Hilliker’s Egg Ranch

My family and I love to buy our eggs here, they’re the best! And the prices are better then some local stores. I only come for the good egg, I don’t care much for the Customer service; we don’t have that for breakfast anyways ;)

great price for eggs. fresh and local. I ran out of eggs on a sunday and in a pinch, ran to wal mart for eggs. never again. they are from Arkansas and 3 of them were bad.
I plan ahead better and get 2 flats of eggs at a time from Hillikers! we are lucky to have a local egg ranch here :)

These eggs are always fresh and it feels good to know that you are buying local eggs that come from down the street rather than eggs from poor chickens in the chicken egg farms. The local albertsons in lakeside sells hill inkers which I think is great! They are more expensive than the cheap farm eggs but they really are worth it.

Worst customer service ever! My friend flew out from Ohio and he wanted «fresh» eggs from a local farm. We take him to this place where we think we have supported their business enough from our purchases and referrals to ask if they’d show us the barn. The lady working there got so angry. We bought our eggs and left. We never returned since.

NOT free range chickens :(
Take a tour… it’s a sad life for these chickens.
Purchase eggs from Kimber’s in San Marcos!!!

I’ve been going to theses guys for eggs, since I was a little, I have grand kids now !
Great people great price !

Great price fresh eggs!

I buy my eggs here all the time, and once in a while I buy ostrich eggs. they are big at least worth 20+ chicken eggs & taste great. you can save the shell to make interesing things, a bit hard to open. for the fresh eggs always go to farm fresh.
.

We drove out to Lakeside to find fresh eggs. We found them. The eggs I bought were laid the day before. When I fried them they were firm and fresh looking, proof that they were fresh. The price was less than most grocery stores. Well worth the effort.

Inexpensive, local eggs. What’s not to love. It is an egg ranch so there is a smell, not too bad.
You cannot beat the prices for fresh eggs!

Fresh eggs are the best I love being able to come here and get them. So far all of the people have been really nice and helpful. Prices are good and I hear the chickens have a little more room to walk around than some of the bigger manufacturers.

I visited Hilliker’s Farm today and didn’t find it smelled as bad as all the reviews said. There was a faint ‘farm’ smell, but it was not at all offensive. I ordered 30 dozen of the ‘crax’– thats eggs with minor defects or cracks. I only paid $ 2.75! It was amazing… I went here after a friend recommended them. I told my friend I was buying the Hilliker’s brand when I shop, and I paid $ 3.00/dozen. Then they told me about the great deal you get if you actually visit the farm. Since they are only 10 minutes away, I paid them a visit. What I didn’t realize about ordering the crax, was that you get an assortment of all different sizes, in both white and brown. That makes it an even better deal because the larger eggs normally cost even more.
Currently the only other thing they sell is locally made honey.

I ran into Hilliker’s at the San Carlos Farmer’s Market. Their farm is located in Lakeside and you can purchase eggs there too. I was very impressed with the ladies who work the Stand. They were very knowledgeable regarding farming fresh vegetarian eggs. They were quick to explain their process of raising chickens and the eggs. (
)
I picked up a dozen brown eggs for $ 2.75. (
) They also carry jumbo sized eggs and white ones as well. The also have a stand at the Poway Farmer’s Market. Great place to get quality eggs and they store for at least 2 months in the frig.
Got huevos rancherso?

You can’t beat $ 3.75 for 30 LARGE eggs!

We were taken back by a very rude women selling the eggs, running around swearing at a little boy named Tommy. She also complained she was late for her lunch break. Being the brown eggs were .90 cents more we asked her which were better brown or white? She replied an egg is an egg. We did buy eggs but we won’t be back.

Chicken $hit, f*ckin place smells!!!
Located on the border of Santee and Lakeside, this smelly egg ranch is an institution .
My family has been buying eggs here since I can remember. They process the eggs on the same day they harvest them.
You slide open the barn door to purchase the eggs, and you can watch the Hilliker family process the eggs.
Inexpensive fresh eggs.

I always buy my eggs here because I love supporting local growers and I love that the farm has been here for decades. Sometimes the people who help you aren’t always the most friendly, but it takes a total of 30 seconds to walk in and buy your eggs so it’s really no big deal. I think I’d be semi-​grouchy too if I had to work in a smelly egg farm day in and day out. Yes, it does smell, but it’s a farm. It’s Lakeside. What do you expect? I’d way rather smell nasty poo in order to have fresh eggs than buy eggs from a grocery store that have been shipped from who knows where. I also like they you can take back your empty egg containers and they reuse them. And you can’t beat $ 1.65 for a dozen farm fresh eggs.

Local business great prices, mr. hilliker was a good man helped out with the community.
And to all those who complain about the smell, Its has been there before most of these houses were built.
IT was great when all the new owners of that housing complex complained about his ranch… so he fertilized his empty field with chicken shit: D
It stunk pretty: D

Living in lakeside has its pro’s and con’s, living near a farm you expect some occasional odors. Don’t live within a ½ mile of the farm if you can’t stand living in the stench of boiling poop for weeks at a time. They have some ostrich and Emu’s in the front, but don’t bother trying to buy in ostrich egg at the egg farm, they will look at you like your nuts.
The eggs are good and inexpensive, they definitely look fresh.

This place is an icon in Lakeside history.
When I was a kid, I went on a tour of the ranch. I just remember all these chickens in cages stacked on top of each other and a nauseating stench permeating the barn where they were kept. That was in the early 90s.
A few years later, somebody started building a new housing development next to the ranch. I went to school in Santee so I drove past Hilliker’s every day. One afternoon when my dad picked me up from school it was particularly hot and we were driving with the windows down. As soon as we got to that first bend on El Nopal we were struck with the most horrifying smell I’ve ever experienced. To this day, no smell has even come close. The Hilliker’s had put some kind of fertilizer on that field by the road but I can’t fathom what it was. They said it was chicken dung but I know they used chicken dung as fertilizer later and it didn’t smell nearly as bad. This particular day, my dad stopped talking mid-​sentence as soon as the smell hit him. Neither one of us could say anything. I couldn’t even take in a full breath. It was BAD. Later, the Hillikers put up a sign on the edge of their property near the housing development saying that they would be fertilizing regularly and the new residents would have to deal with that smell frequently. I guess it was some sort of protest against the development being built. Pretty epic.
I don’t think the ranch does tours anymore and I haven’t smelled anything offensive in several years. Most recently, they’ve had a couple emus/​ostriches out in the field, which is pretty entertaining for my out-​of-​town friends if we happen to drive by.
Hilliker’s has given me some vivid, albeit bizarre, memories over the years. They also produce some good eggs and I’m all for buying local stuff. The egg ranch is a notable fixture in the community and I sincerely hope it remains active for many years to come.