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How young should birds be sold? Should there be tighter guidelines? Is it right to sell day old chicks/ducklings etc.. at auction without a broody? What are your views on this?

The age is not the issue but how they are kept and who they go to. I know of day olds kept in excellent conditions and I also know people who have bought them and put them under a broody which is a very natural upbringing. I do however find it sad when very young birds are sold on their own at auctions and you see them shivering on their own in a cage. Personally I would not by day olds at an auction as they would be very susceptable to diseases from other birds.

Personally I agree that it's very sad to see single young birds shivering in cages and it's very upsetting to think about where those poor souls end up. Personally I'd never sell day olds at open auction, the youngest I have ever sold are 4 week old chicks who had all their chick feathers and could keep themselves warm, and this was during summer months, never in winter. I see no problem selling day olds via internet auction provided the buyer collects in a suitable box e.g. polystyrene insulated box with perhaps a hot water bottle and that they have the correct set up to care for them at home. I have bought day olds before via open auction and they had been crammed in a box in the sweltering heat of summer. It was very sad as they were infected with coccidiosis because of the cramped conditions, stress and heat and despite my best efforts only 6 survived. Although I'm sure some find this method successful?

Hi all :)
I don't like it when new poultry keepers buy fluffy chicks (or hatching eggs) for their kids and then don't know how to care for them properly, this is the problem with auction / internet sales. As a responsible breeder I am happy to sell day old chicks via private sale to people that I have vetted, you wouldn't believe the amount of enquiries I get from people wanting chicks who havn't had hens before, I advise them to get POL this year then hatch next year.

in agreement with the post above (kirstyfern)!! people just want them for a fad and dont understand the seriousness of keeping chickens and animals!!
they rely on us as their owners to tend to their every need. And if people dont know a chickens every need then they cannot look after poultry well and this is when animal welfare issues come into play!!
people are just niave and silly when they buy a cute little chick at auction with no knowledge what so ever! the saying a dog isnt just for christmas, its for life springs to mind.
Amy x

Totally agree with the two posts above. The phone calls i get asking for birds, especially chicks, and then the dredded line of questions after asking what do they eat, will they still need a heat lamp, or will they be ok in my front room etc. the list goes on sadly! The worst question i have ever had, was a chap who wanted some hatching eggs, and then asked if i could send him 3 boy eggs, and 3 girl eggs!! Needless to say, he didn't get ANY eggs!! I have no problems selling chicks privately, usually to people i actually know, but then that goes for any of my birds, no matter what age they are! People don't seem to do any research about keeping birds, untill after they get them, why is that? You wouldn't go out and buy an Aston Martin unless you could drive! Crazy!
JubesX

good point there jubilee about the aston!! (WOULD SO LOVE ONE THOUGH HAA)

that man who asked for 3 boy and 3 girl eggs!! CRAZY stuff!! some people are so ridiculous! this subject does make me mad with the amount of people who think its just a bit of fun or its really really easy to do!! you need a certain amount of brain cells to keep chickens and to hatch chicks that are going to grow up to be happy, strong chooks

haa rant over!! this subject deffo gets me going lol xxx

Are you sure the man wasn't joking when he said what sex eggs he wanted? I purchased 12 hatching eggs but only ended up with 2 girls so jokingly emailed the seller (who I had spoken to a lot on a forum) and said I wanted girls for my cockerel so next time please could she send girls. If someone was close by I would have liked to purchase a few day olds to bring up with the two I had hatched. They were cream legbars so I culled the boys (but did check with the seller I had correctly identified them before culling).

Oops, just read the topic again. I would only buy the day olds if I knew who/where I was collecting them from to ensure they would be close enough to be warm on the way home.

No Ducklady, unfortunately he was deadly serious! The other mental question i had was a guy who had bought some hatching eggs from me, and complained two days later that all the eggs were 'light' and nothing was growing inside them! When i pointed out he needed to actually incubate them before anything would grow inside, he simply replied, and how do i incubate them? What exactly is an incubator? I have put them in a box in my airing cupboard, and i thought they would just hatch! Beggers belief!!!

JXX

I just had some one call me asking about the price of my chicks when i told he he started swearing at me about the price (£10 i do not think is a lot for pure breed birds) and saying he only wants it to feed his snake so i told him i wouldn't sell to him any way for that as our birds are pure breeds and not for food, most of the people that by from us want them just as pets or for show and i was just wondering if any one else has ever had this or not and if they would sell to a person like that?

Don't deal with any rough trader.