Rooster return policy

[obi wan henobi]

Hi everyone, I'm keen to hear from breeders on your rooster return policy.

I recently purchased 3 x day-olds from a local breeder, she told me they were all girls. At four weeks I noticed one of them had a bigger redder comb than the other two. I contacted the breeder, she said no it looks fine.

Last week I asked the kind folks on this page their opinion of my now 7 week olds. All said that the suspect chick was indeed cockerel.

The breeder tells me today that the most she'll do is a refund of the cost of the day old.

Is this standard policy ? It seems a bit unfair that I have not got what I paid for, and have to suffer the brunt. I've effectively fed and housed this chick for 7 weeks and whilst the feed would not have broken the bank it is a little frustrating.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What was the policy you were given upon purchase, if any?

If there was no specific policy given, then this would be considered fair IMO: you bought 3 pullets and only got 2, so here is the cost of the bird you bought and did not get. Unless there's some sort of law in Australia that states otherwise.

The stores I buy from have no refund, no return policy... if you walk out of the store and a chick dies as soon as you exit the store, best you can expect is to turn around and buy another.

 

[obi wan henobi]

Thanks for the response. There was no policy given at purchase. I'm now told it is on her website but I dealt with her through her Facebook page and wasn't directed to the website at all. From my limited google research since posting, it does seem as though most breeders say similar.

Australian law states exactly what you have said - if you don't get what you pay for then you're entitled to a refund. It's tricky with chicks because you don't find out until down the track ... at which point the refund of original price doesn't seem quite right to me.

If a chick died I wouldn't expect any recourse, as it's entirely possible that I'm at fault. In the case of incorrect sexing, the buyer isn't at fault. It's a complex situation.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Keep in mind also that unlike durable goods, what the breeder gets back is **Not** what they sold. While from the buyer's perspective, they've paid the price of food and labor to raise the bird up some number of weeks and the unwanted cockerel is "more valuable" (just not to them, having desired pullets), from the breeder's perspective, the unwanted cockerel is a potential disease vector, out of their hands a month or more, in contact with gods knows what, and a possible risk to their *entire* flock - much less valuable to them. Even the space they give up for quarantine, should they choose to do so, can be placed to far more lucrative purpose doing almost anything else.

The cash back policy thus protects both - one of the reasons its popular in the industry.

and apart from sex-links, no poultry sexing practice is ever going to be 100%.

/Edit to add - and in my case, taking in a cockerel from an unknown flock would cost my my NPIP certification, as well. We can ONLY take on new birds from other NPIP certified flocks, our own own certification is terminated. That's the state of the law in FL, and likely many other places besides.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Where I am most of the places selling pullet chicks have no guarantee on gender.
Hatcheries state a 90% accuracy so may refund purchase price on chicks if say you order 10 and 2 or more are males.

There is just one feed store that offers a "rooster return" guarantee. They will take it back IF you have the blue paper stating you bought xyz breed as pullets, IF they have room, and IF you have raised the bird to 16 weeks.
The only exchange is a sexed chick of the same breed. No $ for the time, feed and effort in raising the cockerel.

 

[MountainWoman73]

Is this standard policy ?

This all sounds pretty standard. Anyone who gets chicks knows they'll have to deal with the occasional roo or two.

When I had a hatchery make a serious mistake (sent me 4 sexed males instead of 4 sexed females, of a sex-linked breed!), I expected (and got) a refund. But if it's just one cockerel, that's normal. It wouldn't even occur to me to ask for a refund, unless they had a specifically stated gender guarantee policy.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't take them back unless its from a certain pair of people because I know they take necessary steps to keep their flocks clean. I have no need or want for extra boys since I hate processing (do it when needed but I'm not someone who will search Craigslist for free dinners). That's why I don't sell sexed birds unless I'm certain they're boys. I'll sell st run and say that these might be girls, or I think are girls, but I specifically say that they are being sold as st run so I don't get any of that 'not a pullet' bs

 

[Dharmachick]

I have told buyers I will replace cockerels with pullets if I was wrong about the sex, since I sell them at 12 - 16 weeks. No one has every brought one back. Many areas near me restrict chicken ownership to 6 or 8 hens, so I want them to get what they paid for.

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

responsible breeders (or those who care about biosecurity) will never allow the return of roosters (unless they need another breeder and are willing to take it back, in that case they may set up a quarantine cage). standard practice is to refund the amount the buyer paid.