Craigslist OK to find laying hens? Your experiences/opinions please!

[hollybird]

i buy and sell on craigslist. i recommend that you "go to look" at something. then you feel less obligated to buy if they don't look healthy. sometimes i agree to buy and just go to pick them up, but you don't know what you are getting even if there is a picture. watch out for runny poop and other signs of illness. calling and talking to someone gives you a lot of info into the type of person. some people are just into pets and get bored and change, but most are culling their flock. i have bantams that are super broody so i let them raise chicks. there is always a market for layer pullets. private sales give you more time and info than auctions usually. i have had mostly good dealings on craigslist and found it better than on-line auction sales that take pay-pal.

 

[Selena]

I got my first 4 hens from a lady on CL who had chickens coming out her ears. I might have gotten more, but DH didn't want to until he knew I was really serious about BYC-keeping.

Though her coop and inner pen was crowded at the time, it was explained that normally they were not kept that way. Her coop was designed so when the flock was in the coop for the night, they still had a protected run to hang out in. Otherwise, they had a large fenced yard. The birds were only in the run that day because it made them easier to catch. I bought the 3 hens, and then the lady asked if I wanted an injured one. Now, listen when everyone tells you... DON'T PLAY DR. DOOLITTLE. It just isn't good. This time, however, I took a look at Phoebe and said yes. For me, after all my experience in treating animals, I knew it would be easy for me. (I'm even looking into a career as a Vet Tech.) We got her for free, because she had been injured by over-amorous males and had a scabby area on the back of her head. It kept getting re-injured whenever she was reintroduced to the flock.
I took all 4 and set the 3 others in my garden with the coop. I took Phoebe (rhymes with "Freebie") and isolated her. Daily I cleaned her wound and applied a salve. She's now with her flock mates, is my best layer (daily!) and has become best buds with my EEer. She will always have a bald spot, and a lump of tissue on her head, but no one has tried to steal her brain. LOL.

Now... about that EEer... she was one of the originals and has never laid an egg since I got her. However, she and Phoebe are such buddies, and she's the friendliest, so I kept her.
The larger their flock, the harder it was to keep tracked of who laid what.

 

[stacym]

I got my five Australorps from a lady advertising on Craigslist. I am always a little wary of going to the persons place to pick up things. There are a lot of strange people out there! So I always take someone with me and carry my cell phone.
The lady I got my birds from was a breeder and had won many times at the State fair. She even took me through her operation to see all her rare breeds. What a sight to see the birds that I sigh over in the catalog up close.
We really like our hens and they were healthy. They weren't overly friendly and they were three months old, so my DD has spent a lot of time with them.
Just use your head any time you deal with adds and you'll do alright!