PoultryTalk.com

Only as recently as yesterday one of our members went to a poultry auction and found the conditions intollerable! the birds were in very cramped cages most with little or no water! the temperature was probably into the high 20's and several birds were showing advanced signs of distress! The buyers were even allowed to rattle and bang the cages to get a reaction to help the buyers make their choice to buy or not!
1. Is this something that as a group we have witnessed before?
2. Would you buy from such a place?

I used to go to Rare Breeds auctions and used to find the same thing, lots of the hens would just be plain ill. I think a lot of the sellers take advantage of people's naivity - especially at a rare breed auction where people expect the birds to be of a good quality. Whilst i used to enjoy seeing the wide variety of different birds i now only buy from breeders who i know and trust - i found not only are birds not as advertised but they often have colds which end up spreading. It's a shame really. Vic

Do the RSPCB or the RSPCA not attend the functions? I would have thought that the welfare of any animal should be paramount! Maybe they can't be everywhere at the same time? But you would think that the events would be posted in advance! this is something I might investigate further
Thanks for your reply Vic.
TC

The RSPCA publish guidelines for the care of animals in markets. They are similar to the DEFRA guidlines which state that the Market has the responibility to ensure all animals are fit for sale and treated humanely. But it only goes so far, stating that animals should have access to water every 12 hours (If you are a day old chick this is not good enough) and pens should not be overstocked but giving no stocking guidelines. All stock should have a designated pen with adequate ventilation etc etc.

Clearly the market I went to broke most of these rules, but they are not laws. I plan to write to the market to highlight my concerns. I will let you know if I get a response.
CL

Think you are trying to open a can of worms here, there has been livestock markets since i don,t know when! Animals are treated far bettter now than ever before, we know there is always going to be something you do not like to see but most market,s these days are pretty good,they do have guide lines to follow. I Sugggest if you find them upsetting don,t go. Buy your birds from a breeder.

hmm.............if we don't like whats going on turn and look the other way! aren't we as animal lovers (in the nice sense of the word!) against animals being made to suffer needlessly?
Also there is a hope that youngsters going to these event are not being taught bad practices, that they will then perpetuate, as they see it as the norm. I think CL's approach of writing a letter of concern, as a good thing.

Why must there always be something we don't want to see topflight? Can we not, as a consumer/buyer demmand a higher quality of service from the vendor? Even if the vendor is a poultry auction.
As intelligent, feeling beings can we not expect our species to treat other species humanely? Or does it not matter because they are only chickens? (question not accusation topflight)
I think choosing to 'not go' because its upsetting is a bit like saying its ok as long as I don't have to see it. Which is not the case for me I'm afraid.
CL

If you don,t like what goes on,Dont go. if no one goes,Then they might re-think how they set up shop.

But just like TC says, generation after generation of poultry keepers think its ok because its always been like that.
Most people at the market don't think its wrong, that doesn't make it right! Most people in this country eat chicken bred in a disgusting way and they don't care because its cheap. That doesn't mean its ok.

Rant rant rant rant.............x

I think that in general over the centuries that inaction doesn't actually do a great deal, slavery,children up chimneys, dog fighting, bear baiting, until people actually say something and get together and make a point things just stay the way they have been your years!
IMHO

My point exactly TC, well put x

If I found birds in a bad condition I wouldn't buy and if I found the birds being treated cruel I would definitely report it.

Told you can of worms, Off to the market to sell some birds tomorrow, they will be transported with the least stress possible, not like the 100,s you see in plastic boxes on the the backs of lorries going down the motorways every day. I shall then keep my eye on them until they are sold and paid for, It,s up to the seller to watch his birds are ok and not mistreated, as they are still yours until sold, I would not let anyone come to mine to buy birds and let them bang cages. I,ll let you know what i find and see going on tomorrow. Also c.t the above mentioned still goes on and some of it still in this country,

Topflight, I think you have a point - if we all voted with our feet, and left the auctions alone, they would eventually close. But it seems to me that enough people are naive, or uninformed, or simply think the status quo is acceptable - and so it will go on, as it has always gone on. And these conditions sound unacceptable to me.

I know there are people like you, who do care about their birds in the market topflight. But oh so many who don't. And I know that not all markets may be like the one I saw.
It is actually the auction operators who have the responsibility, I have written a letter to the one in question raising my concerns so we will see....

I have bought birds at auction and have found there are good and bad sellers at these places. If anyone wants to raise concerns I know one of our local auctions was visited by trading standards recently after receiving a complaint and now all sellers have been told that their birds must have adequate ventilation and access to drinking water while at the sale and they were checking to make sure people complied. So things can be changed, poor treatment does not have to be tolerated or accepted.

i know the one we went to last year rspca was called in to check set ups and make sure every thing to there standard. the one i went to this year stood by those standards even though rspca was not asked to attend. all birds needed vents water food and infomation. even though there was a fue birds that were up to a standard i would keep they were not in poor condion and nothing was weezing or totaly petrified no box shaking or people grabbing to have a look
so there are better ones out there. it all depends on who is holding it and for who

There is an auction house not far from where I live on the Hereford/Powys border.
The place is a disgrace, even though the auctioneer has moved to a brand new market site, they have taken the old cages with them and unfortunatly the old sellers as well. The 'helper' drags the birds from the cages to hold up to show the on-lookers and the last time I attended this moron pulled a broody hen out of a box of chicks by her one leg, the hen flapped and he pile-dived it back into the box on top of the chicks...I walked out before I punched him in the mouth.

I have seen birds there that should have been put down for thier own sake.

There seems to be no control at this venue at all and as far as the RSPCA are concerened you never see them there.

Trading standards should get off thier butts and sort these sales out.

it always shocks me how many people at auctions don t have basic bird handling skills . Surely if you value your birds you should treat them like they are valuable . we as poultry keepers have a right to expect that our birds are treated in a humane way . and if they are not its up to us to firmly let the auction know what we expect in writing . The scene that our friend at castle farm saw was nothing short of barbaric and the cretin who did it should not be near livestock in my opinion . as venders and buyers we have a right to expect are stock to be as stress free as possible during its time in the market. but to be fair things are getting better at most markets but we will never educate the cretin with broodie & chicks as you can t put anything in a glass thats full even if its full of crap . Good luck all TERRY rant over haha