opinions please ??

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girlracer265

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i'm in a qwandry(sp), i was contacted by someone yesterday wanting a lot of pekin eggs over the course of the summer, when i asked what would be happening to them , it was a long story but it ended with pol poultry being available to buy in garden centres.
I'm not sure if this will be a good idea so i would like some others opinions. please
 
I guess you have to ask yourself whether you can supply the number of eggs required and be sure they know that eggs will stop come the winter months unless you are planning on artificially lighting some of your birds.

I would be asking how much they are prepared to pay for them too - because if you have that number of eggs, you could just as easily be selling them on ebay (hitting the re-list button every few days). Take the cost of keeping your flock over a year... you should factor this into your price - perhaps this is why they want someone else to supply them with eggs.

I would be asking why they don't keep their own breeding stock and if they don't have the space then they probably shouldn't be rearing so many POL pullets anyway.

That's all I can think of for now....
 
Having seen how they may end up, I'd personally not be inclined. Not so much the selling of the eggs, but where they end up. But that's just my personal opinion. Here is my recent experience (2 weeks ago) of where your eggs would end up.

I went to a large garden centre near us, and they had Pekins for sale in their pet section. Here is what I saw (or how I, as a poultry keeper saw it).

All the runs were well inside the building, so no real fresh air or proper light during their time there. They were in the main entrance of the pet section, so everyone who came in had to walk past them. So never any peace so to speak. The hen houses were all well made, but of course were also for sale (well, flat packed ones of what was on show). All the birds had in their runs on the ground was straw. They had food (pellets) and water but a) the food was covered in chicken poop or the feeders were not filled up enough b) the water was filled with straw and so not really drinkable.

Also I noted that most of the droppings were far from 'normal' chicken poop. Many were yellow and very runny. Also smelt rather unpleasant. I could not see one 'normal' chicken poop in any of the pens.

All the birds were pretty much frozen (scared I thought) and didn't roam around the whole time I was there. They were either huddled in a corner or inside the hen house and not keen to come out. Now for chooks in 'daylight' this is not normal.

They were subjected to kids banging on the wire, poking fingers through and if prospective buyers wanted to handle them, the assistant took them out. How many times a day this would happen to them I don't know. I'd hope only for serious buyers. But imgine being hauled in and out of the hen house more than a few times a day and handled by inexperienced people.

Please know the birds all looked in reasonable health. I wouldn't say perfect health because of their droppings and also the lack of colour in their combs and wattles. Also the fact they were so disturbed and could be subjected to lots of pestering didn't make it ideal.

Then there is the final thing. The people who buy them. Often at pet centres people buy on impulse or buy without really knowing anything of what they are taking on. And if they don't know enough to spot yellow droppings or other things, what are they going to do upon getting home. OK, not everyone is going to be unaware or lacking in knowledge, but some are.

I am amazed at the amount of people who have pets but don't know basic animal husbandry. And those who don't care to learn. And then the amount of pets who end up abandoned and in rescue centres :(
 
thanx snifter and tim, tbh tim i wasn't worried about the money and stuff but its worth thinking on, i did ask about their own stock but they keep other breeds. i was worried about exactly what snifter has just described, having never seen poultry in a garden centre yet but i've seen how they tend to look after other animals/ fish in our local garden centre. And didn't particularly want to be part of something like this, as if people come to me to buy stock/eggs, if they have problems, they can come back to me for help/or advice
So thx snifter for that, my mind is now made up.
i just needed someone else to say it i think.
 
OK sounds terrible what Snifter is describing. I've never seen them in a garden centre but then I don't get out much :roll: Must admit, I was imagining birds outside in runs rather than inside on straw...

Glad you've made up your mind tho. Sounds like it's for the best.

T
 
I'd agree with you all- I've just had someone come to pick up a few pullets from me and was able to give advice while they were here and tell them to contact me with any questions or problems they have.
I think most serious buyers do their homework and actually prefer to buy from people who they can visit and who will take the time to talk about the requirements that the birds have and the specifics about the breeds.
It would be a shame if people were picking up a few chickens on a whim and then not being able to look after the birds properly- also it could put people off keeping chickens in the future if they were to have problems with birds bought in this way. (e.g. someone looking for an egg a day probably isn't best off going for a pekin!)
PS girlracer- you can always send your pekin eggs to me- I'm on the lookout for a few new colours :lol:
 
I dont think it sounds a good idea. I have kept chooks for about 6 years now, started with ex bats, latest bantums were a batch of 6 from ebay - just thought i'd give them a go and got four really lovely pekins from the 4/6 that hatched. BUT i have been keeping hens a while, it would worry me that the garden centre staff might noit be able to give the correct advice and the hens would not be kept very well by their new owners, I would not have taken on the first batch of hens without propper advice.

I agree with the others, you need to be sure who/why/how etc they will be sold if you decide to go for it - If i were me I think that i would look into selling them myself as POL - there is obviously a market for them?
 
From what Snifter described,it sounds as if garden centre's are trying to cash in on the growing interest in keeping chickens.I think with the ones like Snifter saw,it would be a good idea to express concerns to the manager of the garden centre and also follow it up in writing.
They shouldn't be kept like that.
 
I would contact your version of the SPCA. Sounds like an animal welfare situation! Our garden centres here haven't started doing that yet thank goodness! :shock:
 
What they are doing is legal. The birds are not treated badly. The have a proper run and hen house etc. And food and water. Just its not ideal as its not outside and they are on straw. This is only my experience from what I saw in our garden centre.

All the birds for sale were well grown, almost adult sized. It wasn't like they had hundreds of chicks or lots of chooks in a cramped space. There were only about 8 or so per run. And only 3 runs.

I would think they keep chicks and younger birds elsewhere, under heat lamps and indoors. I didn't see anything that I felt needed reporting to the RSPCA. OK their water was clogged up, but that is easily fixed by clearing out. And yes their droppings were yellow in colour but I think that again was because of stress/being indoors and lack of free ranging etc.
 
I just thought it was worth telling/letting them know that how they are keeping them isn't ideal,customer always right and all that.I often meet a friend for coffee and a cake in a garden centre,haven't spotted any chooks yet but keeping our eyes open :roll: .
 
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