Neighbor paid for 10 chicks, has not picked them up for three weeks...

[DobieLover]

That's the thing... I quietly listed the chicks for sale on various sites the first time my neighbor rescheduled. It's not easy to sell them around here, I can't compete with Tractor Supply's $6 chicks. Plus Craigslist buyers are every bit as flaky as my neighbor, maybe even flakier.

Did you find local FB Poultry groups on which to advertise them? If not, try there. Put the emPHAsis on the fact the chicks are well started and past the FTT risk and list their breeds.

 

[fat brown hen]

Go talk to your neighbor in person. Tell her what's what. If she tries to put you off again, tell her you can't wait, YOUR chicks are getting overcrowded and you need to deal with YOUR situation. Now.

Of course I am too nonconfrontational for that. I'm too much of a pushover, which is why I'm whining on the internet instead of on my neighbor's doorstep :b

Seriously though, I made it very clear that I wanted the chicks gone, and I said there were other people waiting to buy them (a lie). That's what prompted the "Can I pay you $20 to save them for one more week" request.

 

[fat brown hen]

Did you find local FB Poultry groups on which to advertise them? If not, try there. Put the emPHAsis on the fact the chicks are well started and past the FTT risk and list their breeds.

I am not a member of such groups. I will look into it, thanks. If I keep the chicks for another 2 weeks, they will basically be coop-ready (the weather is warming up here) and much easier to sell.

 

[fat brown hen]

And when the neighbour one day arrives to pick up ready to lay pullets, just give them back their day old chick money.

I wonder if it would be reasonable to return half of the original chicks as coop-ready pullets, and sell the rest. This way the neighbor still gets the breeds they wanted and there's no bad blood. If they ask about the other five chicks, I'll say they died of natural causes.

 

[LaFleche]

I wonder if it would be reasonable to return half of the original chicks as coop-ready pullets, and sell the rest. This way the neighbor still gets the breeds they wanted and there's no bad blood. If they ask about the other five chicks, I'll say they died of natural causes.

Of course you are free to raise the chicks for your neighbor for as long as you want, but in this case I would suggest you charge the price the hatchery does for pullets of that age plus half the shipping costs as well.

No need to invent excuses or even lie.

To me it almost sounds as if you are afraid to inconvenience your neighbor despite the disrespectful way they are behaving towards you?

 

[McChooky]

I split a hatchery order with a neighbor. I agreed to deal with post office pickup and the first 48 hours, then they would pick up their portion soon after. Three weeks and many excuses later, I still have all the chicks. I've considered driving over and dropping them off, but the person says their brooder isn't ready. In fact they just offered me 20 bucks to hold all the chicks for yet another week.

At this point, what should I do with the chicks? Wrong answers welcome, such as:
- set them free
- take them to the pound
- secretly replace them with 10 cockerels if they ever do pick 'em up

Sell or give them away after giving this person one final warning.
( It didn't end well for the chicks) Sorry!

 

[fat brown hen]

To me it almost sounds as if you are afraid to inconvenience your neighbor despite the disrespectful way they are behaving towards you?

I try to be a nice neighbor. I don't know if their children had to go to the hospital, or their brooder burned down, or some other disaster struck. The first three times they rescheduled, I was impeccably polite and said no problem. The most recent delay has me flabbergasted, since they offered a petty sum to compensate me for my time. Do they think I have a large automated brooder setup, so there is no marginal cost to raising an extra 10 chicks? Or do they think I am an imbecile who likes scooping chick poop? I don't know!!

 

[LaFleche]

I try to be a nice neighbor. I don't know if their children had to go to the hospital, or their brooder burned down, or some other disaster struck. The first three times they rescheduled, I was impeccably polite and said no problem. The most recent delay has me flabbergasted, since they offered a petty sum to compensate me for my time. Do they think I have a large automated brooder setup, so there is no marginal cost to raising an extra 10 chicks? Or do they think I am an imbecile who likes scooping chick poop? I don't know!!

Of course, we all want to maintain a good and respectful relationship with our neighbours provided they treat us with equal respect and consideration.

I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable by my comment, just trying to understand why you would still be willing to worry about and cater to what the neighbour wants when they so obviously put themself and their needs and wants first, not minding the unnecessary stress etc. they are continuously putting you through.

 

[LaFleche]

The most recent delay has me flabbergasted, since they offered a petty sum to compensate me for my time. Do they think I have a large automated brooder setup, so there is no marginal cost to raising an extra 10 chicks? Or do they think I am an imbecile who likes scooping chick poop?

This would be exactly what to ask your neighbour.

 

[FunClucks]

What kind of chicks are they?

Tell them you will eat them, and see how fast they come get the chicks. (only sorta kidding here)

Seriously, I'd sell as started pullets as soon as they can be out from the heat. You'll get the most money that way for your time and hassle, and won't have to keep feeding them or scooping poop. Craigslist Farm+Garden page where they allow sales of livestock is a place I like to list them. Someone out there will want them. Also try FB farm pages, but they can be funny about only putting prices in PMs.

Also, since these are not pets but are livestock, the other thing you can do, if started pullets are not selling for some reason, is eat them. I have a minimum price I will sell laying hens/started pullets for. I also know how much the grocery store charges per lb of chicken for a whole chicken, and how much it costs to feed them for a day or week, and cost of litter, etc. Processed weight (ready to roast chicken) is about 2/3 of the live weight of a chicken. So I do the math, and if folks aren't willing to pay what started pullets or laying hens are worth, I eat them as a meat bird. But I don't sell my hens or pullets below the costs for raising a meat bird, or I'm losing money out of it.

If I throw the cost of my time into the calculations, I might as well just work more hours at my day job, because I will never make enough money on chickens to pay for my time, but the annoyance factor of having to take care of unwanted/unexpected chicks is high, so you should factor that in some way also.