Feeding advice for bantams (one broody, one moulting)

[jojo2305]

How much would be reasonable to pay for a chicken?! I regularly see hens advertised at anything between £2 and £20 and am slightly confused as to what the 'going rate' is. I'm hoping to buy three hens, and have narrowed the selection down to Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex and Marans, along with a few others. Are there any breeds which do command particularly high prices to cross off the list (buying at auction, 800 cages or so to choose from).

 

I've found this to be such a friendly forum to use, so thank you for all the help!

[Egluntyne]

**Here** is a price list from a breeder near to me to give you a rough idea.

[BarbaraJ]

i paid 12.50 each for my Hybrids

[chickencam]

The most expensive of ours was the Light Sussex who was £25

[Christian]

I paid £20 for my POL light sussex, maran and silver sussex. They were 24 weeks old when I got them.

 

The older they are the more you pay. As the breeder has had to feed them for longer if that makes sense?

 

All the best getting your new hens.

 

 

[HENthusiastic]

Hybrids £10 each. Ex-battery girls 50p each (althought I obviously gave a much bigger donation!) Just makes you think doesnt it? 50p for a hen! Poor little mites

Edited April 30, 2008 by Guest

[WitchHazel]

You will also pay more if the breeder has vaccinated the chooks, not all do.

 

I bought my Buuff Sussex and my Naked Neck from Wernlas, they were 20+ weeks old. They were £30 or £35 each I think, something like that.

 

Wernlas vaccinate for everything, and they test for salmonella. They supply all their own stock, and they make sure they have several bloodlines available for each breed so they don't end up interbreeding too much.

 

I would recommend buying from a reputable breeder (nor necessarily Wernlas) rather than an auction if you can as you then know what you're really getting. You can also see how the birds have been kept, and whether the stock generally looks happy and healthy,

 

You also have some comeback then if you have any problems, and most breeders are very happy to provide advice and support.

 

[chickenanne]

I second that re: auctions. Unless you're pretty experienced I think you run the risk of buying chickens that are older than you realise, and you certainly have no idea re: vaccinations, health, mites, lice, etc.

As to costs, depends on the age, the breeder, etc. I have a Rhode Island Red and a light sussex, both vaccinated, healthy and bought at POL, about 20 weeks. They were about 16 quid each.

[Cooks]

I paid 12.50 for my birds, and they are vaccinated. He does not change more or less for any different breed/colour etc..

 

He had, White Sussex, Columbian Blacktail, White Stars, Amber Stars, Corals, Goldlines, BlackRocks. all 12.50, which I was more than happy to pay.. I will be getting my bluebelle from him around June and that will also be 12.50 (he's got marans coming in June as well) .

[Imo]

Our most expensive girls were our pekin bantams, which were £25 each. Recent hybrids have been £15-£20 each.

[jojo2305]

Thanks for all the help. I'm quite used to buying other livestock at auction and am happy to accept that there is always some risk with these things. I have already arranged to take the advice of an experienced poultry person on the day and due to my remote location and lack of breeders near my home (most entries are from the further away breeders) this is currently the best option .