FFA Auction will be on October 19th at Topsfield Fairgrounds this year

[scaryscorpion]

They told me they're off to Kentucky and will cut the checks when they get back to expect them sometime in November.

I was shocked at how much some hens were going for!

 

[keesmom]

I stayed for the whole thing. It lasted about 3 hours and 45 minutes. It was getting mighty chilly towards the end, but every item was sold. There were easily over 300 items, possibly 400 items there. I bid on a few things, and eventually got the large kennel I needed. There were some hens that went as high as $60 I do believe, but I'm not sure if there was anything that went higher. There were a handful of people that spent 100s of dollars each though. I brought 4 silkies, 3 that I believed to be boys and 1 girl, and I offered to label the boxes indicating as such when I dropped them off. I was told the auctioneer was smart and he could figure it out. Well, every single one of my silkies was sold as a hen, and mine weren't the only ones sold as girls either. I understand why he did what he did, but I was disappointed that he duped folks. They brought in good money though, a lot more than I thought. Does anyone know when to expect payment? I forgot to ask.

I'm thinking about attending (not entering) The Boston Poultry Expo on Nov. 1 in North Oxford. I was going to go last year but something came up. Is anyone else thinking of going? http://www.bostonpoultryexpo.com If so, I could start a new thread.

Since it is a fundraiser people usually are willing to spend more on birds. As for your payment, you could have collected it yesterday. Did you see a long line forming near a table next to the barn entrance? That's where you go if you want to pick up your money that day. Otherwise they will mail it to you. I have always waited the day of auction so I don't know how long it will take to mail it out.

 

[TeddyBearSilkie]

Ohh, I thought folks were paying for their items and not collecting. Whoops.

The lady in front of me must have bought like 10 hens and 2 roosters and a few other things to boot. She was paying at least $45 or more for each. I wonder how much the kids made. Lots I hope.

 

[Baystatecop]

Were there any Game Birds (Pheasant, Quail etc) there by chance?
I have never gone to the auction.

What kind of "Kennel" did you win?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[TeddyBearSilkie]

There were a couple of guinea hens, turkeys, and pigeons. I did not see any quail or other pheasants that I recall. There were lots of chickens and ducks though, in several varieties. This was my first time attending so I'm not sure if there are normally any game birds there or not. There were tons of crates and carriers in all shapes and sizes. The kennel I picked up is a large collapsible wire crate.


.

 

[Tony K T]

Were there any Game Birds (Pheasant, Quail etc) there by chance?
I have never gone to the auction.

What kind of "Kennel" did you win?

Thanks!
Mike

There's plenty of pheasants here Mike.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[scaryscorpion]

They told me we couldn't get paid that day. I really needed the money and that's part of the reason I went. I even had to fill out tax forms.

 

[keesmom]

That's new. I always collected same day and never had to deal with tax forms.

 

[doggonecrazy]

My only problem with the FFA auction is they should not take in damaged merchandise. All that does is make people think they can sell their junk there.

 

[luvmychixandducks]

The tax form was new - as a result of the merger between the Agricultural school and the Technical high school - all payments must go through the new combined accounting office, as explained in a letter prior consigners received prior to the auction.
Consigners had the option of filing the form, (W9) donating their items completely, or not selling at all.
Since I did not want to have my name, address and SSN on file outside of the IRS if possible, because of the possibility of identity theft, I chose to donate my items 100% to the kids and lose the profit.
As for the auctioneer selling roosters as hens... Tony identified all birds by sex as correctly as he could.
The consigner behind me placed many silkies in the sale and did not mark the sex on the boxes. During the sale I heard her laughing about the buyers paying high prices for roosters, but she did nothing to identify the sex prior to the sale, as did most of the sellers with other birds and bunnies.
In fact, she commented that one bird that sold for a hen, she herself thought was a hen for a long time before it revealed itself as male.
But this info was not shared with the buyers or the auctioneer either prior tyo or during the bidding.
She also had a bird returned as unsalable due to sickness/injury, and she did not even check the box to look at the bird - so she must have known which bird it was and that it had issues.
She knew her birds and did nothing during the sale to help Tony identify sex of her birds.
Tony freely admitted that it is difficult to sex silkies , and it was buyer beware unless the boxes were marked by the sellers.
The announcement of the day was the news that a local philanthropist would match dollar for dollar all of the profits generated for the FFA at the sale.
So it made my choice to donate my items easier to make.
Hardest part of the auction was watching all of those nice birds being sold, and not being able to buy any this year... town zoning ordinance put me permanently on the sidelines as far as raising small animals in a residential area, at least until the local laws get changed.
Congratulations to the FFA kids who qualified for the National Convention this year... they will be great agricultural ambassadors for Massachusetts, as always.
Their advisors conducted a well run, well attended auction, as always.