Best way to sell rare chickens?

Thanks Kwings.... My typo. I get so used to typing .com that I typed it without even thinking..

I think McM chickens would be fine for 4H.

OOOOOooooooOOOOOOOO
thank you for posting this!

__________________
He who thinks he knows, doesn't. He who knows he doesn't know, knows.~ Joseph Campbell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeMrK...AE7062ADE5A19C

No problem, i saw someone say it wasn't around anymore but i'd been to that site recently (although accidentally lol) and it was well within the last year easy, so i went to look to make sure.

__________________
http://www.zazzle.com/karmaworkz

http://kwings87.blogspot.com/

As mentioned, work with the County Ag Agent if you still have one. They sponsor 4-H.

Eggbid.com did exist and was the premier site to sell eggs and live chickens. It went out of business over a year ago and a bunch of other sites started up. Eggbid.net was one of them. Eggbid.net is not a well used site and would not be in the recommended sites to use by a majority of the people selling eggs and chickens on line.

You would be far better off using the following sites. They have good traffic an good sellers of quality stock.

http://www.featherauction.com/
http://www.rarebreedauctions.com/index.php
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/index.php

Callie, I think you're right about hatchery birds being acceptable for 4H. It would be misleading, though, to call these birds exhibition quality. It also seems misleading to call them rare breeds. They're not exactly rare if hatcheries are pumping them out. Now.... I've got some exhibition stock Buckeyes if you're interested.

__________________
Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD

I would consider them rare if they are listed on the ALBC, and Murray McMurray does sell some of the breeds listed there.

ALBC only counts birds that are in the hands of serious hobby breeders who can be trusted to keep the breed pure. You have to understand what their figures mean.

Hatcheries are notorious for cross breeding to increase their numbers. So a hatchery might sell tons of chicks of a "rare" breed, but they aren't really purebred. Or maybe they do sell purebreds, but the ALBC doesn't trust them to keep the breed pure. Or maybe, they breed everything they can get their hands on, whether it is breeding quality or not, and the quality of their chicks goes down until the birds aren't recognizable as purebreds.

What ALBC is keeping track of is birds that meet their SOP, and their numbers do tend to be out of date.

In chickens, there are a few main breeds that everybody knows and many people will just buy those because they "know" the breed. They don't buy the less popular breeds because they don't recognize the name.

Amandak, if you want to sell less common breeds of chicks, it will help if you give a good description of what can be expected from them.

What you say makes sense, and I've seen it myself. Several years ago I purchased pilgrim geese from a very large hatchery in TX which I will not name. Pilgrim geese are autosexing. Plumage color indicates sex. I requested 2 pair, sexed, as I planned to start a small flock from them. I got all females, 2 grey and 2 white. They all had the correct pilgrim markings, but were obviously mixed breeds sold as pilgrims. When I called to complain they fell back on the uncertainty of sexing goslings. I explained the autosexing feature and they were clueless.

So, my question would be, if you can't trust the large mail order hatcheries, how do you go about finding purebred birds to start a flock of rare heritage breed poultry?

__________________
The government can't give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
--Dr. Adrian Rogers

My son did the poultry project last year in 4H. Many of the kids bought from McM, of the major hatcheries I like their birds the best. The rules were that they had to buy chicks hatched from March 20th to May 10th or something like that. County fair is in early august, and the kids can show any birds from anywhere, show quality doesn't really matter. But they must raise the chicks and buy/get new chicks every year. Thats one of the reasons we decided not to do the chicken project this year. Leaders from the club also came out and did the Pullorum blood test and vaccinated the birds we were showing as well. This was our club, others may differ. If I were you I'd set up a Chicken page on Facebook, one of my local favourite breeders has one, she posts pictures of her new hatches on it. Advertise on CL, of course, Backyard Chickens (its a forum) I've sold chickens off of BC. Check the Events forum for a Chickenstock near you, its like a flea market and picnic social, you can sell birds there, or meet buyers who have contacted you. Post at TSC's and feed stores, lots of 4H kids go there, and lastly contact the Ag Extension office, ask for contact numbers for the Chicken Club leaders. Maybe donate a few birds to sweeten the pot, kids will remember you, and your breed down the road. Thats what I would do.

__________________
"I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." Bilbo Baggins

Home Harvest I've heard good things about this Hatchery regarding geese.

http://www.holderreadfarm.com/index.htm

__________________
"I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." Bilbo Baggins

Holderread runs his business like a hatchery, but he is considered to be a show breeder. You get show quality from him, not hatchery quality. He has a sterling reputation and is listed as a Master Breeder on several varieties of geese and on his runner ducks.

Holderread Farm is an excellent choice for buying show quality birds. As others have said, hatcheries are NOT the place to get show quality birds. You often end up with birds with the wrong color feet or stray feathers that are not part of the breed standard.When I wanted rare breeds, I ordered from private breeders. Also, you may need to get your birds NPIP certified in order for people to feel confident about buying from you. While I hadn't intended to get NPIP certified, I ended up doing it to ensure that I was able to sell my quail to a certain buyer.

__________________
~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

[[[[....how do you go about finding purebred birds to start a flock of rare heritage breed poultry?...]]]]

If you want nice quality purebred birds, you go to a private breeder who is dedicated to raising and preserving that breed of bird.

If you are hoping to raise and sell rare breeds of poultry, it is worth spending a few extra dollars on the initial purchase of your breeding stock and it is worth it to buy the SOP (Standard of Perfection) so that you know exactly what your birds should be.

Then you keep and breed your birds that are the closest to the SOP, and you cull any birds that have serious flaws.

If you know anything about dogs, the hatcheries are the puppy mills. Hatchery quality tends to be puppy mill quality. Show breeders are the ones who pay close attention to looks, temperament, and health.