Winter is a wonderful time for feeding birds in your yard and Higbie Farm Supplies, Inc., in North Chili specializes in supplies to attract all kinds of songbirds – including a wide selection of their own blends of birdseed.
“We can’t keep up with the demand for birdseed,” Terry Harris – who owns Higbie’s with her husband, Rob – says. “We go through a tractor trailer load every other week.”
Terry explains that in addition to the selection at their store, Higbie’s sells wholesale birdseed to other local stores, giving Higbie’s more buying power.
Higbie’s has an entire wall devoted to their birdseed mixes. There is a corn-less mix, marvelous mix, no mess mix and new mixes specially blended for woodpeckers, cardinals and finches. Each mix comes in an economy or deluxe blend.
There are bagged, in-shell peanuts as well as “pickout” peanut pieces. Other bagged options include safflower, nyjer seed, white millet, whole corn kernels, corn cobs, blackoil sunflower and stripe sunflower seed.
Most bagged mixes and single-variety seeds are available in five-pound, six pound or eight pound bags.
Higbie’s is also “going green” with new refillable, easy to store and pour containers of birdseed. The containers – which resemble milk jugs – contain five pounds of nyjer seed for $5.95. Refills are 99 cents per pound. Customers bring back the containers for a refill.
Higbie’s has a long history in North Chili and has been a family business for generations. It is housed in an old railroad station at 3440 South Union Street. People enjoy coming in to shop, Terry explains, because of the nostalgic atmosphere.
“It’s like the public market – it has an old railroad station ambience,” Terry observes – a very different feel than a box store or chain store, she adds.
Higbie’s still sells animal feed to farmers as well as fencing and home heating fuels like wood pellets and coal. They also continue to deliver wood pellets and coal, “We have 200 coal customers,” Terry says. “We find those niches in customer service that have kept us in business.”
Terry says the store attracts many different kinds of customers. She might have a homeowner with a Pomeranian come in to be followed by a farmer who has just stopped in after working with his cows.
The store is filled from floor-to-ceiling with a wide variety of useful and colorful wares – everything from boots to gloves to pet supplies for cats, dogs and other domestic animals such as rabbits.
Back in the birdseed department, there are also suet cakes, unique birdhouses and nesting boxes, a large selection of feeders and even heated birdbaths – everything you need for attracting birds to your yard.
There are specialty pet foods, animal bedding and pet toys.
Terry stocks unique gift items – some hand-made locally – and books as well as all-occasion cards. Gift items include Wood-Wick candles, puzzles and slippers.There’s local honey and maple syrup and Amish snacks and treats.
Terry and Rob travel out of state to find new vendors so there is always something new with which to delight customers.
“People love an old fashioned shopping experience,” Terry says and Higbie’s wood floors and lack of background music attest to that, she notes.
“This is my favorite store,” one customer adds, enthusiastically.
“Once (people) discover the extent of our suburban goods, we’ve won a customer for life,” Terry concludes.
Higbie Farm Supplies is open Tuesday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
