Selling Chickens

Yes I have a fancy website, yes I sell day old chicks, and yes I make money doing it. This money goes back into the 3 breeds we (my 2 girls and I) have picked to improve upon. I love all the breeds I raise, I am doing what I can to learn what is good and bad traits and breed away from the bad and improve upon the good. Like Briar said, many people just want nice chickens to lay their eggs on their farms, so why not have people like "us" that will help to produce decent birds to sell to them, stirring them towards the heritage hobby and away from the commercial birds?

I know a couple members on here that I have sold to in the past, some of their first experiences with birds, they have moved on, started to specialize in a certain breed or two and are getting very serious about it. So in a way "us" people that raise and sell multiple breeds are helping the heritage birds not hindering them.
It is all about giving people an option...

very well said hidden!

@ Rasilon.

I trained showjumpers for a year in Oakbank, just outside of Winnipeg and I know what you mean. The fishing is awesome and summers are nice as long you have bugspray . One of the thing that brought me back to Alberta was the tiresome long trips for all the shows from Winnipeg. 15 hours to Minneapolis, 15 to Calgary, etc. Brandon Winterfair and Hart of the Continent were the only two bigger shows that were close.

Me also, I drive and fly all over to seek out new stock when I want it.
Had 3 adult Flemish fly to Winnipeg not to long ago, to a German fella who has warmblood horses and we happen to know a lot of the same people...ah small world, haha.
I drive to Kamloops from Calgary at least twice a year to my college FG breeder to trade brood stock and look at youngsters. Holland once a year for family of course, but I always plan around shows and also go into Germany for visits. Both for horses and fur and feathers.

Great hobby.

Piet

Thank you Hidden as a matter of fact I have a few breeds but I specialize in my OEG but that being said I will not have junk on my place as it costs just as much to feed them as a good bird. I have a couple of breeds that I keep because I know they will sell well and it helps to buy food for everyone and we are not indepently wealthy, but I still use the same high standards for them as I do my other birds, this was instilled in me by my mother always strive to do the best you can by all creatures be it my past show dogs or my fowl.
Oh I could just throw them together and sell lots but that's just not me and I think my buyers expect more out of me.

TripleJfarms- My Silkies are show quality and breed naturally as do my L.F Cornish, I except that some people don't care to show but using the cop out that because you have to pluck etc. really does not have anything to do with trying to breed the best you can. The option is always to try another breed which may not sell as well but would still give you lots of pleasure.

So everyone has breeds that they keep to help with the expenses of keeping the breeds they really love but all can and should try to keep those selling breeds of the highest quality which is good for both the person keeping them and the buyer.
So everyone enjoy your fowl as you please, and if sometime your ready to commit to a breed drop me a line and I will try and hook you up with someone.

Heather

TripleJfarms- My Silkies are show quality and breed naturally as do my L.F Cornish, I except that some people don't care to show but using the cop out that because you have to pluck etc. really does not have anything to do with trying to breed the best you can. The option is always to try another breed which may not sell as well but would still give you lots of pleasure.

I do try to breed the best i can and -am able to with the stock i can get here.....i am trying to breed best quality and picking, choosing for my darkest egg layer marans....without breeding show quality.... mine i dont call show quality BUT i did do well at the show., all i am saying is just because it is show quality does not mean it is better quality. i bought a bengal cat from a breeder and got soooooooooooo ripped off it isnt even funny, i midaswell saved my self the money/headache/heardache and bought from a back yard breeder/hobbiest and still have got better quality... i still have nothing to count for buying from a "show breeder.. a good friend of mine got ripped off buying from a person who shows his stock and he ended up with a hodgpodge of nothing to count for it waste of money.....

I actually have trouble with labels that we put on things. I always have. Show quality birds I may never have as I do not show so will have no proof that they are. Really, with there only being one bird at a show of some breeds or some breeders the only ones at the show so their birds win doesn't really prove anything to me anyways.
I admire people that do show as I know I do not have the time available to do it. In my mind I am a breeder. I want my birds to meet my interpretation of the Standard and I am will to put in the time and effort to get them there (of course I have picked a breed that is all over the place and going to take me FOREVER!).
I may not breed 'show quality' birds, but I know I will breed quality ones. I am willing to put heavy selection pressure on my birds and try not the have to just 'make do' with the ones I keep.
I think even when we are not showing there should be attention paid to what birds are bred with. I don't know how many pictures I see of birds in breeding pens with bad combs, or the wrong leg colour, or bad feather quality and they are selling eggs from them to others that will have the same troubles. Sigh.....I don't want to sound elitist or superior as they are healthy birds and great layers I am sure, they just shouldn't be breeders. It is difficult enough getting good birds from breeders that are a good quality. Not all birds bred are good enough to breed from, not matter who the parents are. Same with all animals I think!

Heather, I am interested to hear about your Cornish. Do you have Darks, or others as well?

TripleJfarms this is why researching who you are purchasing from is so important and making contact with people who do have quality stock. Spending time at shows making contact with judges and people of who may not have the breed your 'e interested in but can point you in the right direction. I help many people find stock of many breeds that I do not have as well I will often pick up a pair of something that I know someone who has a true interest and offer it to them. As well because I judge I like to keep a different breed for a couple or 3 years to get a better feel for what breeders of a certain breeds go though to produce better birds and it allows me to be a better judge, I then take those flocks and offer them to people who will do the breed proud at a reasonable price.

It is up to you to make a plan and set your goals. As for the Marans I have judged them north america wide and it is a breed that needs so much work because people are spending to much time on the egg color which is important but at the expense of breed type and it is a shame. You can have it all with a little effort and research and holding your dollars close to your wallet until you are sure you have found the right person to work with and growing a little at a time. There are many people out there who do not rip people off.

I have a policy in my barn that I have followed for years and that is nothing new comes unless something leaves which has allowed me to keep this as a hobby and if you work hard to make something good it's hard to let it go so great thought has to go in to me bringing any new breeds in.

Coopslave- I agree with you I am foremost a breeder who uses the shows to keep myself from getting coop blind. Showing is just a way to enjoy time with people of like mind and to spend quality time picking my birds apart.

As for my L.F Dark Cornish I love them, I only have the darks and keep a fairly small flock. Massive birds they are and they do breed naturally, they have very nice temperments and I breed a few every year and sometimes have a pair or trio to part with. I tend usually to be heavy on the males but the make good eating. I have females with good color but am striving to make some touch ups in the male color as I think the wing bow needs better color. I have a couple pictures on my website and I will try for some more recent pictures in a day or two. I find them to be good layers and have had hens raise them on their own but they have to be watched as they are so heavy, so we mostly incubate.

Heather

Having the ability to hatch 400 or more chicks does not mean that they are not quality stock, there were culls, no one gets birds that I would not keep myself if I had the room, I do NOT bring in hatchery chicks. I have and do bring in eggs from respected breeders, all quality stock. Because I hatch as many as I do only means that there are people out there that need quality, I do not sell cheap in fact my birds are priced high and because of the quality I have I get it. I could not count how many I have given away to people that cannot afford good stock but respect the need for quality. Many of the birds that I have I have gotten from people on this post and some I have from breeders that have had chickens for 50 years or more. I am proud of the birds that I raise I sell for breeding only what I would keep if I had room to keep any more.

I have found that in this hobby the learning never stops. When I first got into chickens I went crazy bought anything that my eye fancied... I planned to breed some from the many breeds, then I found out more I learned that most of the stock I had was low quality (hatchery) and that with the facilities I had it was too much work to keep everyone in separate breeding pens and to have room for brooding.

I cut down the breeds I kept. I now have way more manageable flock, with room to brood. I also started to show my birds as I thought it would be fun. That has been one of the most positive experiences I have done in the hobby. Once my birds were at a show I was able to compare them to other breeders birds. I learn something new each time I show from judges and other breeders.
Showing my birds has given me a understanding of them it would have taken me years to find out on my own. The work is still left up to you as the owner and breeder. I have been lucky that a few Judges have shared their knowledge and even their stock!

I believe all of us as Fanciers/Keepers/Breeders want to keep and raise top quality stock. It is truly amazing to see well bred stock of any kind. I believe we need to share stock with each other to promote and keep the hobby strong. We all have the same goals to have strong, healthy, beautiful birds.

Here in Canada we do struggle with the fact that it is often long distances to connect with breeders and there is often limit stock available. I would prefer to purchase mature stock from a breeder as I can see what I am getting, but sometimes eggs or chicks is easier. Make sure to order large quantity of the breed you want and cull down to the best few birds.

I would also like to challenge all breeders to enter a few of your birds in a APA/ABA (american poultry association/ american bantam association) Show and have your stock evaluated by an Accredited Judge. This is a great way to keep your stock in check with the Breed Standards. I guarantee you will be amazed with the information you will learn and it only goes to help breeders improve their flocks.

^ Well said k.r.l. I do believe we all have the same goals at the end of the day; namely healthy, hardy, beautiful birds.

coopslave wrote: This is why chickens are such a great thing to be into. People can pick what suits them and do it their way. There isn't a 'right' way, there is just the best way for you.

Exactly how I see it. There is no one way up the mountain side, just finding the pathway that suits you best. Maybe others have walked it before, and maybe not.


Cynthia, I used to feel the same way about the word cull, but now that I understand it better I don’t think it’s a bad word at all, just misunderstood. The act of culling is the act of selecting - what you’re selecting for is entirely up to you. Coopslave explained it very well I think.


eta: I’m really glad you started this thread Briarwood. I enjoy reading what others think about these things. I always learn alot!