My Friday night date was very special. My husband took me to the local livestock auction featuring 350+ cages of rabbits, chickens, guineas, turkeys, pheasants, ducks, and geese and then throw in the goats, calves, emus, and sheep. It was quite a night at Buggytown Auction Barn!
We arrived a little late for the miscellaneous sale which usually starts at 6:00, but must have started around 5:30 on Friday night. Anything goes during the miscellaneous sale and we have seen some really good buys during this sale. Advertising signs, truck parts, tractor accessories and parts, cookware, handtools, work gloves and so much more are included. Some people come for this sale only and then others stay for the livestock.
On Friday night, there were not as many goats as from previous weeks and prices on the goats were higher. The price of calves on the otherhand were down - small (two week old) were selling between $16 and $22 per head compared to $65 a head a couple of weeks ago. There were also several nannies with babies that I would have bought in a minute if I had a good spot to put them. One little family of black goats stole my heart for a little while, but I got over it and waited patiently for the chickens.
Some of the auctioneers tend to dawdle over the livestock and attempt to draw a higher bid out of the audience. The owner of the auction will move right along and if you want to bid you better be on your toes and make sure you are seen.
Usually, hatching eggs are sold between the miscellaneous merchandise and the small livestock. Friday night however, all the eggs did not get sold during this time so were presented before the poultry and rabbits. As I walked back into the bidding area from reviewing the poultry in the back of the building, my dear hubby was saying $.50 a dozen, that's a deal and ask me what I thought. Well, this is what I heard out of all the commotion - from the auctioneer "50 cents a dozen but there is only 10" from my hubby "that's a deal, what do you think?" My response, "whatever you want dear" - big,big mistake. Well, 10 dozen hatching eggs are now on my kitchen table waiting to go in the incubator my hubby has rigged up. Okay, I now know to keep my eyes and ears open and to never, ever leave my hubby alone at an auction. Well, it doesn't matter whether he is alone or not, because not more than thirty minutes later with me safely at his side, he was calling out his number again and had bought 5 baby black giants for $1.50 each.
At this point I gave him my sternest look and said "No more!" He has the most innocent smile - he never committed to the "no more", but I did get a "we'll see." We have increased our flock by 120 eggs (which if estimates are correct we should get 60 chicks, but it will take 21 days once the hatching process is started) and 5 chicks. Oh my, we are now chicken farmers. I will admit our chickens have made wonderful pets, are no trouble to care for, and bring many hours of joy. They enjoy a good game of race when we give them scaps of lettuce or celery and compete for our attention in a friendly manner. Some of them are real show offs.
Whether it was the seller or just the turnover of the buyers, the price of chickens were up and down. Some beautiful roosters went for $3.50 a piece early on then the price quickly jumped to as high as $15. The same with the chickens, but the highest price I remember was $18 a head for a pair of black copper morans. (I know that is probably not what the auctioneer meant to say, but that is what these ears heard. Beautiful long tail pheasants brought $26 a head while one big tom turkey sold for over a hundred. I can't figure out the logic, but it is always interesting to see what draws a persons interest. I learned there is a chicken/turkey mix called a turken. They described them as turkey neck chickens.
We left at 11:45 with the sale still going strong, but it was a little late for me (it was past my bedtime). There were still cages and more cages of poultry and we were told later it was around 1:30 before all was over.
That is the best $12.50 date I have had in a long while! Every time we go I learn something new and see something unusual. And everytime I make the trip the kid in me comes out and I get that "daddy please?" syndrome. I love animals! And yes in a couple of weeks, I will have another Friday Night Date, but this time I am taping hubby's hands to his side.
Next week maybe you can have an exciting, educational Friday Night Date. Try a visit to the Buggytown Auction on Highway 341 south of Barnesville. In the meantime, thanks for dropping by.
Happy Reading!
Belle
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