Craigslist chickens?

[pbjmaker]

The thing is - just because you respond to an ad on craigslist does not mean you have to take them when you go to see them. I would try to stay local so then if you get there and the chickens look unhealthy or are not what you expected then you can opt out without feeling like you wasted a lot of gas or money.

 

[ChooksChick]

I have had good luck selling extra birds on CL- it's good for getting the word out, and I can screen before I give any contact information..there have been a few emails that have been very odd and I wouldn't want to sell to those folks.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

i bought 6 'laying pullets' from someone back in August. (they still aren't laying after 3 months of owning them!)

the lady didn't seem to understand the difference between the cockerel and pullet colors and feathers and i mentioned it while i was there that 3 had looked like cockerels to me. but she kept insisting that she had paid for pullets from the hatchery and that was what i was getting from her. i still consider myself a chicken novice since i've only had mine since March09.

she thought she ordered standard wyandottes but they sent her bantams and when they didn't get as big as her orpingtons she realized what she had. i exchanged an orp x silkie roo i bought earlier in the season and bought the other birds from her at a discounted rate than what she had advertised on her CL post. they all were healthy but very skittish.

when i got them home i noticed that 3 were cockerels and the other 3 were pullets. i have since re-homed one of the pullets in a trade with another BYC member and i still have the other 2 pullets that have since become tamer. the 3 cockerels have since become dinner when they became too aggressive towards me and the other birds i had.

make sure you know about the breed you are getting from someone on CL. they may be clueless or just shady! or they may actually be legit!

i much prefer going to the swaps and shows in the area. you don't feel as much pressure going to those than when you are at someones farm/home and on the spot.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

As Mahonri said I advertise on craigslist and I know a couple of other people here from Arizona occasionally use craigslist as well. You just have to ask the proper questions when you are looking there to get chickens. If the folks can't answer simple chicken raising questions then that should raise a few red flags in your mind. I choose to use craigslist because it cost quite a bit of money to run a 3 day 30 word or less ad in our local paper.

I might also add that you should always ask for hatch dates not ages. People also use craigslist to get rid of old birds that are past their laying prime. They can tell you that bird is a year old or whatever so ask for hatch dates. If they choke up and can't get it together to give that question a decent answer then they are probably lying.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I sell extras on Craigslist too. I have found it a great way to rehome the random mutt hatches and extras that I have floating about. I regularly read through that section too just to see what's up. What I have found is that there is a great deal of mis-information on there. Ameraucanas seem to be the biggest mix up. Dominiques are the second worst offender. 99.9% of the "americanas" and "dominikers" are no such thing. My other favorite is the advertisments for "bannie" hens.

All of that to say that you can find good chickens, but it is very much a "buyer beware" situation. Go in with knowledge and be very careful to check the chickens out before you agree to take them. There ARE reputable breeders on there, but you have to be careful.

Good luck!

 

[Tala]

I got all my recent babies off Craiglist.
Guy lives not far from here, he delivered them to my house!
BUT he's also really flakey and slow to respond to emails (apparently only has net at work) which I think is kinda weird if you're selling something online you should be able to respond to potential buyers online.
His chicks are nice and seem 100% healthy, and he only charges $2 each for them (straight run of course) so I'm happy enough.

I've heard bad things on here, but my experience has been good.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I have sold and bought on CL. Met some very nice people in the process (Barb AKA BloominBeauty). I met her by accident as I didn't even know she was on here! I also do business with a lady through CL that has ducks and chickens from me and I have rabbits from her! I got her started on the website

 

[Mahonri]

I sold a roo and pullet splash ameraucana and a blue ameraucana to a fellow who said he wanted them on Craigslist. They drove all the way up from Casa Grande.

 

[floridamama]

HI

I have bought and sold some stuff on craigslist. Like some of the others said be carefull. I have sold chicks on there and had some great buyers and some "serious" callers with set times to come and get chicks and then never show. I have bought chickens twice online 1 was a bit of a hazzle but it worked out in the end. 2nd time went perfectly no hiccups at all. Just be cautious.

 

[debilorrah]

I have purchased birds from craigs list too. There is a 12 year girl here locally that hatches from a homemade bator she made herself. I am going to purchase from her again next week. I also got my silkies from CL locally. She is a very intelligent young lady and has done a boatload of research on sexing chicks. I love her passion and could care less if it is a roo or not. I love to support her efforts.