. . . . . . . . go to the local livestock auction, that is. Last week an adult llama sold for $75.00. It's always interesting to go see what creatures are there & what they sell for. Anything from hamsters, rabbits, chickens, geese, turkeys, ducks, doves, pigs, sheep, goats, cows, horses, & donkeys can be found there. Not always every week as I've gone 4 times now, & last week was the first llama I've seen there. Somebody has to go to buy those cute, farm producing animals! It was really dangerous this morning for my wife to hand me a check (just in case I buy something!) I'll let you know tomorrow what went on.
We usually have a llama or 2 sold at our local animal auction. Sometimes even an emu-----pot belly pigs------just about anything other than cats and dogs which aren't allowed. Mostly rabbits and all kinds of poultry......peacocks, muscovies, turkeys. geese, ducks, chickens. I love going to them-----held the first Saturday of even numbered months.-------just 2 miles from us.
Ended up taking home 4 peeps @ $.25 each and 3 hens @ $.50 each. I was bidding on a buck goat so my does could get pregnant, but it sold for over $50.00 and was very scared of people. The one thing I should have bid on but didn't was a horse. There were 2 horses there lastnight, and the first one was a male probably around 15 years old that sold for $125.00. I think it sold so cheap because when they talked about looking in it's mouth to see how old it was, a guy reached from outside the ring and grabbed it's halter which scared the horse and made it rear up. The other horse sold for over $400.00 and wasn't in as good as shape or as big. Kick me for passing this up. Of course, I could have bid and the other person would have kept going too, but we will never know. I just hope it wasn't bought buy a horse meat person.
~~~~~ anytime youre going to an auction , for animals,~~~~~ watch the couple of guys that hang right at the edge of the ring, whenever a horse/animal isnt being bid on , you will see the auctioneer look at them , they are 1 of 2 things, either , the meat animal man , and/OR working for the auction , these guys do one of two things , 1 they drive interest in bidding on an animal otherwise noone would want, 2 they buy animals for meat, dont pay attention to the prices, these guys have a deal worked with the auction house and never pay what the animal is sold for and if hes working for the auction , its the auctioneer whos buying the animal , and it will be resold at the next auction if an animal is selling for dirt cheap , its a thought to buy it , and resell it at the next auction too... ive doen this, with some success---- why should the auction house be the oneholding all the money? ive taken horses who were "un healthy" looking, took them home, fed them vet checked them , trimmed hooves, helped heal small wounds, put in training time on them , and then listed them in the paper and made a nice profit , but im a trainer, so theres a difference, the average person probobly wouldnt be able to train a horse for barrells or roping, but you certainly could handle an animal and help heal cuts .... if it doesnt sell in the paper, take it to the auction, now granted this isnt a "fast money" thing, it takes from 4-6 months to turn your investemnt, but its such a better thought than an otherwise healthy animal going to meat, cause no one wants to train it , personally i find the best sucess in this buying 3-4 year old ungelded grade horses, i have them gelded, and put time in on them , i have yet to make less than 300-500.00 in clear profit ( after vet and other expenses) just a thought, and wow, this is more long winded than i thought ..... oh well ! Beth
So...what are the risks to your own livestock? I know there is risk with goats of bringing in CAE and CL positive animals to contaminate your herd. What risks are there with poultry, rabbits, and smaller critters? how about calves? Horses are not for me, but I would be willing to look into auctions, as long as I wasn't risking my own livestock. Educate me! Meg
lol, you've caught the auction bug. For the last year and a half, I've done some experiments at our local auction. I've taken chickens in during the spring, the summer, fall and winter. The lowest I've price I've gotten for a chicken is $7.50, the highest $13.00, most average out around $10. These are for buff Orpington's, Americauna, and barred rock. Some of them were a mix of the breeds. Most of these are roosters, with a few hens thrown in to see if they get a higher price. I've brought 2 year old rooster's in, and just started laying hens in. No big difference in prices. Soooooo, guess what my new business adventure is? Yep, I have the incubator going round the clock, and it's bringing a nice tidy profit in, since the auction place only takes 10% out. I've also advertised locally to take anyone's old mean rooster off their hands, or their old laying hen's. It's amazing how many people call me because they got a surprise rooster in their new batch of hen's and they don't want it and they just give it to me, lol. If I don't keep it for breeding purposes, off to the auction it goes. We have auctions every Saturday. Meg-I don't know about all auctions, but ours has a vet there that will vaccinate the animals before they leave the barn. On the off chance I buy a bird, goat, pig from the auction I keep it seperated from my animals for 2 weeks. We bought our first little piggy at the auction for $10 or $11 can't remember which, it weighed 20 # when we got it. It was a Yorkshire. The butcher said it was one of the best looking hogs he has seen this year. I'm planning on buying a few more on Saturday because the prices go up to $50-60 in the spring for them. Deb
I think prior to attending the first auction it would be prudent to prepare your 'isolation' area for any stock that you buy. It is no bargain if you lose your present stock because you bought a cheap animal that was incubating some contageous disease.
That is my worry. I want to know the possibilities first. A quarentine time of two weeks isn't much. Shoot, when I bring in a new orchid, it gets a minimim of a month quarentine! Some diseases have much longer incubation times. Or, maybe I'm just paranoid. It can't be that bad if it's so popular...can it? Meg
Meg: "It can't be that bad if it's so popular...can it?" Isn't that what they said about free love ....before AIDS?!
Mljjranch, Wow! Sounds like I need to buy some chickens at our auction & send them out to you to sell. Most chickens go for anywhere from $.50 - $3.00 each. I know lastnight there were quite a few adult chickens that 1 guy bought up at $.50 each. I even saw a half grown turkey sell for $4.00! I do worry somewhat about disease, but figure most people selling are just like me - small animal husbandty that just happen to have an overabundance. I believe most people believe you should quarantine for at least 4 -6 weeks.
I am also hesitant about showing any poultry because of the horror stories of people who lost their entire breeding stock or most of it due to bringing something back from a show.
Michael-It must be the location, I'm thinking. I've heard most auctions are low priced, but this one does very well with it's chickens. There is a lady that is always there (the owners wife) who works for Tyson, and she really get's the bidding up too. She takes any chicken, and her lowest bid it seems is 6.50, so if other's want to get a chicken they have to outbid her. Works for me though! Big asian and mexican community in the area too, and they buy all their chickens from this auction. I figure I'll ride this craze of mine until it slows down and then fill my freezers again, lol. Deb
