*POLL*What do you consider too much money for a chick ?

[Painted Calls]

Pray tell, why would you spend those $36.00 on that particular bird?
No troll.

My guess would be that it's a color/pattern they wanted and can't have cockerels where they live.

 

[Painted Calls]

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Eye of the Rooster Farms.
They've been mentioned on this forum before.

Coming from a breeder that shows good quality breeding birds and production from those birds, I'd pay those prices.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Coming from a breeder that shows good quality breeding birds and production from those birds, I'd pay those prices.

I concur.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

My guess would be that it's a color/pattern they wanted and can't have cockerels where they live.

So the buyer looking for that color and that particular breed would justify that purchase price ,correct?

 

[Skyle]

It depends on the age. I doubt I'd pay more than €5-10 for a day old chick, since you can't tell the sex (except for autosexing breeds) and you don't know if this chicken will respect or not the standard of perfection. Maybe I can raise up 'till €15, if I have some guarantees on the quality.
I'd prefer a lot more pay €100-150 for a very good adult chicken.
With the same amount I could buy 20-30 day old chicks, I know, but who tells me I won't end up with colour/breed mixes that I'll have to rehome?
Same with the eggs, if I have guarantees (also on the fertility here) I can pay up to €4-5 for an egg, not more than €1,5-2 if I don't.

 

[Painted Calls]

So the buyer looking for that color and that particulat breed would justify that purchase price ,correct?

That's how I see it, yes.

 

[pony007]

Pray tell, why would you spend those $36.00 on that particular bird?
No troll.

Lol because I thought they were pretty!! There was a little more to it than that I had just lost one of my very favorite birds "Baby Yoda" (think he broke his hip, was in bad shape . ) and I was looking at a couple replacements. I had been ogling this particular breed, and my husband told me to just order it already. I was still sad, but the fancy speckled bird made me feel a whole lot better. I probably could have gotten it cheaper at another hatchery, but I had already placed an order for meat birds, and wanted to save on shipping .

 

[FloorCandy]

I think it would depend on my goals. There are a lot of reasons I can think of that people would be justified paying “top dollar”. If you have a hard limit on the amount of birds you can have, like if you can only have 4 hens due to hoa or local laws, getting sexed chicks of exactly what you want is worth it to prevent having to part with a rooster you love, or to guarantee you have the rare breed you’ve always dreamed of for whatever reason. Chickens live for quite a while so be sure you get what you really want. Doing a lot of research and getting exactly what you want right from the start can help prevent some future chicken math issues.

I can see buying a group of pricey chicks from a breeder or breeders if you are looking to get into breeding and showing. Starting with good quality stock is just good business practice, and people who work hard to provide consistent good examples of their chosen breed of anything deserve to receive a fair price. I guess what price is fair is probably determined by a lot of factors, such as how much the parents cost you to buy and/or raise, how reliably they lay, how difficult and expensive they are to keep/raise/hatch etc.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Ok.
My 2 cents worth, and please forgive me if I'm hopping on a soapbox here.
I admit I can get very long-winded.

My point of view is this.
For a specific variety that is uncommon, higher than usual hatchery prices are justified.

When you take into account the amount of time, effort, blood sweat, and tears that a breeder puts into developing a variety; a strain.The money.Space.Originating the idea and following through and executing a plan to get the desired specimen. The trials, and errors. The culling. The failures.
Consider the journey to get to the point where you have a specimen available for an enthusiast, I don't see those prices high.
As we were going through our chores with feeding our chicks, adults, changing water, cleaning out coops and brooders, setting out rat traps, checking the condition of the birds, etc. on a daily, I've gained a profound respect for those breeders who put in the work to have what they have.

Reading some of these breeder's stories online about going through a lot, ALOT, of chicks. For example; that breeder I posted a price list of? These guys are in the States. When outlining their breeding program with Leghorns, they write that they ONLY used Leghorn blood so as not to have to deal with washing out the issues of bringing outside varieties into it. Unless they brought something from overseas, imagine the amount of birds they went through to hone in on one variety and produce it consistently. Again, time, money in terms of feed, space, and effort. Damn right, effort. Think about what the failures do to someone that is trying to achieve a goal and they have to cull complete batches. Money lost. What about lost stock due to weather, disease, or predators. Most people don't want to go through all that hassle for a "chicken".

There are those, and rightfully so, that would not, or could not,see themselves pay more than 5 to $10 for a chick. Hell, I can go down to the feed store tomorrow and pickup some Easter eggers for $4.95 each. I'll have eggs and later meat when they're too old to lay anymore.

But just like @pony007 said; paid $36.00 for a Jubilee Orpington. $36 is in between the lowest and the highest price in the poll. For her own reasons she was eyeing it and she had to have it.

The breeder of whatever specific unique variety you are looking for is saving you the time, the effort, the money, and all that entails and you get to enjoy the end product. You are buying a culmination of his/ her work. You don't have to start from scratch -if you are so inclined-to build a line from nothing to what the end result is.

Someone has done that for you,and their hard work should be rewarded.

To the casual chicken person if it lays eggs, stays healthy, gives them pleasure then they are content,and THAT IS COOL.
But for those who are looking for something special, the prices are justified.

 

[Painted Calls]

Ok.
My 2 cents worth, and please forgive me if I'm hopping on a soapbox here.
I admit I can get very long-winded.

My point of view is this.
For a specific variety that is uncommon, higher than usual hatchery prices are justified.

When you take into account the amount of time, effort, blood sweat, and tears that a breeder puts into developing a variety; a strain.The money.Space.Originating the idea and following through and executing a plan to get the desired specimen. The trials, and errors. The culling. The failures.
Consider what entails to get to the point where you have a specimen available for an enthusiast, I don't see those prices high.
As we were going through our chores with feeding our chicks, adults, changing water, cleaning out coops and brooders, setting out rat traps,checking the condition of the birds, etc. on a daily, I've gained a profound respect for those breeders who put in the work to have what they have.

The breeder is saving you the time, the effort, the money, and all that entails and you get to enjoy the end product. You are buying a culmination of his/ her work. You don't have to start from scratch -if you are so inclined-to build a line that consistently gives you what the end result is.
Someone has done that for you.

Reading some of these breeder's stories about going through a lot, ALOT, of chicks. For example; that breeder I posted a price list of? These guys are in the States. When outlining their breeding program with Leghorns,they write that they ONLY used Leghorn blood so as not to have to deal with washing out the issues of bringing outside varieties into it. Unless they brought something from overseas, imagine the amount of birds they went through to hone in on one variety and produce it consistently. Again, time, money in terms of feed, space, and effort. Damn right, effort. Think about what the failures do to someone that is trying to achieve a goal and they have to cull complete batches. Money lost. What about lost stock due to weather, disease, or predators. Most people don't want to go through all that hassle for a "chicken".

There are those, and rightfully so, that would not, or could not,see themselves pay more than 5 to $10 for a chick. Hell, I can go down to the feed store tomorrow and pickup some Easter eggers for $4.95 each. I'll have eggs and later meat when they're too old to lay anymore.

But just like pony007 said; paid $36.00 for a Jubilee Orpington. $36 is in between the lowest and the highest price in the poll. For her own reasons she was eyeing it and she had to have it.

The breeder of whatever specific unique variety you are looking for is saving you the time, the effort, the money, and all that entails and you get to enjoy the end product. You are buying a culmination of his/ her work. You don't have to start from scratch -if you are so inclined-to build a line from nothing to what the end result is.

Someone has done that for you,and their hard work should be rewarded.

To the casual chicken person if it lays eggs, stays healthy, gives them pleasure then they are content,and THAT IS COOL.
But for those who are looking for something special, the prices are justified.

Very well said!