how much should i charge

[rooster-red]

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What breeds do you have?

 

[vertigo1966]

i have alot of crested and alot of cochins partridge mostly

 

[EweSheep]

I have to say some judges in some fairs are not up to date on the standards of perfections and sometimes they will end up picking the best birdsin the lot they have on site, not necessarily the best of the example of the breeds. For example the judges around here would pick an Amercuana with olive legs first than the one that has blue or black legs as it indicated in the Amercuana standard of perfection...as Mike Gilbert and Mike Blehm would suggest, they are long time Amercuana breeders. (Dont confuse Amercuana with Araucanas, those are two different types).

Most hatcheries will not buy hatching eggs from private show breeders...its too cost prohibitive and they would have to charge more money per chick. So that isnt the route they take and often times, they will take a egg factory farm to hatch out eggs on the popular breeds such as Leghorns, RIR, Red Sex Links, Barred Rocks or some contracted farmer that raises purebreds that are not up to standards of perfection. Most of the time, its mainly egg production and color that attracts people. If you look at McMurray catalog under their RIR description along the line of "our production reds"....it could well mean that these birds may be red sex links or RIR crosses instead of the old RIR with dark mahogany red color with black tips.

I do have birds that are out of show quality parents or out of show quality lines and not ALL of them would be show quality or guaranteed to be show quality. Some pet quality birds are good pets but not suitable for my specification I am looking in the breed itself. I got one Hamburg pullet that have the size of a OEGB and her spangles are not correct, they are too small and really defined tear drops that looks like commas which it is a NO NO to the breed so neverthanless, I do not breed her, strictly as my daughter's pet bird. Lovely bird she is but not a good example of the breed.

If you are really questioning the quality of your show birds coming out of the hatchery, you can get two or three opinions (or more!)out of top breeders and judges in the US about your birds. Send them pictures of your birds and get some suggestions, advices and comments from them. Be forewarned to any negative remarks they may give...they have the knowledge and experience in showing and raising these birds and they are not being mean to you but giving you an insight on what the breed should look like. Hatchery birds that went on to the nationals are very few and far between. I have done this with my Hamburgs and Amercuana bantams, and I value their opinions greatly even they told me that I need to do better and start all over again...which I did LOL. Nothing wrong in hatchery birds.....if I was just to get some feather colors and egg colors, then it would not matter to me if they were show quality or not. I still have much to learn and still learning, making mistakes as I go and get them corrected. You would be expected to CULL heavily because you probably get one bird that is the best of the lot of that year.

Go to a santioned poultry show..its different than the state fair....you can be able to see the difference in quality and color, etc etc......

Best bet is to get some hatching eggs or birds from the reputable breeders instead of the hatchery if you want the best....I am sure some of us in here has something you might be interested in certain breeds.

Hope this info helps in getting the ideas of show quality birds from hatcheries vs getting them from private reputable breeders.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

I agree that most hatcheries do not have show quality birds. I have tried four different hatcheries and out of 15 birds each time, 3 may have some possiblities. We even tried hatching eggs this year and we got a beautiful Araucana roo, but I don't know what kind of comb he is developing. It is suppose to be a pea comb, but it looks like a cross between a fat single and a pea. My daughter had high hopes for showing him, but everyday he gets older his comb looks worse. We will no doubt have to find him a new home. I can't keep every chicken we get. My neighbors would kill me. I wish I could find a breeder in Northern Ohio. It would be great to be able to see the parents so I don't keep having to go through all the trouble of raising chicks. I am always trying to get rid of something to make more room.