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

[McChooky]

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.

Unfortunately the best thing to do in a case where someone won't accept live animal(s) is rehome it/them(Live animals are a lot of work) Some people aren't cut out for it.I made a guy come get his chicks when he did this to me and he dumped them off on someone else.
They all ended up dying or being eaten by predators

 

[McChooky]

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.

I agree wholeheartedly ! If they can't be sold they can always be eat

 

[CoopBoots]

Unfortunately the best thing to do in a case where someone won't accept live animal(s) is rehome it/them(Live animals are a lot of work) Some people aren't cut out for it.I made a guy come get his chicks when he did this to me and he dumped them off on someone else.
They all ended up dying or being eaten by predators

Agreed... at this point this neighbor really shouldn't be caring for any animals.

 

[McChooky]

I haven't split another order with anyone since

 

[fat brown hen]

Unfortunately the best thing to do in a case where someone won't accept live animal(s) is rehome it/them(Live animals are a lot of work) Some people aren't cut out for it.I made a guy come get his chicks when he did this to me and he dumped them off on someone else.
They all ended up dying or being eaten by predators

This person already has many chickens, I know they are capable of taking care of chickens if they want to.

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

They are colorful egg layers… I’m positive they will sell once they are off heat. I don’t want to eat them :b

Random question(since this is a random rambling post): I’ve seen posts where people order hatchery chicks and resell them. How on earth do they do this without losing money? People literally will not pay more than $6 per chick in my area, because that’s what TSC charges.

 

[FunClucks]

This person already has many chickens, I know they are capable of taking care of chickens if they want to.


They are colorful egg layers… I’m positive they will sell once they are off heat. I don’t want to eat them :b

Random question(since this is a random rambling post): I’ve seen posts where people order hatchery chicks and resell them. How on earth do they do this without losing money? People literally will not pay more than $6 per chick in my area, because that’s what TSC charges.

In my area, TSC is often out of the breeds people want when they want to buy them, and they don't want to order shipped chicks. You don't make much money from reselling chicks, esp once you calculate out time spent on them, but it's better than getting nothing for them or having to keep a chick you don't want. People raise them up a bit, maybe use really cheap feed, and then sell them on. It's a bit of a gamble on whether you make money or not.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

In my area, TSC is often out of the breeds people want when they want to buy them, and they don't want to order shipped chicks. You don't make much money from reselling chicks, esp once you calculate out time spent on them, but it's better than getting nothing for them or having to keep a chick you don't want. People raise them up a bit, maybe use really cheap feed, and then sell them on. It's a bit of a gamble on whether you make money or not.

I did it one year. I ended up selling enough that most of the chicks I was keeping (like ⅓ or less, I can't remember) were pretty much paid for if I put sale money towards them and not feed for everyone

 

[FunClucks]

I did it one year. I ended up selling enough that most of the chicks I was keeping (like ⅓ or less, I can't remember) were pretty much paid for if I put sale money towards them and not feed for everyone

I like to order more than I want and then keep my favorites. But I also make sure I have enough coop space to grow them out if I'm selecting for egg color.

 

[fat brown hen]

I rehomed the chicks to a friend for the original hatchery price. He's a good guy, picked them up right away and the chicks are happy with a lot more space.

I let the original neighbor know that the chicks were gone and that I would be returning the money. Well... apparently their mother was very ill, and even though money was tight they had already taken the day off work to come get the chicks first thing in the morning. They asked if they could have some of the *other* chicks from the original order, that I had chosen.

That was really awkward. I didn't want to play Sophie's Choice with the chicks I had raised for 4 weeks, so I offered to pay for new chicks. Told them to pick out ten feed store chicks and give me the receipt for reimbursement. They went ahead and got ten chicks (apparently Tractor Supply charges $8 for "rare" breeds), and when all was said and done I ended up with negative $30. Blah.

To be fair, this neighbor did offer to gift me some homemade ethnic food and lightly used clothing to thank me for the chicks (I declined). Maybe it's just a matter of cultural differences or whatever. Oh well.

 

[FunClucks]

I rehomed the chicks to a friend for the original hatchery price. He's a good guy, picked them up right away and the chicks are happy with a lot more space.

I let the original neighbor know that the chicks were gone and that I would be returning the money. Well... apparently their mother was very ill, and even though money was tight they had already taken the day off work to come get the chicks first thing in the morning. They asked if they could have some of the *other* chicks from the original order, that I had chosen.

That was really awkward. I didn't want to play Sophie's Choice with the chicks I had raised for 4 weeks, so I offered to pay for new chicks. Told them to pick out ten feed store chicks and give me the receipt for reimbursement. They went ahead and got ten chicks (apparently Tractor Supply charges $8 for "rare" breeds), and when all was said and done I ended up with negative $30. Blah.

To be fair, this neighbor did offer to gift me some homemade ethnic food and lightly used clothing to thank me for the chicks (I declined). Maybe it's just a matter of cultural differences or whatever. Oh well.

Whew! At least that's over with! That is a crazy update!

Glad you found a home for the chicks, and that neighbor had no business buying rare breed $8 chicks. At this point, just never do that again, I guess.

Sending you supportive thoughts. Sorry you got taken advantage of.