General Feed & Seed Company

The kindest, most joyful and helpful staff. I’m learning about chickens as I go and they always give me great information and help and don’t make me feel silly for my questions.

Best place hands down. Real friendly staff. The store is well stocked and always has everything i need.

In these tough economic times, when on-​line shopping lures customers away from hands-​on, knowledgeable, local people, the hard working, personable and helpful folks at General provide the expertise and service for proper equipment and feed and so much more. April is invaluable in saddle fit, especially for those hard to fit horses. It is hard to keep everything on the shelves at all times, but you can not beat the attitude, effort and community spirit of Santa Cruz’s own General Feed and Seed

This place is my favorite store in the whole world because they have horse tack and lots of it! They also have flowers and chickens among other things as well. The women in the tack shop are VERY knowledgeable and April will come fit a saddle to your horse. LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

I dropped in here for a few items today, after a long absence. It will be my last visit. I don’t know what has happened to this business, but I have rarely encountered such rude — even openly hostile — people working in retail! It’s always been a funky, rather dirty place, but you could usually count on at least vaguely friendly counter help (service in the tack shop varies), often by the owner… who was not there today. I have never felt good about the way they treat the live chicks they sell. I consider their dirty, smelly, stacked «cage» containers (wire trays, really) to be cruel confinement, so I have never been a frequent GF&S customer, but I have shopped there occasionally for almost 20 years. The main reason I come here is they carry bulk seed that other local shops don’t carry. But even that was not well stocked today. And they had the chicks, as always, stacked up in their smelly trays. And they were absolutely horrible toward a longtime customer. So I will buy my seed online from now on.

It seems that the best staff members here — Betty, Brett, and a few others — have disappeared and been replaced by a bunch of new kids who know next to nothing about animal feed or livestock-​keeping.
Also, they really need to do something about their straw supplier. I’ve purchased numerous moldy bales of straw here — which ended up giving my duck aspergillus (a fungus infection of the airways), costing me over $ 1,000 to cure.
They store is well-​stocked and prices are good, however, so that’s what keeps me coming back.

Just want to chime in. This is a FANTASTIC place, and I come all the way from Menlo Park to buy rice straw for my garden because of the people and the place. My only trouble is sometimes remembering where the turnoff is on Soquel (Commercial). I like the vibe and the décor too. However the best are the people and their products.

Love, love, love this place. The kindest, friendliest most helpful bunch of people you could ever hope for. Really good prices on food and more as well! I highly, highly recommend this store!

Came here to get a flake of straw for the garden, was really delighted that Santa Cruz has a legitimate tack shop to boot as well.
I was given the grand tour by a wonderfully nice man who showed me where everything was– and also showed me the little chicks they had just gotten in. It was pretty cool. On a hot day, this was a wonderful respite.
A note on the gardening stuff: Love that you can get stuff in bulk– it’s a cheap way to sample stuff you are unsure about, but some things are more pricey this way, others cheaper– so know what you’re doing when going in the bulk section. Also the paper bags can leak, so you may want to bring old bags with you to re-​use, at least that’s what I like to do. I went in to get a flake or two of straw to help keep the soil warm during the fog we had in the summer. So I asked for 2 flakes. I got about 4. These are generous flakes! But, they bag up each «flake» in a bag so it doesn’t make a mess in your car– because they know this is what people are buying singles for (garden, small pets, what not). That’s pretty cool.
The tack shop: I was kind of putting off going there because I was not wanting to be let down, also because I have an injury that has prevented me from riding for a few years (yay finally back soon!). But I was greeted by a very knowledgeable woman, and a room full of great stuff. It was mostly from Ariat and they were racks of western saddles, but when we got to talking it made sense. These are what sells. I was telling her how much I adore Tailored’s, and she said she could sell the britches all day, but the company would have her sell the shirts and jackets too. Fair point– I never really liked their jackets much. To each his/​her own. I noticed a few consignment saddles and I thought about how I have a saddle that I adore, but is far too short for me, so we talked about that– and again knew her stuff. It made me feel good. The only thing I’d like to see a lot more of is helmets in there, but maybe because I’m a big helmet person, but overall, it’s a really nice place.

This place is the absolute best for all of us who own or ride horses. April is a miracle-​worker. She has fitted my horse for a saddle and has fitted my daughter for custom-​made boots. She remembers our names, what ranch we’re at, and the name of our horse! Is that amazing? I always feel part of a community when I shop at General. The store itself is always clean, everyone is helpful, knowledgeable, and willing to discuss all issues related to horse feed and care. We are so lucky to have them in our area.

Love this place, a true general feed and seed for ranches. I’m a rider and they have all the basic stuff. I wish they had more riding clothes, such as casual shirts, but they have enough. Staff is awesome. Wish too they’d bring back he big aviary outside, loved that.

They’ve got it all here. The feed is well kept, the barn isn’t hot. We come in for Evo, Taste of the Wild, feed, hay and veggie plants. Friendly service. It’s a fun destination shop for the kids, as there is nearly always something new to see.

This place always has a good vibe and is low key, in a good way. Have an interesting mix of product including a great selection of riding stuff (I don’t ride but like to go look at the boots). They will load feed, heavy or awkward items for you. I come in about once a month just to buy a little something but I go out of my way to go to General Feed.

This is the ONLY place we will go to get our chicken food. The guy that owns the place is literally like the nicest guy I have even met in my life, and he always makes us feel special. I don’t think I have ever left General Feed without a smile on my face, and I love that they remember us every time we come in!
Not only are the prices good, and the service exceptional, but I think they’re about the only feed store that’s open on Sunday (when I usually run out of chicken feed). Basically, I can’t say enough good things about General Feed. :)

I needed a new leather riding crop and found one here. I bought one 10 years ago here which was hand crafted, beautiful and made in Ireland and cost $ 29. The one I bought yesterday is nothing special but will do the job, made in Germany and costs $ 39. There are less expensive ones for $ 9 but they have sparkles and glitter on them (not exactly my style). Service is nice and the guy on the forklift is cool!

Only place I know of close to Santa Cruz that sells my kitty’s food! (Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul: somehow it makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing for my cat even though I have no knowledge of its nutritional value. Just because it’s hard to find I think it’s the salt of the earth.)
Also, the people who work here are really nice and one time they had adorable little button quails in the coop out front. And it’s a great place for dog spotting.

Great place! Thank God they’re around, especially since we’ve lost Callie Feed & Seed… Anyways. GENERAL feed & Seed is the BOMB. They have a huge selection for all your needs. and the staff IS always helpful and friendly. I LOVE going & looking at the baby chickies and they have great little plant selection as well. =D

Love this place! Great hay, great tack… always good quality on both!

This place is awesome, the staff is super friendly and helpful, and they have a lot to choose from in the horse department. Prices are reasonable and I was lucky to find some cool things on sale! This place is not snooty like some tack shops… I highly recommend it.