Okies in the BYC The Original

[al6517]

Good morning all :

Jeanie : Fletcher was disappointing, the seating was less than comfortable, the auction callers created some confusion with their technic, the bird selection was poor, turn out was weak, conditions at the sale barn were not the best, and god forbid if you bought something and had to wait a very long time to check out. Ok with that said I realize it was there first go around but it had better get much better than Cement and quick or it will die a slow painful death. The good side though is I got to see all my BYC buddies there, Carla & that guy she hangs around with LOL, Buster/Jim & his wife.

AL

 

[al6517]

Quote:
To be polite I was not impressed at all, the word of it's start up may not have reached many folks. I just didn't see it getting better than Cement or at least enough to survive. Just my opinion though.

AL

 

[TheBarnSwallow]

Quote:
To be polite I was not impressed at all, the word of it's start up may not have reached many folks. I just didn't see it getting better than Cement or at least enough to survive. Just my opinion though.

AL

With the auction what array of animals and birds were there... my neighbor is a cattle raiser and he has been raised here his whole life( he is 72) and he didnt even know about Fletcher starting up an auction... and he was the one curious to know how and what was being sold... Since jason aka Chicken flavored Cook-E and I were working on the fencing aspect of the run for the chicks we werent able to attend... didnt wanna stop working on something we actually had energy for... HA HA


Also were you able to catch the name of the Auctioneer?

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
All I can really say is I am very happy with my own results... got the birds I've been wanting for over 6 months and haven't been able to find anywhere at the other auctions (as I was loading up some of the pros said mine are excellent quality birds), more hatching eggs (I swear, if any of these auctions lose Carla's hatching eggs I'll probably stop going to it

), and lots of no-climb horse fencing for an excellent price. Met lots of nice folks. Had a great time.

I don't know that it will compete favorably with Cement for the first weekend of the month, but I hope it is able to hang in there on the third. It would be nice to be able to attend chicken auctions within easy driving distance 4 weeks out of the month. Competition is good all the way around. That way nobody gets too cocky.

Besides, competition is just part of good ol' American free market capitalism.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
I didn't catch it, but one of them is one of the regular auctioneers at Blanchard. The other guy reminded me of Wilford Brimley but I hadn't seen him before.

And here is another dissenting opinion

...

I preferred their style over the Cement auctioneer. These were more like real auctioneers to me, more along the lines of what I am accustomed to. I like that auctioneer cadence. The Cement guy seems like a nice fella and does a good job, but doesn't appear to have had any real training at it. But, that adds a folksy quality to his work. My big complaint about him is he doesn't seem to have a good eye for bidders in his audience, and doesn't always see his them attempt to bid.

I will say that Wilford had one big flaw to his style... he sometimes called the sale too quickly, and it was difficult to tell when he was getting ready to call it. A good auctioneer (the folks at Bridges auction in Elgin come to mind) knows how to key you when he is getting ready to call it, and gives you plenty of time to jump in if you are so inclined. At least twice last night I saw a hand go up just as he was calling it or even before.

But, maybe he was just nervous, this being his first time and all.

 

[al6517]

Good points one and all Jim, I do mirror your sentiments on the callers technic. I am easy to please though, I just like to see $$ high when I sell and $$ low when I buy, is that to much to ask for hehehe.

AL

 

[okcarla]

Quote:
Gerald and I can get those. I'll send you a PM

 

[okcarla]

The Fletcher auction was disappointing to us. Luckily, all we brought were some eggs, veggies and guinea chicks. We had to PO almost everything & many times the buyer would pay what we asked, but we sure brought home quite a bit.

There were purebred chicks there selling for 25-50 cents each.

The auctioneer is Eric, of the Circle 21 Auction Co. We like him. He will also be the auctioneer at the new Alex Auction.

When we checked out, it took a VERY LONG TIME, and there were several errors that had to be corrected, which was extremely time consuming.

I think the Fletcher Auction needs lots of advertising, maybe at feed stores or even a few small newspapers? I didn't see anyone at the auction that I didn't recognize. New faces, new buyers and selers are what they need to improve, along with more birds, and a better system at the cashier's stand. Oh, and they are the only auction that I'm aware of that charges sales tax.

I wish them luck. I like a good place & reason to meet & visit with fellow Okies.

 

[TheBarnSwallow]

Great feedback guys, I appreciate... My neighbors name is Wayne Keiser, he was the one inquiring because he goes to coop here in Elgin nearly everyday to chit chat with all the other old farts there and he is a active Farm Bureau member and just didnt hear anything about it from his farm buddies so when we mentioned he was inquisitive.... He is a great neighbor so I thought I would ask... He raises cattle so I think he might have been wondering if they sold cattle there also...

But thanks guys again for the feed back.

Now onto some other Rustic Wheel Acres News:

The turkeys, duck/geese were officially moved to their pens about 2 weeks or so ago... several days later while in the brooder hutch(a two level rabbit hutch) we moved our chicks to their coop house. Since then when time permits we started working on the ins and outs of all the housing especially on the days it was not raining( as much as the rain set us back, it was a blessing being able to see where it was needed to be fixed because of the leaks we spotted). Plus it allowed us a break from the stress we were causing ourselves trying to build something we never did before. Yesterday we both felt refreshed in our minds and energy and began to start working on the run for both sides of the aviary, not all complete since we ran out of some supplies, today we are working on putting the roosts up in the coop, with hopes to having the inside coop fully done so the birds can be free and outta the brooder hutch and have that 8X16 of running space to play and sleep in. We hope to have pictures here before to long but Jason aka Chicken Flavored Cook-E wants to wait until we have our official "OPEN COOP" (aka open house) day where everything is complete and all the birds will have free "run" of their pens and resting areas. Other than that things are going well and cant wait till poops

 

[Sooner]

The paper plates, fork & spoons are taken care of!! Thank you very much!

I think the food for POOPS will be awsome! Everyone keep in mind the number of folks we are expecting and there will be two meals!

I am having a wonderful afternoon! I have all my POOPS stuff done until it is time to load the truck to head that way! I surely hope that I can make it there early! Anyone know what time check in is?????? Anyone else that plans to get there early on Friday.

Q how did the maps work for you?????