Annual breed fads

[hallerlake]

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Chickens have been grown for cockfighting, meat, and ornament (I have trouble believing anyone grows the Japanese roosters with three foot tails for eggs) as well as eggs for thousands of years. As you say, to each his own (except for the cockfighting).

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Eggs for eating are a bonus, but have little to do with why I have my birds. I would venture to say that my opinion is in line with that of many breeders/exhibitors. For the breeds where egg colour is an important characteristic, most of those breeders do seem to care about that. If eggs are the "WHY" we keep chickens, why does anyone raise breeds that are not prolific layers? Or breeds that lay much more seasonally than most? Or bantams that lay tiny eggs?

There are a LOT of reasons for keeping chickens, not JUST for eating eggs.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Chickens have been grown for cockfighting, meat, and ornament (I have trouble believing anyone grows the Japanese roosters with three foot tails for eggs) as well as eggs for thousands of years. As you say, to each his own (except for the cockfighting).

x2 They also provide natural pest control and fertilizer.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Chickens have been grown for cockfighting, meat, and ornament (I have trouble believing anyone grows the Japanese roosters with three foot tails for eggs) as well as eggs for thousands of years. As you say, to each his own (except for the cockfighting).

x2 They also provide natural pest control and fertilizer.

 

[HHandbasket]

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The question isn't, what's wrong with the people selling them?. The question is, what's wrong with the morons spending that kind of money in THIS kind of an economy on those birds? You can get high quality, good show birds from GOOD breeders for half or less than half of what Greenfire charges (and other businesses like them--just using them as an example, not meaning to target any one specific company). I think a better product should demand a higher price--that's a given. But then there's a "higher price" and there's "price gouging" and then there's just those greedy moe's out there that charge to the sky if other people will pay it, even though their product is NOT worth THAT high of a price. It's up to each of us to decide for ourselves what kind of business we are engaging with. If it's the greedy/overcharging/price-gouging type, they care more about their dollars than what they're selling which will make me leery of their product before I even look at it.

There's pricing something high because it's worth it, and then there's pricing something high because you're just a greed-monger. If I can find a similar/SAME QUALITY product for a lesser price, I won't pay the higher price for it. I don't believe in feeding the greed-mongers. And in my small but humble opinion, they're price-gouging greed-mongers, and even if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't buy from them based on principle.

But then again... that's just me.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Greenfire spends enormous amounts of $$$$ legally importing breeds and varieties that are not present in the US. Seems pretty reasonable to me, and not at all price gouging, to recoup those costs in pricing the birds they sell. Yes, as the birds become more numerous, the price drops. First time I saw serama they were selling for $1500 per pair.


BTW, ANY bird can be shown. For APA or ABA recognition it MUST be shown.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
The question isn't, what's wrong with the people selling them?. The question is, what's wrong with the morons spending that kind of money in THIS kind of an economy on those birds? You can get high quality, good show birds from GOOD breeders for half or less than half of what Greenfire charges (and other businesses like them--just using them as an example, not meaning to target any one specific company). I think a better product should demand a higher price--that's a given. But then there's a "higher price" and there's "price gouging" and then there's just those greedy moe's out there that charge to the sky if other people will pay it, even though their product is NOT worth THAT high of a price. It's up to each of us to decide for ourselves what kind of business we are engaging with. If it's the greedy/overcharging/price-gouging type, they care more about their dollars than what they're selling which will make me leery of their product before I even look at it.

There's pricing something high because it's worth it, and then there's pricing something high because you're just a greed-monger. If I can find a similar/SAME QUALITY product for a lesser price, I won't pay the higher price for it. I don't believe in feeding the greed-mongers. And in my small but humble opinion, they're price-gouging greed-mongers, and even if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't buy from them based on principle.

But then again... that's just me.

If they have the money, and want to spend it that way, that's their business not mine. If it encourages Greenfire, or whoever, to bring new birds into the country that I will eventually, in a few years, be able to afford, more power to them.

 

[mudhill]

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Chickens have been grown for cockfighting, meat, and ornament (I have trouble believing anyone grows the Japanese roosters with three foot tails for eggs) as well as eggs for thousands of years. As you say, to each his own (except for the cockfighting).

i understand your point,what i should have said is i keep chickens for eggs and don't want show chickens or other deformed birds.

i have been raiseing pigeons since i was ten years old,and i am 65 yrs. old now.

when i went to the louisville youngbird show about 7 or 8 years ago,i did not reconize a lot of the utility pigeons that i had when i was a kid,they have breed them larger ,with round tumbler heads,that they pretty much looked alike to me.

since they use other breeds to cross on each other,it explains why they all look a like.

i have a love of my raceing pigeons and birmingham/pensom rollers.

of course the show people have bred deformities in to these breeds also.

i have showed pigeons in local shows in the flying classes and won ribbons and( plagues,sp.) so i understand show people.

Larry

 

[RedneckChikns]

I have to admit I only read the first couple pages....and that one place Greenfire...OMG I LAUGH everytime I go there. I'll make ya some "flower hens" (which if I read it right seems to me they are just pretty mutts from another country!) Drive them around in the belly of my truck and then charge someone $400 a pair. PFFFFFFFFFFT! Some people are just suckers for designer dogs (puggles, buggs, labradoodles) Suppossely tea cup pigs (yes people still fall for that cr*p-THEY ARE JUST YOUNG POTBELLIES PEOPLE and starved ones at that!) and the first to have the LATEST in the coach handbag or pair of uggs...so why should chickens be any different. I had a couple come out here (my place is VERY redneck and tho I love and care for my chickens their pens when they need one (and the MOST I have invested in a pen is $200) aremade out of WHATEVER I CAN FIND WITH MILK CRATES n FRUIT BOXES AS NEXTBOXES and I DONT HEAR THEM COMPLAINING-I still get eggs-even purdy blue ones and dark chocolate ones and lots of them! hehe BUt anyhow the wife was almost in tears because they didnt have the I KID YOU NOT $3000 coop like their neightbor had that matched the facade of their house like their neighbor for 4 darn common breed non SQ chickens. I just stood there with my not so high dollar but purdy HSN purse in the house, my 15 dollar knock off ugg booties, my thrift store jeans and 5 for a dolla ebay tank tops and LMAO while feeling soooo sorry for them.

I like what I like and Im willing to spend money ON WHAT I LIKE. If you dont like it..I dont care. LOL (IM STILL LOOKING FOR KO SHAMO, NN FRIZZLES and SERMA HENS)
But trends and 80 bucks or 300 bucks for shipped hatching eggs...someone shoot me know if you see me buying THAT, just because its blue and lays purple eggs. I think ya gotta love your breeds, and be willing to spend money on your breeds that you like, but thats as far as it goes. Oh weve all had OH WOW I GOTTA HAVE THAT HOW COOL IS THAT moments and bought stupidly overpriced things, and thats just being human I guess, and even fun for the moment. But if you live that way, esp. with poultry, something taint right and ur money would be better served on some good therapy, not chickens. lol

The fad...at least at my place...is STILL people wanting to buy your good old fashioned brown eggers. 96% of the people I sell to will never see a show or enter one nor will they want to do creative breeding. I do love the 4-Hers ect that drag their parents here to buy something....now I can have a conversation that makes sense with THEM.

But in my part of the world...people want brown eggers. Ive pretty much stopped selling adult hens unless Im turning over some of my eggers. What irks me is that they want hens that are LAYING NOW...oh COME ON PEOPLE....I raise up chicks and I raise em right. I sell my pullets for between #$6.00 $8.00 depending on age and breed. When I tell people they wont start laying for about another 2 3 months their faces drop. My GOD Ive already done all the work...got em started right, poured in the chick starter into them, babied them, vaxed them, sat up all night on cold night for fear or power or brooder light outages....dealt with the chick losses that always come with raising chicks. BUT THEY WANT HENS THAT ARE LAYING NOW. All I can say to that type is...Im glad you only want eggs and not steak! LOL

FADS are FOR THE BIRDS!

Get what you LIKE and dont be fool enough to spend STUUUPID money on it. Before you do, think of the teevee and the microwave and the cell phone and how fast FADS became common place and AFFORDABLE. LOL

 

[halo]

Personally, for me, if chickens didnt lay eggs, I wouldnt have them. I have dogs for pets, I dont need anything else for a pet. I enjoy the different varieties I have, but I sell every egg they produce every single day, so it is important to me to have some sort of production going on. If they didnt lay eggs?? nah....