why do people think they should get a purebreed chicken for free?!

[petal]

I have noticed on various adverts, people asking for rare breed chickens for free(eg, buff orpington?!) why on earth do they think they should get for free what others pay premium prices for? on the ads, it says ' we have built the coop, can offer a good home' and want the various rare breeds - like you are doing them a favour!!!!!Do they not realise the cost in raising stock?Sorry, getting very irritated by people undervaluing chickens, we had someone a couple of weeks ago who was visibly shocked that he couldn't get 3 for a fiver, like in tescos innit........

[Snadger]

One of the guys at the allotment won't buy chooks and just takes in waifs and strays. You see the adverts in the local freeads 'Must be cheap or free'
The skinflints never paid for any yet!

[chris]

Indeed - I can't believe my local freecycle..

"Wanted - bedroom items. Things like a double bed, and wardrobes for my sons new room. Must be able to deliver to me"

Oh, only a double bed, AND delivered?

Some people are too cheeky (I mean, I am, I ask for discount whenever I can - half the time I get it too!), but I'd not ask for like erm, a complete bedroom, massive telly, a large bank balance, or even a chicken for nowt! ;p

[RichmondHens]

I have noticed on various adverts, people asking for rare breed chickens for free(eg, buff orpington?!) why on earth do they think they should get for free what others pay premium prices for? on the ads, it says ' we have built the coop, can offer a good home' and want the various rare breeds - like you are doing them a favour!!!!!Do they not realise the cost in raising stock?Sorry, getting very irritated by people undervaluing chickens, we had someone a couple of weeks ago who was visibly shocked that he couldn't get 3 for a fiver, like in tescos innit........

I totally agree, but round here there seems to be an awful lot of ads offering cocks for free, including pure breeds, so I can understand why some people might get confused. Ditto on the pet rehoming sites - many people offering up cockerels "free to a good home", which quite frankly p****s me off.

"Free" chickens are often unwanted because they are in poor health anyway (usually due to the owner's mistreatment of them) so they are not such a bargain as people like to think.

[Pumpkin Becki]

When I used to work for Forsham, I had a chap ring up to by a coop. He wanted a deal on the price of the coop, a deal on the accessories and then he had the bare-faced cheek to ask me to throw in three POL hybrids for free. I refused and he got a bit narky. I replied 'I liken it to a gym membership, if you got it for free, you wouldn't appreciate it.'

He agreed to pay full price for the 3 chooks - a princely £7.50 per hen!

[motherhen]

Good mornin Pumkin Becci, it's scary isn't it, there are some good points in this thread, if people are going to get everything for free then they will definintely not value the poor little things welfare and they will be fed on waste and scraps!!
Good point from RH as well, that they will probably harbour alsorts of nasties!!
Irresponsible breeding with no responsibilty as to what to do with the cock birds, I had a lady on my forum that said the hen she had been given with one chick and an egg to hatch was a bit nutty!! when I asked her about the birds history she said well, she used to live with six cockerels because that's what hatched!!!

[lindyloo]

a bit different, but in the same vien- i hate the ads whereby people try to get rid of thier old dogs ( or cats) and charge money, such as; g.s.d, 14 years old. we are moving and can't keep her, she has a thyroid problem, so is on continual medication, and an ongoing ear condition which needs treatment. £250 to good home. that just makes my blood boil- if you love that dog- put it to sleep if you can't keep it,, but don't try to make money sending it to an uncertain future. not quite chicken, but how bad is that?

[motherhen]

I agree lindyloo, in this we want everything cheap and throw away society, people seem to treat animals with the same disregard.
I have a 35 year old Shetland, a 32 year old horse who lives as a companion across the road and still going strong! have just had my old showjumper put to sleep at 32, a collie at 16 the list goes on! I have taken on many unwanted and usually uncared for castoffs.
Animals give such unconditional service and devotion, that should be returned with the respect it deserves.
Even a chicken, we have kept many an old hen that as long as it is not poorly has lived out it's days in happy retirement

[mr darcy]

I agree lindyloo, in this we want everything cheap and throw away society, people seem to treat animals with the same disregard.
I have a 35 year old Shetland, a 32 year old horse who lives as a companion across the road and still going strong! have just had my old showjumper put to sleep at 32, a collie at 16 the list goes on! I have taken on many unwanted and usually uncared for castoffs.
Animals give such unconditional service and devotion, that should be returned with the respect it deserves.
Even a chicken, we have kept many an old hen that as long as it is not poorly has lived out it's days in happy retirement

you lovely motherhen wish the world was full of folks like you

[Glutton4...]

I frequently get asked why I don't cull my non-laying Hens. Erm, they're ex-Batts, they have earned their keep by providing you with cheap eggs, they now deserve a peaceful life, and if they give me a few eggs along the way, well, I can't ask for more!

[Polly Fouracre]

I always reply to "free cockerels" ads. I tell the person that the bird will have a happy, free-range life for weeks or months, be corn fed and generally spoilt and then be killed humanely and go into the freezer.
99% of folk don't mind and would have done the same themselves, but...........
If you want to know what pure bred, rare breeds go for, look on the net!!! Do folk really pay those prices? I aim for a bit more than the rearing costs.

[lindyloo]

lady near here sells her purebred bantams for 20£ each, both sex, and also near here, someone sells thier same pure breeds for 5£ each, any sex. the cheaper ones are the better birds, in regard to health and no beak deformities! mine i have either kept, or ( once) given away free to a good home - these were later sold at a market, and i was really upset, as i wanted them to have a assured safe future. i will never give or sell again- any i breed will be kept for thier lifespan, whichever sex.

[RichmondHens]

I always reply to "free cockerels" ads. I tell the person that the bird will have a happy, free-range life for weeks or months, be corn fed and generally spoilt and then be killed humanely and go into the freezer.
99% of folk don't mind and would have done the same themselves, but...........
If you want to know what pure bred, rare breeds go for, look on the net!!! Do folk really pay those prices? I aim for a bit more than the rearing costs.

Does that work with people who advertise specifically "not for the pot"? And do you generally get useful sized LF cocks or end up with 20 pekins?

[RichmondHens]

lady near here sells her purebred bantams for 20£ each, both sex, and also near here, someone sells thier same pure breeds for 5£ each, any sex. the cheaper ones are the better birds, in regard to health and no beak deformities! mine i have either kept, or ( once) given away free to a good home - these were later sold at a market, and i was really upset, as i wanted them to have a assured safe future. i will never give or sell again- any i breed will be kept for thier lifespan, whichever sex.

That must have been sad for you Lindyloo.

I have never sold a cock to "Joe Public", only to other breeders who have requested one specifically for use as a stud. I'm also not comfortable with breeding/selling just for profit, I'm a bit too fussy about where they go. The hens that I sell are usually just ones surplus to my own requirements and they generally go to friends of friends or local people who I'm confident will offer them a decent lifestyle. And I always offer to take them back if it doesn't work out for any reason, but so far none have ever been returned, and the feedback I have had about them from time to time is always positive.

[lindyloo]

in reply to richmond hens; i still feel guilty. it wasn't joe public- it was a friend i gave them too.