By Kenny Troiano
Copyright © 2020 by Kenny Troiano/Maximus Troy Publications
If the fowl you desire are available and for sale, you are very fortunate. But if there was ever a time to look for a bargain, this is not it. Because no breeder is going to let his best stuff go for pocket change!
You don’t want to pay a lot for birds, I understand that, but if you are looking for a good deal, chances are you are not going to get great fowl. I know the price doesn’t make the bird more valuable, but it’s unwise to expect the breeder to let his best birds go if you are asking for a discount. The idea is to find the best fowl possible that falls within your price range, but try to find fowl that are of the highest quality.
If you intend to establish a great strain, you cannot do it with “mediocre fowl.” High quality fowl take many years to create, and are expensive to raise, not to mention the time and effort spent in maintaining them.
Think about:
- The time and cost of building and maintaining pens
- The time and cost of feeding and keeping them healthy
- How many fowl that will need to be culled in order to find the few standouts that have the ability to improve the strain
- And, how hard it is to do all this and still have fowl for sale, just to pay the bills
When buying fowl you must take these circumstances into consideration, especially when discussing the price.
Let’s assume you have found a reputable breeder, who is willing to sell you the kind of fowl you desire. They are good honest fowl, with the proper conformation of body, color of plumage, and are healthy. In this case, it is best to purchase the best fowl he has to offer and pay his price and most of all, trust his judgment as to how they should be bred and raised.
Nobody knows these birds better than the breeder, and you can learn a lot about his fowl by listening to what the man has to say. Start with the breeder’s best available broodfowl and you will save yourself several years of hard work and effort trying to improve second-rate birds.
Don’t buy birds with a lot of faults and think you can fix or improve them. In most cases, it’s a waste of time, and as I said earlier, when it comes to breeding, time is not on your side.
Also, don’t expect the breeder to sell you his personal brood fowl, his best birds, cocks or hens. He has spent years of selecting the best birds to improve his strain. He would be crazy to sell those birds. How can he improve his strain if he is selling his best birds? In fact, I would be highly suspicious if any breeder who is willing to sell you one of his best birds, a bird from his brood pen. There is either something wrong with that bird, or he has no idea what he is doing.
Most of all, don’t ask for a discount. Pay his asking price. If you can’t afford his asking price, move on.
