taking birds to sale

[jaime7997]

Quick question... How do you all think would be the best way to group up my BW's to take to the sale next month?? Pairs, trios, 6 to a pen? I don't know if any of you have ever taken any to auctions like I am going to do, but thought I'd ask. I never really paid attention at the last sales to how they were grouped. Don't wanna put too many per cage so that people won't NOT buy them d/t it costing them too much, but I also don't wanna take 20 cages of 2 birds!! Any ideas would be grand!!
 j41

[Reeves]

Yer a woman....you'll do what you want anyway


 

[wildergamebirds]

  But they need to form a consensus.  Have to keep asking, until someone suggests what they already think.

  Besides that, take three pairs, three trios, three quads, extras in another cage (and a partridge in a pear tree, if you can get one to grow in a cage).  Go early, watch what sells, carefully repackage your birds to match what brings the most money.  Then sell yours late in the sale.

[brokenantleracres]

Hey jaime,   The last sale i went to they had 4 to a cage 1 male 3 females if that will help they were bringing $7.00 a bird!!

[Reeves]

But they need to form a consensus.  Have to keep asking, until someone suggests what they already think.

 

[mobe_45]

I would guess that since best breeding is 2 or 3 hens per male I'd pack them in three's or fours that way.
By doing this anyone buying them would have the right ratio to start with.

[jaime7997]

Well, you guys are just hilarioius.... 
Thanks for your thoughts! I have to consign them and mark the cages as to how many males/females there are per cage at the beginning so I can't swap them around afterwards... But that is a good idea... I thought about taking a couple pairs, trios, "6-packs"  etc... My husband wanted to know if you would have to show ID to buy the 6-packs!! LOL!!
I can only hope for $7 a bird!! At the spring sale ( the one in which the lemur was purchased!!) BW's were going for $6/bird, so I may get lucky!! Crazy people haven't a clue. But, I'll take advantage!
Gotta start building some boxes to cart them up there in.... Well, not right this minute, but soon!

[CharlieHorse]

Go early, watch what sells, carefully repackage your birds to match what brings the most money.  Then sell yours late in the sale.

                            

You sound like my brother..................way too much thought for that extra $1!!  


 


Seriously though.............I've seen people stuff what appeared to be 50-100 birds in a fairly small pen and they couldn't keep them, they sold so fast.  I'd say that you'll learn all about it and can tell us how it should be done when you are done.  I'm sure that the type of sale and region will play into alot, so what works at your sale, may not work for us hillbillies down here.  There's not been much discussion on here about this type of thing as it has been known to be frowned upon in the past by some.  

Whatever is used to keep them in or transported them with, I would recommend keeping them covered as much as possible, to defend against scaring the birds. Those that I have seen at sales have the appearance of just getting pulled off the grille of a Mack truck because of the battered feathers from being thrashed in the cages by poking onlookers, kids, you, or just anything that startles them and causes them to thrash about.

Good Luck!!


 

[Bird Brained]

Animal Auctions / markets = Disease Central.

As interesting as those places are go to, I avoid them at all cost and would even pay not to go.

Change your clothes before you get home.  Stop at the car wash and clean your vehicle inside and out before you get home.  May even want to spray down the shoes you wore and your clothes.

These places are neat attractions, but you can kill off your entire flock by being a carrier.

[Reeves]

Animal Auctions / markets = Disease Central.

As interesting as those places are go to, I avoid them at all cost and would even pay not to go.

Change your clothes before you get home.  Stop at the car wash and clean your vehicle inside and out before you get home.  May even want to spray down the shoes you wore and your clothes.

These places are neat attractions, but you can kill off your entire flock by being a carrier.

Good things to mention !
I too will not go to auctions, for reasons stated.
Nor would I buy at one. It's where people go to sell culls.

[CharlieHorse]

I'm not one who would purchase any birds at such an event. There's a poultry/flea market in Lucasville, Ohio that I've attended, but as mentioned before, my clothes and especially my shoes are sanitized afterwards, even though I hadn't handled any critters of any sort. I don't have as much to loose as some, but loosing any to a disease would sure put the brakes on any future gamebird raising for me.

Here's an interesting read:

http://www.thatquailplace.com/smf/index.php?topic=5118.0;topicseen

What would you do with any that possibly wouldn't sell?   It would be one thing to bring cages home that would need to be sanitized, but what about any birds?     Just something to think about.

[frank_lap_127]

Animal Auctions / markets = Disease Central.

Like an experienced waterfowl breeder told me : ''I sell to who I want and buy to who I want, the others got nothing to say against that!''

Frank

[jaime7997]

I hear all your considerations... I don' t think I"ll have a problem selling them there, so don't beleive I'll be bringing any of them back into the flock... But I definitelty understand the whole disease thing on the clothes, etc... I am not personally a fan of the "auction" scene either, but in the past, the birds have all looked pretty healthy at this particular one. You'll have the idiots everywhere, but... It's probably not the best idea in the world, but no one else in the area seems interested so far anyhow...(yikes!) Going to build boxes to take them in and try to give them some security of some sort. The world is scary....
Thanks for all your input. I will consider it all!

[Bird Brained]

What would you do with any that possibly wouldn't sell?   It would be one thing to bring cages home that would need to be sanitized, but what about any birds?

I used to show doves and pigeons in the open class show circuits around various states.  Every time I brought the birds back home or had some leftover that I took to sell, I had to keep them on the opposite side of the property in a pen different from what they were in when I left home with them for 6 weeks.

Quarentine and cleanliness is very key with any new birds before introducing them back into the colony, flock, breeder cages, etc.

Some people ignore it and go years without an issue.  Then, one time all their birds die and they get upset - go figure.  Sometimes it takes weeks for a virus or "bug" to show signs in the birds that are brought home and then it's too late if they have spread it to all of them.

Animal Auctions / markets = Disease Central.

Like an experienced waterfowl breeder told me : ''I sell to who I want and buy to who I want, the others got nothing to say against that!''

Frank

Frank - I know you're still young and yes you can do whatever you want, but I wouln't buy from you knowing you have that attitude toward the hobby.  And, the guy that told you that sure isn't very "experienced" if he made that comment.

[frank_lap_127]

Frank - I know you're still young and yes you can do whatever you want, but I wouln't buy from you knowing you have that attitude toward the hobby.  And, the guy that told you that sure isn't very "experienced" if he made that comment.

Wich attitude is so bad? That I don't want to buy from auctions if I don't know the guy who was keeping the birds? I think that to avoid disease and to encourage a good avian husbandry, it's a really good thing to ask pictures and questions on the installations and take a look at them if possible to know if the birds are in a clean environment in good conditions, wich is not always easy to see on auctions.

The reason why the guy said he was selling to who he wants is because he likes his birds and want to give them the best, so yes he's ready to sell them, but to people that are able to take care of them the proper way, if I can I'll take pictures of few bad installations eventually even if I normally avoid them and you'll see why we sell to who we want here, as many people do everywhere...

So, even if I do quanrantine, to avoid the chances of disease by avoiding the bad avian breeder is a good beginning no? I would like to know what's my bad attitude toward the hobby as I really don't understand what you mean.

About the waterfowl breeder, I don't know your situation in aviculture, but the guy was working in waterfowl management for zoos since many decades and now he's retired and still keep some. He got the biggest waterfowl collection I know in Canada, there are probably bigger, but he got a big a nice one, he should be an exemple for many breeders...

Thanks

Frank

P.S.: Like Jaime said, there are good and clean auctions, but here I don't take chances, too many game birds buisness here to take a chance...