reasonably priced sebastopol goslings?

[crazy goose lover]

Wow
Jennifer and Cottage maybe you could get your own reality TV show. Not that I watch TV. They seem to like fighting back and forth for the world to watch.

 

[Cottage Rose]

Dave K, I find it intriguing that you think you know so much about me, unfortunately your assumptions are erroneous and without merit.

 

[DaveK]

Quote:
Cottage Rose, My only mention of you was in connection with being the poster who mentioned $10 goslings and my idea that you were not presenting that price as a viable reality. If you are choosing to take anything else I have said and make it all about you that is your choice. I stated very clearly in my last post that my take on the discussion was not that any one individual need take offense or feel/get defensive.

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
I quess I will have to lookup the definition of "farmer or rancher". I thought part of being a farmer meant raising livestock to make a profit.

BTW- I worked 66 hours in the last 8 days at my job: Bartending.......................... then who know how many hours doing chores, marketing, building pens, etc at home.

 

[Lund121671]

Spectrum, well put a farmer/rancher's work is never done! My list of what I would like to do gets longer and longer and now the days are getting shorter and shorter!

 

[The goose girl]

Quote:
Exactly! My goose is a pet. I consider pets the luxury. If I were a rancher or a farmer, my animals would have to pay their keep, at least partly.

Actually, he kind of "pays" already by offering the best therapy ever: lots of smiles and laughter!

 

[DaveK]

Quote:
When I was in school, I was at an exotic animal auction in Missouri; sebastopols were selling for a couple thousand; but I doubt the auction house would have or look up records from that long ago.

Spectrum, while just agog at the $2000 you remember I am not doubting you. Just at that same time I know full well that a regular person dealing with breeders was able to gather up quite a lot of foundation stock at prices less than 1/20th per pair what you remember at auction. Lolli Bros maybe? At any rate your good memory helps to reinforce the idea that when suitably hyped and marketed through the right venue such as an auction house, appealing website or whatever, stock can be sold for way more than what most of those "in the business" would consider realistic. Nothing basically wrong with this. Not for me anyway. When novices are mislead as to what is being offered, either by honest ignorance or something else, then I feel we have an unfortunate situation. And those who are on the outside looking in do see this and the prices being bandied about as an issue with the Sebastopols. Which gets us right back to $50 goslings and hugely expensive pet quality stock. None of this will be the end of anyone's world however.

 

[Cottage Rose]

As for me, when I got involved with Sebastopols 6 years ago I set
my prices according to what everybody else was selling them for.
I did not have some ridiculous notion that I was going to get rich
selling Sebastopols since I have been involved in animals long enough
to know thats just not a reality. I spend far more on my animals then I take in.
Dave K keeps mentioning websites as if all people use them to market over-priced birds.
When I got involved with Sebastopols there was very few quality photos or
information about on them online so I made a website for fun and to promote the breed I love.
Since I love photography and graphics my website is simply an expression of my interests not a marketing tool.
I would still have my website even if I didn't sell Sebastopols.
I didn't pay anybody to design my website. I created it and maintain it. Its a fun and rewarding project since
I'm able to help others who are interested in the breed which is verified through the many regular thank you emails
and guest book comments I get.
If I wanted to make quick money with Sebastopol sales I would opt to sell them via online auctions
where people get caught up in the heat of the sale and tend to pay way more than they are worth.
I personally know of somebody who got $400. for a pair of week old Seb goslings on an auction.
As tempting as that possibility is I'm more concerned with placing my babies in loving homes then making a quick, over priced sale.
Also due to the interest my website generates I could seize the opportuntiy to sell A LOT more day old goslings than I do but
but I only take a limited amount of orders for day old goslings annually.
Where many of the elitist breeders don't sell any day olds,
I figure selling day olds makes them affordable to the average pet seeker.
I also screen all my buyers. That is not a trait of a dealer.
I still sell white day old gosling's for $40. each whereas even hatcheries sell them for $50.
I have also given away Sebastopols for free but I don't wave a banner around saying so.
Also back then I first bought up young started stock I paid $75. - $150. for them and that is the average price I sell them for
to this day. My prices have not gone up despite the price of everything else going up.
So I based my prices on what everybody else was selling them for...the going rate.
I just don't see where this is a huge issue any more than one buying a pet quality Chihuahua with no papers for $300. is.

This notion that Sebastopols are trendy money makers is new to me.
Certainly there are people out there that have "puppy mill" mentality but I have not met
one person in the Sebastopol world who breeds and sells Sebastopols for greedy reasons.
All the folks I have been fortunate to get to know are real nice people and I find it insulting
that such judgmental and unfair statements keep being made about them.
This topic is way over due to be dropped and energies spend on discussing the breed might
be more valuable than pointing the finger at others in judgment.

 

[rainplace]

Ummm, as the lady who bought the culls, I wanted to jump in. I was specifically looking for breeding stock to grow out goslings for Christmas dinners to our CSA customers starting in 2011.

Of the four Africans I bought, one was a cull because her beak didn't want to go together smoothly, in all other ways she is nice looking bird. On closer inspection when we were packing her up at Dave's, it turned out she has a small injury on the underside of her beak. She's worth way more than I payed for her. A second african female is "overdone," as in over the top for type. The gander I got is "underdone," I wonder what they will produce? Some of my order Dave gave me for free because they are unsaleable, I laughed and told him I appreciated the "packing peanuts." Some of my order was filled with over-stock.

I knew what I was buying... another word for it instead of culls would be utility stock.

 

[Cottage Rose]

rainplace...nothing wrong with buying culls or "utility stock."
My first Ameraucanas were "meat birds" from John Blehm
long time Ameraucana breeder and president of the Ameraucana Breeders Club.
I was thrilled to get some of his culls.
You can get some nice birds that way even if they aren't show perfect.
Pictured below one of the "meat birds" (black Ameraucana cock) I got from John.
He also sold some at high prices.
I gladly bought some of those too.