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

[nikkers390]

I picked NO I would not pay top dollar for a chick because out in the country were I live. A chicken doesn't really last long - with all of the predators and stuff.

Yep, everything LOVES chicken. We have raccoons and bobcats in rural Florida and they WILL find a way into a secure coop. I lost sheep to a panther (our name for mountain lion...no mountains in FL)

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Yep, everything LOVES chicken. We have raccoons and bobcats in rural Florida and they WILL find a way into a secure coop. I lost sheep to a panther (our name for mountain lion...no mountains in FL)

Yes that's why I will only pay tops 6.00 dollars for a chicken. I do mostly my own hatching, I don't even have to pay for that bird.

 

[fluffycrow]

I'm not sure. I work with two "breeds". Well, one is a landrace and one is a breed. For the landrace, there is absolutely no way I'm paying that price. If we're talking day old chicks, they have not developed their crests yet, so I don't know if they'll develop them or not. Then there's the colour. They could literally turn out almost any colour. If they're month olds, I run the risk of bringing in more diseases. Overall, there are too many unknowns. For the breed, I work with serama. Serama chicks are not the most vigorous of chicks, surviving the travel is a big question. Due to the structure of serama, which takes time to completely grow, I will also not know what their potential is. The only way I'm paying a lot for serama chicks is if they come from truly great lines, and the breeder is close. Otherwise, I won't do it. I'll stick to paying quite a lot more for birds aging from 6 weeks and up

 

[nikkers390]

I'm not sure. I work with two "breeds". Well, one is a landrace and one is a breed. For the landrace, there is absolutely no way I'm paying that price. If we're talking day old chicks, they have not developed their crests yet, so I don't know if they'll develop them or not. Then there's the colour. They could literally turn out almost any colour. If they're month olds, I run the risk of bringing in more diseases. Overall, there are too many unknowns. For the breed, I work with serama. Serama chicks are not the most vigorous of chicks, surviving the travel is a big question. Due to the structure of serama, which takes time to completely grow, I will also not know what their potential is. The only way I'm paying a lot for serama chicks is if they come from truly great lines, and the breeder is close. Otherwise, I won't do it. I'll stick to paying quite a lot more for birds aging from weeks and up

I also hatch shipped eggs. Truthfully, it can cost a LOT more than buying live chicks. Like 12 eggs of a desired breed for $100 with shipping can mean you are throwing away $100 or paying around $8 for a chick (rarely happens, all hatch) and anything in between. And you get far too many cockerels. I kept 30 spring chicks and have 12 cockerels. That's not counting the many I gave away to neighbors. Even after many years of keeping chickens, I cannot pick a favorite breed so I have several breeds at one time.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Once bitten, twice shy. It was learning experience.

No idea what your talking about but breeders lie got ams from a breeder before, that one was blind one had scissor beak and they laid brown, So its not just happened once. So i will get from a hatchery and never a breeder thats charging twice as much for hatchery flips which is all it is. They buy them in bulk and flip them for more. No one breeds to sop anyways. Most here are not even npip they just take band off old birds slap them on younger birds. No one checks if you wanna support breeders you go ahead. I will take my chances with hatcheries if I need birds.

 

[nikkers390]

No idea what your talking about but breeders lie got ams from a breeder before, that one was blind one had scissor beak and they laid brown, So its not just happened once. So i will get from a hatchery and never a breeder thats charging twice as much for hatchery flips which is all it is. They buy them in bulk and flip them for more. No one breeds to sop anyways. Most here are not even npip they just take band off old birds slap them on younger birds. No one checks if you wanna support breeders you go ahead. I will take my chances with hatcheries if I need birds.

There are unscrupulous people everywhere, but I'm an optimist.
I buy hatchery chicks because I get a limited live arrival assurance and I eliminate an overabundance of cockerels. Since I don't show, it does not matter to me if they are hatchery quality. I don't buy live birds locally because mine is a closed flock. To avoid disease, only my newly hatched or shipped day old chicks get added when feathered and ready to leave the brooder.

 

[16 and me]

I wouldn't pay top dollar, even $20 sounds outrageous (And I'm in Canada). Late September my broody who had lost her 1st brood to a predator, tried to stay on the nest for a consecutive brood & failed, then came back for a last ditch effort late September when I didn't have hatching eggs set aside. All but 1 egg was a dud. Rather than leave her with a solo chick I was able to find a local farm that was picking up day-olds from a hatchery in the U.S. I paid $15 each which is too much in my opinion, but given the circumstances I was glad to have had the option. Mama was happy to give up her eggs in return for the chicks!

 

[Poultrybonkers]

There are unscrupulous people everywhere, but I'm an optimist.
I buy hatchery chicks because I get a limited live arrival assurance and I eliminate an overabundance of cockerels. Since I don't show, it does not matter to me if they are hatchery quality. I don't buy live birds locally because mine is a closed flock. To avoid disease, only my newly hatched or shipped day old chicks get added when feathered and ready to leave the brooder.

I havent bought any hatchery birds in years as I breed my own and your right i dont want diseases in my flock from other peoples birds. Almost had mg in my flock because was looking for a lav orp roo at the time and guy had it in a box halfway home I heard it gargling it never made it to my yard lets just say that lol thats the day I stopped buying peoples birds period

 

[SSHilltopHens]

I think there's definitely a market for higher priced chicks. I'm personally a fanatic for rare chicken breeds, so I've accepted that I'll probably always be paying a premium to acquire the breeds that I want. I will also happily pay a little more to buy from local breeders who breed for quality and temperament, as I've found those chicks to be significantly friendlier and more docile than my hatchery chicks.

I paid $15 per chick for my Vorwerks and I honestly thought the price was pretty reasonable considering the extremely rare/endangered status of the breed. I had been searching for this breed for months and was happy to spend a little extra than I normally would to finally obtain them. They are developing beautifully and have turned out to be some of the friendliest, calmest chicks I've raised.

On the contrary, I paid $20 per chick for some Ayam Cemanis and was pretty disappointed when 3 of the 6 ended up with pink toes a couple weeks in. It was my first time buying chicks for breeding purposes and I made the mistake of purchasing blindly. Had I asked to see the parents beforehand, I would have seen that they both had quite a lot of color leakage, which would've been an obvious indicator that their chicks would probably be lower-quality stock.

Lesson learned? Do your due diligence if you're going to spend more than a few bucks on a chick you can definitely get higher quality chicks by spending a little more money with the right breeder, but you could also end up with the same quality as hatchery chicks who are half the price.

 

[Nym]

I paid $60 for four 5-6wk old chicks back in September. I liked the deal as the breeder's advert said she would take back any unwanted roosters, but no refund given. I ended up with two roos, which she has collected from my house this month. Not a bad deal for my area. I now have 5 girls.