Worst $50 you have ever spent? Best?

[magicpigeon]

My sister wasted $50 on some lavender Araucana eggs, none of which have hatched/lived. We put half under a broody silkie and the other alf in an incubator. I'm hoping some of you crazy

BYCers have some anecdotes to cheer her up

We got one pip, but he died soon after.

So: what is the worst $50 YOU have ever spent? What is the best?

 

[Ryan McEachern]

Here's one for the "worst" category

Just spent $56 on 6 hens in horrible shape from a guy on Craislist.

They were advertised as "free-ranging hens just starting to lay" and we had just lost a few to a pair of dogs, We have a broody raising 4 chicks, and 36 eggs a couple weeks along in the incubator, but we are a few eggs short every day for our customers now after the dog attack. When we got the the place, I knew it would be a bad scene by the condition of the yard. I should have stayed in the van, but I went and looked at the hens anyway - big mistake!

They were in such horrible conditions, no proper shelter, no proper laying feed, no proper feeder/watered, bad feather plucking (I'm thinking low calcium and crowding for room out of the rain) no roosts, just a really bad situation. I am too soft in these situations, so I took them home just to get them away from the owner.

Now I have them in the goat barn, under strict seperation from my flocks until I can see what I actually have. there are definately 4 young hybrids (look like golden comets) and 2 white mutts that must have some EE. Going to give them a couple weeks to see if they improve at all, but their general condition (tails down, listlessness) doesn't give me much hope.

I think its 50$ down the drain. I feel like going and kicking that guy in the backside. I can't believe some people can treat animals like that!

 

[magicpigeon]

I hope your hens do okay. It IS such a shame some peopel mistreat their animals. I would have actually kicked the guy (joking!

) though...

 

[DuckLady]

The best $50 was on fabric.

The worst was on.....fabric.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:

That makes SOOO much sense to me, but probably not others.

 

[WIChookchick]

Well I spent that if you count the gas money.. 45 on 3 hens.
First just one- an EE that died in a freak accident.
So I went back and got another EE (since it was an accident, she didn't give me another one) EE's are a little hard to find here...
And a standard light brahma pullet.
The brahma had been free ranging so hated coop/run life, she went to go live with the neighbors.
And the replacement EE just started laying about a month ago.

Best 50....
A newer camera at a pawn shop,
OR
nearly that much for a very nice saddle I still have.

 

[xke4]

Quote:
I applaud you for removing those poor birds from that situation....I couldn't have walked away either.

 

[PeepsInc]

Quote:
I think we've all lost money trying to hatch shipped eggs at some point or another. My biggest loss was around $60... I also ship eggs. At best during the summer months, people will get an 80% hatch from my shipped eggs. Twice I've shipped eggs with 0 hatch rate. I think they were X ray'd.
When ever you buy shipped eggs your taking a chance. Especially when you buy them during the winter months. Ice crystals can form inside the egg causing the membrane to rupture inside. If they don't hatch under a broody,chances are the weather got to them. Timing is key. Better luck next time.

 

[mandelyn]

Couple of bad buys, does more than $50 still count?

$75 in eggs that didn't hatch

$45 on the cutest heels ever (on sale!) that I couldn't take more than 5 steps in because the the thong between the toes. Toe thong + heels pushing your feet into it doesn't work.

About $50 at the worse Motel 6 EVER. Noisy, stained carpet, so bad I checked the mattress for bugs before committing to the room! Worse sleep, worse time, during a road trip where I had another 600 miles to cover the next day. Didn't make it, crashed out in a beautiful Marriot after only 400 miles, for $120. Worth it!

20 euros on a dinner that sounded ok in the German description I could barely understand. Turns out it was all slathered in a horse radish sauce I tasted for days after, even though I only had a tiny bit where I was able to scrape the sauce off.

Best:

$50 for my puppy Logan bear, one of the best GSDs I've ever owned

$50 dumped into a slot machine yielded $300

I planned a trip around how much money we had. Chose a cabin that sat alone on top of a mountain. $60 was all we had in gas money to get to it. The Cabin wasn't cheap, but I did the math on the miles and what our car gets, we had just enough to get there and back. So worth the crunch! It was amazing. Filled the cooler with food from the fridge to avoid eating out since it was equipped with a kitchen. It was only 3 days, and it wasn't far from Smoky Mountains, so we had just enough gas to see some of the park. And hiking is FREEEEEeee! No cabin fever in a place like that!

 

[Goose and Fig]

I just got a KitchenAid stand mixer at a resale shop for $30!!!!!!! It only has the hook attachment, but still! Sometimes I get lucky

Worst $50? Overdraft fees! But that's my own ADHD fault.