Hmmm. I'm a bit surprised at so many people telling me that $5.00 per chick for my Orpingtons is high. I also paid $5.00 each for my Cochins, and $6.00 each for my silkies. However, I bought these all from a local breeder who allowed me to visit her farm and check out all her chickens. She is showing her birds, and is breeding for show birds. I will say that the chicks I bought from her are all 4 or 5 months old now and they are absolutely beautiful representations of their breed. They are gorgeous and appear very close to breed standard, which is important to me because I do want to show.
However, in his overwhelming desire to own Jersey Giants, knowing that the top-of-the-line chicks he purchased wouldn't be available for several more months (the breeder has a long waiting list) my husband found somebody at a poultry show with 12 Jersey Giant chicks for sale at $10.00 per chick. They had bright yellow bottoms to their feet (which we understand is the mark of a Jersey Giant) and a Giant breeder who was at the show showing his birds looked at the chicks and said they look like his Giant chicks, so my husband bought all 12 of them. We have learned a HUGE lesson. These 12 chicks are almost 3 months old now, and they are mutts. Not a single one of them has ANY yellow on the bottoms of their feet (I'm wondering if the seller colored their feet with a yellow highlighter), some of them have absolutely no necks. It's like their head just balances on their shoulders. Some have long graceful tails like Giants should, while some have little short tails like Orpingtons. One rooster's comb is all curled up and really strange looking, and even worse, lots of the birds have "splashes" of bright red or white in their feathers, like d'uccles. If these are Jersey Giants, them I'm an angora goat!!
So, I've decided that it is okay to pay more for potentially show-quality chicks from a reputable breeder who will let me see and discuss her breeding stock, than get cheaper chicks from somebody I don't know and have them turn out to be mutts.
Not that mutts are a bad thing, but I want to breed for show as well as meat and eggs.