other tits Sparrows Starlings And so many more The foods sold by vine house farm are really good quality and are delivered FREE next day.We phone them and receive them promptly They sell a very good range of feeders,and their luxury fat balls are a favorite of starlings and many other birds We Like VINE HOUSE FARM and we consider them to be 10/10

hilary down

Trustpilot

Brilliant site for bird food and…

Brilliant site for bird food and feeders, I have been a member of this site for some time, but over the last five years a lot has happened, but I have now to replace my cards so I may once more start to replace feeders for my beloved birds, and winter is nearly here, and I may have my old feeders out I have lost several others plus my bird table may be following as one of its legs has started to come loose , so I have one problem and that is my flutter butter feeder it will not make my birds at all happy, because the dark green hood frightens the birds , they can not see predators flying near, they can not see dangers at all, maybe if the hood was clear then just maybe the little birds will come and feed from it, otherwise I was a waste of money. While my other feeders are all doing well, and the ones I can not use will be soon replaced along with the food and my garden will once more ring loud with happy contented birds.

Julie Hunter

Trustpilot

Chaos from start to finish

Ordered a ground bird feeder but received a box of fat balls instead. Spoke to someone on the phone who eventually gave a grudging apology. Received an email assuring me I would receive the feeder the next day, instead the next morning I received an email telling me they would be picking up the fat balls. When I queried what happened to my ground feeder they told me that I wouldn’t be getting it that day after all. I was given some garbled explanation about collection versus delivery. I was left at this point with no alternative but to cancel as I did not trust them at to deliver the next day either. It was clear they wanted their fat balls back and didn’t really care about my ground feeder. To confuse the situation further I received a notification that I was to receive a DHL delivery from them on the Friday which unsurprisingly didn’t turn up, however it was clear to me that if I had decided not to cancel this is when i would have received the feeder, almost a week after ordering. I order a lot of wild bird products but I’ve never used this company before and won’t again, very unprofessional.

John

Trustpilot

Poor delivery service

Oh dear, Having ordered live mealworms and expecting a next day delivery via DHL, enquiries with the company point me to the disclaimer buried in the delivery information that excludes these from the next day service. If you don't deliver the product next day then don't provide misleading information on the product information page. And to think I paid more for the product thinking I'd get next day delivery! Let down by another company!

Matt Riley

Trustpilot

Great service while helping wildlife charities

Submitted a postal order via cheque payment and was very impressed when the order arrived within a few days. Fantastic that a share of proceeds goes towards the Wildlife Trusts. Keep up the good work.