I will preface this by saying this is just my opinion and my experience. *I* myself prefer purchasing my chickens from a breeder who is a chicken lover rather than a chicken trader. I do have a friend who bought birds from him that gave her eggs for one season and then dropped off dramatically after that. I suspect the birds were older than advertised. I would also caution that the advertised "Americanas" are actually Easter Eggers. The
She ended up selling half of the flock she bought from him after only one season because they were giving her NOTHING. I gave a lot of thought to the birds I wanted for my own flock. I wanted a healthy, varied flock who would give me a colorful egg basket. I researched long and hard before ever getting my first chicken. I was on this forum for nearly a full year before my coop was built and birds were purchased. You can ask some of the other "long timers" here. I was on here constantly asking questions, collecting opinions, looking at coop designs long before a single stick of lumber was bought or any chicks hatched.
After what seemed like a loooooonnnnggg year of research and my poor DH finally being broken down and consenting to building my coop because all I was talking about were chickens, I contacted the breeders from this very forum to assemble my backyard flock. I had been observing them carefully through that first year, listening to how they talked about their birds, noticing how knowledgeable they were and how much they truly cared about their birds. I noticed who was showing their birds, or breeding to better the breed, rather than just increase numbers of birds willy nilly without any thought. I took note of who was really passionate about their birds whether they were in the business of making money from bird or egg sales or not. I don't have any problem with the business of making money as long as there is a devotion to the animal that drives the business.
So for me, it's not a matter of the amount of money I pay for a bird. It's the peace of mind I get for that price, knowing my pullet or hen was bred with thought and care by someone who truly did it for love of the breed. Over a year later, I haven't regretted a single purchase of any of my birds or hatching eggs. Healthy, sweet birds - every one of them, and I'm grateful to those who provided me with them.
