Recent threads had me thinking that not only newbies get done by people doing the wrong thing.
I will share one of my experiences with you that I had just a couple of years ago.
New back in Canada I was still thinking about which breeds I was going to concentrate on. I like to have 1 or 2 that I really focus on. I had decided not to get back into the Barnevelders and try something new. I had chosen the Partridge Chanteclers but was looking for another.
There was a post on a forum, can't remember which one it was, about someone hatching egg and selling the chicks. They had posted who they had gotten the eggs from and what they had available. They had some from a breeder I was interested in obtaining stock from and I did not have my sportsman yet, so I contacted them about these eggs and purchasing the chicks hatched from them.
Remember, I am not a newbie. Been in the industry for close to 20 years now. I know what questions to ask, I am pretty good with chick down and what to expect them to look like. Especially with breeds I have chosen to work with. I was also familiar with the breeder this person had bought the eggs from.
Anyways, I asked all the right questions. Even said I knew the breeder and only wanted the chicks from his eggs. They were hatching from other sources as well and I was very firm I only wanted what I wanted and not any of the others. I was told hatching date and assured there was no way to have a mix up.
So I get the call, arrangements are made and I drive all the way to Merritt to meet up with the husband who has to drive thru and will deliver. As soon as I looked at the chicks I knew a large portion of them where not what I had paid for. Hubby of course knew nothing, or said he didn't. Some of the chicks even had full wing feathers and they were being sold as day old. I tried to phone her from there, no answer, go figure. Of course I was getting the story from hubby that I had to take them as he had no way of keeping them once he got to the coast. I was really p*ssed off. I even ended up buying 3 other chicks, 2 Marans and a Barnevelder because the person didn't show at the last stop. They were expensive chicks and he didn't even give me a deal even though I was taking them off his hands and they didn't die. The Barnevelder died the next day and the Marans ended up having very twisted feet, but I digress..
I finally got a hold of her and she swore up and down that they were what they were supposed to be, but they were definitely not. I even told her why and how I know. She wavered a bit and said well maybe there could have been a mistake, by that time I was just over it and decided to end it.
I am not sure if she was just a beginner that thought it was going to be easy or if she just really didn't know any better but I can tell you it was not right. If I was a really newbie it probably really would have turned me off. So it is just not the SOP breeders giving newbies a rough time.
I suppose the moral of the story is even jaded, suspicious, nontrusting, grumpy people like me, that should know better can be taken in this industry.
I will share one of my experiences with you that I had just a couple of years ago.
New back in Canada I was still thinking about which breeds I was going to concentrate on. I like to have 1 or 2 that I really focus on. I had decided not to get back into the Barnevelders and try something new. I had chosen the Partridge Chanteclers but was looking for another.
There was a post on a forum, can't remember which one it was, about someone hatching egg and selling the chicks. They had posted who they had gotten the eggs from and what they had available. They had some from a breeder I was interested in obtaining stock from and I did not have my sportsman yet, so I contacted them about these eggs and purchasing the chicks hatched from them.
Remember, I am not a newbie. Been in the industry for close to 20 years now. I know what questions to ask, I am pretty good with chick down and what to expect them to look like. Especially with breeds I have chosen to work with. I was also familiar with the breeder this person had bought the eggs from.
Anyways, I asked all the right questions. Even said I knew the breeder and only wanted the chicks from his eggs. They were hatching from other sources as well and I was very firm I only wanted what I wanted and not any of the others. I was told hatching date and assured there was no way to have a mix up.
So I get the call, arrangements are made and I drive all the way to Merritt to meet up with the husband who has to drive thru and will deliver. As soon as I looked at the chicks I knew a large portion of them where not what I had paid for. Hubby of course knew nothing, or said he didn't. Some of the chicks even had full wing feathers and they were being sold as day old. I tried to phone her from there, no answer, go figure. Of course I was getting the story from hubby that I had to take them as he had no way of keeping them once he got to the coast. I was really p*ssed off. I even ended up buying 3 other chicks, 2 Marans and a Barnevelder because the person didn't show at the last stop. They were expensive chicks and he didn't even give me a deal even though I was taking them off his hands and they didn't die. The Barnevelder died the next day and the Marans ended up having very twisted feet, but I digress..
I finally got a hold of her and she swore up and down that they were what they were supposed to be, but they were definitely not. I even told her why and how I know. She wavered a bit and said well maybe there could have been a mistake, by that time I was just over it and decided to end it.
I am not sure if she was just a beginner that thought it was going to be easy or if she just really didn't know any better but I can tell you it was not right. If I was a really newbie it probably really would have turned me off. So it is just not the SOP breeders giving newbies a rough time.
I suppose the moral of the story is even jaded, suspicious, nontrusting, grumpy people like me, that should know better can be taken in this industry.
