Silkie chicken for $125?

[ravencreek]

Hey if I were into showing chickens I could see paying $125 for a good one. My mother in law has paid over $1000 for a CAT. He was a show cat and won ribbons and all but to me he is still just a cat. This goes along with my last post about the hen not laying cause this cat so far hasn't produced show winners even with multiple SQ females. I myself have paid over $5000 for a dog. Now THATS crazy. So yea $125 for a show chicken I could see.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

The most I have ever spent on a chicken was $7! I guess I havent been to a show though.

 

[Black Feather]

Quote:
Hey NicInNC,

Just wondering, was it the calm, friendly personality of the bird you were more attracted to, or the show quality?

I just noticed that you mention the personality a lot, and that the breeder told you she was show quality. Have you gained enough experience to recognize show quality Silkies on your onw? I suspect she probably was a very nice birds.....but if it was the personality that attracted you the most then you could probably attain the same level of personality from purchasing some young silkies that are not so high on the show quality scale and handling them a lot. The way those little guys look in the show room which adds to their beauty level take A LOT of hard work as some have already mentioned. They are handled so much that they can't help but be tame. Cute little monsters

As for the original question. For a decent show bird I don't think $125 is excessive. It will also depend on the market in your area as well. If show quality silkies in that area regularly sell for $500, then a $125 one would make me suspect on quality. If however the general going price of birds is $50, then $125 would probably be a pretty darn nice bird. Mind you, if I was going to lay down some cash on some show quality birds and I was not yet versed in recognizing the quality myself, I would take along a knowledgeable friend, or if the bird was in the show, let the birds placing do a bit of the talking.

*lol* I was also just thinking of the most I've ever spent for some birds. Unfortunately when I started factoring in the cost of the coop that I built for those birds I started getting depressed! For just the birds though, I think about $75 a piece which included the shipping was the most I've spent. They were worth every penny and were invaluable to my breeding program.

Urban Coyote

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Very well stated UrbanCoyote... Very well stated!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

I saw them, too. They were very pretty, but didn't know that was asking that for them. They looked well worth the money, but I had others I was looking for.

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

Call me cheap, but I could never in my life pay that price...I think the most I have ever spent was like $5 on a bird---oh, wait there was a silkie hen I got for $6....
I don't wanna sound dumb here, but why pay so much...You have absolutely no guarentee that once that bird is in your hands (even at a fair/show/swap/sale) that it will live...Then your out....

Is there a reason that someone pays those high dollars??? I don't wanna sound dumb asking that, it's just I don't understand....

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
You're right... But when you pay tens of thousands of dollars for your favorite brand of vehicle, there's no guarantee that it wont be a lemon. And when you pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for your new house, there's no guarantee that the roof wont leak.

But just as you buy a car, or a house, or any significant purchase, you research, ask questions, get references, and do your homework before you go out and buy a $125 chicken.

If you're asking "why" I or anyone else would pay that much, see my previous post on page 1 about it being relevant...

 

[asher]

Quote:
I will say that I searched for many months for a buff silkie rooster to go with my buff silkie girls and could never find one locally. I finally bought one on eggbid...and ended up spending about $75 on him total including shipping. He wasn't a show winner, but he ended up throwing some gorgeous babies. I made plenty on some of his offspring to make it worthwhile.

In general, I don't pay a lot, though. I think $30 is about my "average" on most of my cochin girls from a very good breeder that showers her birds.

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

I understand when you brake things down as to what it costs to feed per the price(even though I don't see how younger birds coudl possibly cost a couple hundred of dollars)......I still don't think I could do it...To me a house and car are completely different than an animal....
I mean yes a preson spends thousands on a house, a couple thousand on a vehicle, things like that...But those are something that hopefully will last years and years....And that's what insurance is for if with the houses and cars...Do people put insurance on their chickens/ pets that they spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars?? Just curious....

Like I said I am a CHEAP'O' when it comes to purchases, so I am more just curious...I am not trying to be mean or sound dumb when asking, jsut curious....

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
Yes! In fact insurance on livestock is quite a big busines. However its mostly large animals like horses/cows.

I dont have an insurance policy on my chickens per say... my insurance is the time and effort I put into caring for my birds and keeping them healthy and thriving. It would be silly to pay $125 for a chicken, throw it in the pen, and never care for it. In that case, you are most certainly "taking chances." However, with proper care and nutrition, the chances are that your birds WILL live for years. The odds of a bird dying is greatly less than it surviving when it is cared for.

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Being a cheap'o' is not a bad thing, especially in this economy, and we, or I dont perceive your questions as dumb or mean.