Breeders/Sellers, Why Are You Stopping?

[WallTenters]

Well said Tom, well said.

 

[exop]

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That is ridiculous - chickens are so undervalued. You couldn't even buy a dead supermarket fryer for that price.

And people will pay $300 for a miniature dashshund puppy... give me a chicken any day.
Um, I mean sell me a chicken any day.

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I'm with you there. @MedicineMan does come across as a little obnoxious here

... Seriously, any of us who keep rare chickens need to keep an open mind and our breed's survival in mind... the more breeders we can get interested, and the more secondary breeding sites we can refer to in the event of a catastrophe, the safer our breed's future will be.

 

[PepsNick]

No offense to MM, but I agree, Tom and this isn't the first time.

 

[TK Poultry]

I'm really tired of selling to other people who aren't already involved with chickens! They make me so mad! I had one lady email me about buying Silkies for a week. She wanted them for her son for 4H. I said they would be great little 4H birds and good little breeders eventually. Well she asked questions and for pictures and everything under the sun. I finally called her and she said she found "amazing show quality chickens for $1/ea" and that I was asking too much for a trio of BQ Silkies which I asked $30 for. I'm pretty sure you can't buy show quality chickens for $1/ea and if you can please tell me because I've been paying way too much for mine. I usually ask what I bought for them or what others who have comparable stuff ask for theirs. I don't sell eggs any more because BYC mods found out about my little secret (age) and told me I wasn't allowed to sell anymore....

I'm now just selling to other breeders or at shows!

 

[StevenW.]

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You ever get a nose bleed way up on that pedestal? Is there a course or series of classes one can take to become specially qualified to own your stock?

Pretty uppity for chicken farmer.

X2
Wow, I would have expected a better comment from a breeder than that... That was just pathetic.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

I just get tired of people complaining thats all...

First, they complain about eggs that don't develop - they blame it on infertility. How can they be infertile when I'm getting a 100% hatch rate here at home? Its more like they got shaken up and bumped around too much on their journey thru the postal system - or they may have been exposed to extreme temperatures, or maybe they got x-rayed, or who knows what else. Any/all of that could cause an embryo to die before it even reaches its destination, and most people just don't understand that. I pack my boxes so that the contents doesn't move or shift around, and I mark my boxes with clear instructions like "Fragile - do not shake or drop", "Hatching eggs - no x-ray", "Avoid extreme temps", etc... What happens after the box leaves my possession is totally beyond my control, but I do my best to ensure that they are delivered safely. But eggs are delicate and fragile - and no matter how well they're packed or how well the box is marked, when you ship delicate and fragile things, you're always taking a chance that it might not survive the trip.

And then there are the people that complain about "dirty eggs" - which, in reality, is just smudges and/or specks. Now, mind you, I keep my nest boxes as clean as humanly possible, but lets face it - eggs come from a chicken's a$$ and sometimes they get dirty!!! Or if it rains and hens hop in the nest box with muddy feet, eggs can get dirty. Or if hens sleep in the nest box and use it as a toilet all night long, eggs can get dirty. I've been known to scrape a speck off with my fingernail, or rub them over with a soft brush if necessary, but I don't wash eggs before I send them out, and I don't send eggs to anyone that I wouldn't feel comfortable incubating myself. But a lot of people think hatching eggs are supposed to look like the eggs in the grocery store - clean as a whistle and all uniform in shape. Not so with fresh eggs - smudges and specks are normal, and it doesn't affect viability. After all, a mother hen doesn't wash her eggs before she sits on them, does she?

Or people complain about prices or want everything for free. Now, I don't expect to "get rich quick" selling eating eggs, hatching eggs or chicks, but I DO have to pay for feed and supplies. I don't see how I can sell eggs for next to nothing and still make ends meet - I know that I can't cover everything with egg money, but I'd like to cover SOME of my costs, ya know? The cost of everything is rising steadily, yet the cost of eggs and chicks hasn't budged. People want your true free range eating eggs for the same prices as the grocery store charges. Or there are people that expect you to hatch chicks, raise them up til you can sex them, because they want only hens - and they want them for $2, and some want them for FREE!!! This just baffles me - they have NO IDEA how much time, feed, bedding and space it takes to raise chicks or keep/care for a flock of breeding birds!! And do people really expect to pay grocery store prices for eating eggs that are FAR superior to grocery store eggs?

So when you work your butt off to acquire birds worth breeding, to keep said birds healthy, clean and safe from predators, to collect their eggs and keep them fresh for eating or hatching, to hatch chicks and keep them healthy and growing, to place ads that are attractive and clear as to what you're selling, to answer all the questions and inquiries that result from ads, to pack the boxes and cartons of eggs to prevent breakage, to keep payments and addresses straight so that the right eggs get to the right people in a timely fashion, and then to only get COMPLAINTS or expectations of free or dirt cheap eggs or chicks??? Well, it just gets old after a while, and I resort to hatching for myself and my local friends. By that time, its too hot to ship anyway. And I'd rather feed my beautiful nutritious free range eating eggs to my dogs than to give them away to people that don't appreciate them for what they are. At least til next year - and maybe not even then, but we'll see...

Just my two cents - off my soapbox now...

 

[Tim63]

TurtleFeathers, I wish everyone that buys hatching eggs would read your post. Most of the people who buy my eggs are fairly knowledgable as to what they are getting into. However, some of the "less informed"can drive you completely batty. Sometimes it just does not seem worth it. I have sold enough eggs this spring to cover my fairly substantial feed bill. I am VERY thankful for the MANY excellent customers I have had. Its just frustrating when you run into the few "bad eggs". (pun intended)

Tim Lindenborn

 

[justuschickens59]

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EXACTLY !!! Perfectly said !!

 

[justuschickens59]

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I don't think ANY chicken is a "filthy farm bird." For that matter, I don't believe ANY animal is filthy or inconsequential. People, on the other hand.....

 

[vanalpaca]

Selling chicks and hatching eggs takes WORK.

Shipped eggs get disrupted air cells and burst yolks! Consequently lowered hatch rates with nothing to do with fertility. I've had 7.5 dozen hatching eggs shipped in this season and only 17 chicks resulting. There were 6-7 chicks in the shell that didn't hatch, so procedure is still improving.

Now missed the spring shipping on chicks and having to wait for fall shipping. I will patiently wait for my higher quality chicks from dedicated breeders!

Of the 17 hatched, many already need culling because they have downy white chests or were 'blondes' and not specific to the breed. I have a high quality bator NOW, but did this spring's hatching in a foam bator and was LEARNING. Better results with second hatch than with first.

BUT, not all eggs were shipped with the same packaging and it showed in more disrupted yolks and air cells with the poorer packaging. So time and effort spent bubble wrapping and securing the eggs did improve the end result AFTER shipping.

I don't like that there are breeders out there selling hatching eggs and all the chicks are obvious culls, though, and not true to the breed. They need to work with their own stock and gett their breeders closer to Standards before selling eggs AS THAT BREED OF CHICKEN.

My friend was very disappointed buying TRUE AMERAUCANAS and the ones she got from breeders were not to standard and the ones from the hatchery WERE, proper leg color and cheek tufts being obvious in the hatched chicks.

Hopefully by next year, I will be able to raise and hatch my own chickens and not have to deal with low hatch rates and poorly culled breeding stock.

And if someone has zoological specimens, well there ARE a lot of folks out there with the scientific bent, I'm sure that would enjoy working with those special birds!

Only reasons animals get filthy is because humans keep them housed that way. Animals roam and the environment takes care of the rest. We put them in cages, then we need to get off our B__s and keep them clean.

BTW, here in OHIO, corn, soy, hay crops are looking BAD so guarantee that feed prices will climb because of that. Gasoline/Diesel is increasing TOO and that will be another hit, but the spring crops were flooded out. Stock up, cut back, or put it in the freezer. FREE RANGE is best this year.

Cheers all, my 2 cents from a RANK BEGINNER with CHICKENS and an old hand with livestock!
Bonnie in OHIO