Elston Hay & Grain

I have been in here quite a lot recently as I just moved a horse down to Poway. Every time I come in I feel welcome and they have everything that I need. From apparel for the rider to deworming paste for my horse they have it all.

I love Elston Hay & Grain! The employees treat you like family, and are so helpful! Alyssa helped me put together everything I needed for a new puppy, and he loves all of it! I wouldn’t have known what all he needed, and it was nice to get everything from one place. I wish there were more family businesses like this one.

Friendly and helpful employees. I called 6 places for Australorps before finding they had them and for under $ 5 each! A bit of a drive to get here but glad I found this place– well priced and a good selection for a small store. Love being able to support the smaller non chain stores, will be back

Love elstons hay and grain, but lately the customer service just has not been very friendly. I go in almost once a week and sometime I dont even get a hello.

Great customer service. Low prices and close to me. What more can you ask for?

I have been wanting my own flock of chickens for a long time and now with the help of Elston Hay & Grain 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!

Incredible prices! Literally ¹⁄₃ cheaper than PetCo or Kahoots on some things. Friendly staff. They have a good selection of stuff for dogs, cats, rabbits, small pets. They DO NOT stock a bunch of crap petfood made in China. I love that my $ goes to a local, family business instead of some giant corporation probably based out of the country.

Friendly and very knowledgable employees. We just got chickens and I went in for a couple things. I have now found my regular location for all things for our chickens. This is how all businesses should operate and treat customers. Btw– they even help load everything in your vehicle.

Quick Update: Just a couple hours of posting my issue with the chicken scratch, the owner contacted me with email and explained the potential cause to the problem. She even offered me a bag of scratch for free! What a customer-​centric business! Now that I know the problem is not caused by their inventory, I am more than happy to give them five stars for their great customer service!
Their service is great. I went there for some organic chicken feed and chicken scratch. The price is very reasonable compared with other stores. I like their promotion on the facebook too.
I would have given a five-​star if not for the bag of Modesto Milling Chicken Scratch that I got. When I opened it at home I found the bag was basically infested with small black beetles and most of the grains have the look that the beetles or their larvae have already had the first bite. As a newbie in raising chickens, I don’t know if the product was supposed to be like that, or just that it had been sitting in the warehouse for too long.

I’ve just recently started raising chickens luckily I found Elston they are very helpful and have everything for my girls

I visited this store for the first time today and was very pleased with what I saw. This is a family owned and operated business where customer service is a priority. I will definitely return, especially for my wild bird seed as they have a great selection and a great variety.

I have been shopping at Elston’s for more than 5 years. When I first started going there, I found customer service to be poor. But, over the last 2 years, I have seen a huge improvement! Their rewards program is great, since my husband and I are there at least once a week, shopping for our horses. I would give the store 5 stars if the selection of products was better, but I do understand their space limitations. But, they will call the Ramona store and even have items sent from there, so you can usually get what you need.

The cashier is always friendly to me when I go in. Timothy hay for guinea pigs is FRESH and CHEAP!!! I kick myself for buying it from petco and kahoots for so long. I also buy pine bedding here and it’s also a great deal.

I visit this store weekly… for hay, dog food, random broken water buckets, meds, etc. Alyssa knows me by name, knows what dog food I need, always has something pleasant to say. We had previously been having hay delivered but the prices were so much higher, we started picking up our own at Elston’s. The quality of the alfalfa is much better. The flakes are heavy and full of flowers and our horses LOVE it. Though the selection of tack and accessories isn’t as wide as the store in Ramona (which I also love!!!), they always go out of their way to check and see if the Ramona store has it and call to reserve it for pick up.
I am a firm believer in supporting your local businesses and this is a perfect example of why I am!!!

The reason why I keep returning is because it is close and I live in Poway. However, the customer service is not great and yes, as one post stated there is a snooty teenage girl running the place. Even our trainer stated that the Poway store runs out of things all the time. I agree whole heartedly. The Ramona store is fantastic. Great customer service and great selection. As a busy mom it is hard for me to go all the way out there. Hope this was helpful– FOLLOW UP– These people have really stepped up to the plate. This service is SO much better and now they have a «Reward Card» system which is totally unique! Thanks for making a sincere effort!

Being that I have no idea how to anything related to farming/​manual labor this was the perfect place to come in for a bail of hay to decorate for Halloween! Only $ 12! Friendly staff.

I went here for the first time years ago and made another visit just recently. I don’t remember the customer service being so cold and heartless! I entered the store and I got a pretty friendly sounding «Hello». The friendliness ends there.
There were 2 female teenagers sitting behind the counter. They will not approach you or ask if you need help looking for something. When I asked a question, I would get an answer in a blunt, angry-​like fashion and she would immediately go back to surfing on their cell phone. When I returned an item, she looked as if someone spat in her food. With that type of attitude, I will never return to Elston’s again.

Great help in the yard. Buy something, and the kids (yard guys) load your truck. There are a lot of feed stores in town, we always go to Elstons.

For my step daughter’s birthday we got her horseback riding lessons. The instructor told us we needed a training helmet and specific boots so we headed to Elston as it’s on the same street where we live.
The worker, a woman about my age, was «ok» in her help other than her constant complaining about having to work there, apparently for her mom. It was awkward but I got Madi her helmet and boots and we were on our way.
Jump forward 3 weeks, my husband unexpectedly passed away. Madi lost her daddy, I lost my husband and best friend. Since Madi had not even touched either the helmet or the boots, I asked my mom to return them knowing I don’t even have enough cash on hand to pay for the mortuary services.
Eston Hay & Grain refused to return the helmet, which was still in the box AND wrapped in plastic. Apparently she (the same unhappy salesperson I worked with) smugly pointed out to my mom on the receipt where it says I only have 72 hours to return the helmet, NO EXCEPTIONS! She even told my mom (in a cynical tone no less), «Have a nice day…» Really?
Seriously… not only does the sales staff have no heart or compassion but the store is pretty sparse and stinky… bad karma!

Not a huge selection, but prices are fair and they usually have a really good deal on hay pellets and bedding. Heads up– they are closed Wednesdays. If you need a place in Poway for feed and bedding this is a good place to shop, if you need a place for tack or other farm supplies go to Hawthorne in Escondido.