Maine Swaps 2011

[chickn]

just read this on craigslist i hadnt heard about it before

Poultry Sawp/ Farm Day!
Held at the Tractor Supply in Scarborough
Held on July 16th, from 10am to 2 pm
There will be ducks + ducklings, chickens + chicks, rabbits, goats, eggs (duck and chicken), hatching eggs, honey, and much much more! The list keeps on growing!

If you are interested in being a vendor, please email me for the details. We are looking for anything farm related, not just poultry!

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Not overly impressed! I bought a dozen guinea hatching eggs at the Augusta swap about a month ago. Not one hatched, broke them open and none of them were even fertilized. I guess I should of candeled them, it would of saved me some time. Im mad someone was selling hatching eggs that would never hatch....

 

[hoppy]

Quote:
sorry to hear that. hatching eggs are always a crap shoot I think. I won some on an auction that were supposed to be blue laced red wyandotte, they certainly are not. most people dont guarantee hatching eggs because there are lots of risk factors in hatching. I used to raise guineas. I certainly don't miss them.

 

[spook]

You know, buying eggs is a crap shoot, sorry it didn't work out for you. All over BYC there are stories of eggs being x-rayed and stuff, no refunds as its out of the breeder/buyers control. Frequently buying decent young breeding stock is easier...but expensive too.
I've had my share of no hatch eggs that were really expensive, or ones that I had a health scare after having eggs in my incubator and having to toss out over $100 eggs due to the heart break and crap that was going on in one particular breed that I had tried to raise.
Unfortunately I learned that hard lesson to only pick up live birds.

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

I think I too have learned my lesson, Im going for live birds for now on. I wanted some young guineas and I only wanted two, I was going to sell the rest. I cant buy only two baby chicks most places.
The ticks are horrible in my yard this year, all my other chickens havent seem to decrease the amount of ticks. Ive already pulled 5 off my sons head this season and a couple off my daughter. My dogs get them daily, very frusterating.

 

[spook]

Quote:
You can buy 2 guinea chicks. In the public its a law that you must buy 6 chicks at a time, from a farm you can buy 1, 2, 40. Difference being that its not "impulse" buying. To many times buy cute chicks, ducklings etc for their child, because they "wanted it". In Portland, ME,
one easter duckling were sold as singles. Sellers didn't care, and a few weeks later when ducks turned into that teen type look, no one wanted to clean up after ducks!!! messy critters! So in Deering Oaks park pond, all these white ducks had to be caught and finding that most had broken wings, feet, legs and released so the responsibility was not on the impulse buying adults in this case.

So if you want 2 guineas, get in touch with someone who hatches them, pick them up on their farm and enjoy!

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Quote:
You can buy 2 guinea chicks. In the public its a law that you must buy 6 chicks at a time, from a farm you can buy 1, 2, 40. Difference being that its not "impulse" buying. To many times buy cute chicks, ducklings etc for their child, because they "wanted it". In Portland, ME,
one easter duckling were sold as singles. Sellers didn't care, and a few weeks later when ducks turned into that teen type look, no one wanted to clean up after ducks!!! messy critters! So in Deering Oaks park pond, all these white ducks had to be caught and finding that most had broken wings, feet, legs and released so the responsibility was not on the impulse buying adults in this case.

So if you want 2 guineas, get in touch with someone who hatches them, pick them up on their farm and enjoy!

I cant imagine doing that to my ducks, thats awful.
Thank you, Im going to look for a breeder to buy from their farm..

 

[spook]

It is horrible isn't it. But there are always people who are unaware that animals are valued, they have feelings etc. But at the swaps here in Maine that this doesn't happen as sellers are selling their reputations. The only one I know with Guineas is in Otisfield, ME. There have to be others in your neck of the woods. Good luck Painted.

 

[CranberryCreekFarm]

It is sad! That's why I always grill those I am selling animals to. Making sure they at least have an idea of what kind of care they deserve. There was a lady from So. Maine who wanted a single duckling from my last hatch, so it could live in a rabbit cage in her daughters room. They lived in the city in an apartment. She closed her email asking if it was okay to give it dog or cat food since she was on a tight budget she didn't want to have to purchase another kind of food. Needless to say, I told her i wouldn't put any of my animals in that situation!

 

[Gordonhillfarm]

I understand what you are saying about not wanting them to live in a rabbit cage in a childs room . But I grew up old school and My aunt used to start all of her ducklings on soaked dog food . As a matter of fact I don't remember their ever being any grain the poultry barn except some scratch corn and that was only fed on poor weather days or winter . People have really lost farming skills ,they think if you don't have laying mash or pellet your hens wont lay . Well they do and many are starting to find they lay better with only occasional layer grains instead of every day . It's kinda over done like many other things in life . Just reading made me think back to my child hood days . I wonder how all the people past would view our thinking today ? A lot of my aunts and uncles have crossed , but I'm glad I learned what I did as a child .Just some deep thinking ~~~~Tammy