BYC members in Massachusetts?

[AnimalsComeFirst]

Anyone on or near cape cod that would be willing to give up a silkie for my hen Penny? She is blind and lonely and all the other girls reject her.... I've heard silkies are friendly and have a good personality. I can't seem to find anyone selling silkies on CL or anywhere.

 

[gunnarwordon]

anybody here have game fowl (shamo, aseel, malay) I am looking for some... thanks.....

 

[misssunfish]

Hi there from Falmouth! Lots of chickens around my town!

 

[OtterD]

I am in Central Mass. Anyone else near by?

I actually live in very southern NH, not far from Townsend. So probably not too far away. I'm 30 min. from Fitchburg.

 

[OtterD]

Where did most of you MA folk purchase your chickens? Did you mail order or are there local resources? I am looking for a good breeder of bantams, if anyone knows of any in MA or locally.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

What breed(s) of bantams are you looking for? There are definitely breeders in northern MA and southern NH, but it depends on what your priorities are. If you want to show, you're better off getting birds at one of the shows. If you want egg production in a cute package but not necessarily show quality, Ideal's bantam specials are probably your best bet. If you want small numbers of decent purebreds or cute crossbreds/designers, and you want more personal support, then the swap-type breeders are great.

I have a bunch of bantams that I would characterize as tiny designer mixes - we did it on purpose because the health of Serama is so bad. The dads are purebred A and B Seramas and the moms are tiny Old English Games, Dutch, Japs, etc. They'll be around a pound and they should be vigorous layers in a ton of colors. I also have a pen that we put together based on shape - very round, soft, cute birds. Dads are a silkie and a barred cochin and moms are cochin mixes, silkie mixes, brahmas, wyandottes. That's what I'm personally likely to be selling this winter. People buy from me NOT because of show quality (obviously) but because my birds are so well cared for, we mix our own feed, we care a ton about health, and we offer lifetime support. I'm really happy with that, and don't want to get into the show world (I show my dogs and that's insane enough, trust me). So - define your goal and then find your breeder and you'll be happiest.

 

[Arielle]

Where did most of you MA folk purchase your chickens? Did you mail order or are there local resources? I am looking for a good breeder of bantams, if anyone knows of any in MA or locally.

If you are serious, contact the NE Bantam club, they do not have a website, so take a little time to google the fall show. It was posted here on BYC by the show secretary.

 

[ThePaintedHen]

There is a breeder in Wrentham that has great Silkies (as far as health and fluffiness, I am not a judge of show quality so I can't comment on that) as well as Rocks, Reds, Polish, and probably others. I think they are done hatching until Spring, but I highly recommend them if you get a chance. I have bought two batches of chicks from them and they've been great. Plus, you get to see the parents, which is neat. Not sure if BYC rules allows me to post their name and number on here- anyone know? You can also PM me for the info.

 

[ThePaintedHen]

Also have gotten several of my chickens from swaps and shows. There is the NE Poultry Congress show at the Big E in Springfield on Jan 19 and 20 - I would bet there will be a large swap/sale section there.

 

[gunnarwordon]

great sale at the congress, lots of variety.