So, off I went to the auction solo. I didn't know a soul, and was hoping to meet up with a few birds that would like to come and live in my newly built chicken chalet... (LOL).
I took my list of potential breeds to look for, and to my dismay, the auction wasn't quite as organized as I was... LOL... if the breed type was listed on the tag, I was lucky. But, more than not, it wasn't listed... just as "rooster" or "hen." So, I kept looking, and I wrote down all of the lots I was interested in.
The boxes were listed with a receipt like tag, it had a letter and number on it, and basically if you were the seller, you were given a number. Your boxes were given individual letters, by you, but the number was always the same for that seller. (example: seller 23 could have a 23 A, 23 B, etc) and in each box, could be one, two, three or more birds.
The boxes were mostly hard to see into, so I'll be bringing a flashlight next sale. One lady did that, because she learned from her previous experience that a flashlight would be helpful.
I dutifully wrote down the numbers/letters and what was in the box that I was interested in viewing/purchasing/bidding, etc.
I wrote down other livestock too, as I had gone there with the intent to bring home a bunny too.
The auction was set up in such a way that it was organized, but could have had just one thing more to make it "perfect" organization for me. It would have been very helpful to know the lot number/letter as we were going along. I only knew the boxes by the labels, not the actual sight of the creature... it was just not possible to get a good view!
There were several volunteers, the adults loaded the next animal up for bids into a large wire cage on a table. There were about 4 cages or so; that way they could keep loading and unloading, while the auctioneer proceeded onto another cage.
Bidding was incredibly low for some animals, but it was my first auction; I wasn't used to prices in the 25cent range!!
The animals were loaded back into their boxes and delivered, and paid for immediately, by some youth volunteers. This process worked very well, the livestock was bought and paid for instantly and no wait at the end of the auction. Also, no tax. Shhh. All cash sales.
The bunny, a Polish Blue, 10 weeks old; went up for bids and the price started at 50cents! I couldn't believe my ears... I figured with a price like that, I would be in trouble, I'd bid on everything!! I bid, someone raised it to $1 and then I bought him for $1.50 can you believe that? A baby bunny, great little fella... for under $2!! (Picture will be posted). His name, Topaz (because he is, BLUE!).
I bid on a few other things, including some incubators, cages and other equipment; but mostly I was there for the chickens. I was after a few good layers, and a bunny. LOL
I bought 3 boxes of birds. Each box is auctioned separately, with the contents being the MULTIPLIER. (you bid on one bird in the box and you get all the birds in the same box, for that amount of money EACH). Example: 4 birds in a box. You bid $1.00 and your bid is the one accepted at the end of the sale, then you would pay $4.00 for the box of birds in total. You would pay, $1.00 per bird x 4 birds= $4.00
The one box of birds had a white chicken (unknown gender of this one) and red chicken (layer for sure).
The next box of birds had two red hens, both layers.
The next box contained 2 baby birds. Not tiny chicks, but still young enough that gender wasn't noted. One is black and one is brown/multi coloured. Very cute, they both "peep" still.
So, in total I bought 3 boxes of birds and one bunny. The birds were $8, $8 and $10; the bunny was $1.50. I spent $27.50 on animals! (I didn't win any bids for anything else at the auction).
Then off to the feed store. I needed a bag of food for chickens and bunny, and a new bunny bottle (already had everything else for the bunny).
That part of the trip cost more than the animals! ($14 for chicken feed, $4 for bunny feed, and almost $9 for a bottle for the bunny!) They were sold out (and still are!) of straw, so we are using wood chips, which we already had from the hamster my son has.
So, there you have it... all I brought home to a very happy 12 year old son; and happy he was! (and is!!) he loves his chickens and bunny, and our dog loves the bunny and chickens too.
The dog (mother was a pure collie), loves to keep them rounded up... and the chickens don't mind him a bit!
Great start to our mini-farm experience. Plans are well underway for the spring additions (and I am eagerly anticipating THAT auction!)... a goat, pig, lamb, turkeys, chickens for meat, chickens for laying... can't wait!!
It will keep us busy. THAT, and the 11 cords of wood in my driveway (on the wrong side of the house) that needs to be stacked before it rains again. LOL
Thanks for reading! Here are some CHICKEN PICTURES the black chicken has rusty brown feathers in the front (can be seen where I am holding it).
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