qaulity breeders

[HunterPaul]

when going to meet a new breeder for your intended ..what do you look out for ask etc...to determine the qaulity of your prospective charge...
again something that may help a few newbies, as i am so often accused of being nasty to them.....

[HunterPaul]

as i have made no secret of im not a big fan of the old doc.... so i look for lots of yellow fluff on the floor ...too much of that puts me right off....

[Sparrow Hawker]

Good thread,

If your starting out it can be a bit of a mine field finding a suitable breeder. I always try to go on recommendations but this is not always possible.

Things I'd look out for would be quality of a diet, would always look for a good quality varied diet! Chicks arn't a bad thing If i remember correctly whole chicks including egg yolk are high in vitamin E which is a vitamin Quail lack hence why some people try to enrich quail with vitamin E.

How the birds been kept, i.e. open or enclosed aviary!

History of the parents making sure there unrelated!

How the birds are reared, i.e. parent reared, creche reared etc!

Possibly some background with regards to previous young (weight etc) and how long the breeder had been breeding for!

Other important thing I'd say is not to rush into anything! If your not happy with what the breeder's saying then move on to the next one! They shouldn't mind you asking questions, any breeder worth there salt should only be to happy to answer them, so don't be afraid to ask questions no matter how much or little experience you have!

All The Best,

HH

[PeelsBells]

as i have made no secret of im not a big fan of the old doc.... so i look for lots of yellow fluff on the floor ...too much of that puts me right off....
One trick i use is when you go to a breeders house ask if you can look into his freezer if you find just chicks you know just to turn your back and walk.
As the birds will be a waste of time.There are good breeders out there when i bought my spars i went and asked this question he opened the freezer all what was in was quial,rat,guinea pig,pheasent etc.
He just laught and took me round the back and there were his breeding cages for his quail and rats.
I bought the birds on the strengh of this and the birds have been top quaility.

[Kanati]

look for someone open and honest. Someone who tells you about his methods and why he chose them when you ask... I want to know what its fed, and look for variety. Dont mind them getting DOCs in the diet so long as there is plenty of mice rats etc.. to go with it. Some history of the parents in turms of hunting ability is nice to know but is not proven to be genetic. I ask for the hunting weights of the parents...but again..just because I like to know..its not relevent :roll: Some breeders will treat the birds of worms etc...preior to collection..this is a nice touch...but not somthing I worry about as I can do it myself if needs be.

Hope that helps a bit

[HunterPaul]

One trick i use is when you go to a breeders house ask if you can look into his freezer if you find just chicks you know just to turn your back and walk.
As the birds will be a waste of time.There are good breeders out there when i bought my spars i went and asked this question he opened the freezer all what was in was quial,rat,guinea pig,pheasent etc.
He just laught and took me round the back and there were his breeding cages for his quail and rats.
I bought the birds on the strengh of this and the birds have been top quaility.
all right andy...i already want your children....very good advice ...look in their freezer.... simple...

[Barbary Boy]

as a breeder how am i supposed to guarantee these things? i am honest but if you come here you will see chick fluff, as after the young are fledged thats mostly what they get. as to quality diet before this point you only have my word for it! i can tell you anything you want to hear, yes the parents were both flown, both went up over a 1000ft .they both killed ostridges and foxes no bother!honest.recommendations are the best, i allways tell people the truth but then you allways get the odd wa**er who fu**es up a bird and all of a sudden its the bird or the bloodline or the breeders fault! we just cant win.boo hoo.

[MickeyDredd]

again something that may help a few newbies, as i am so often accused of being nasty to them.....

Not as nasty as me apparently :rolleyes:

Visit the breeder where possible to check aviaries, parent birds, ensure they are being reared in the manner you require (creche/enclosed aviaries,etc)
Ask for phone no. of previous buyers (if poss), you can then check what flying weight was of previous clutches, any health probs etc.
Obviously if registerable species that all paperwork is in place for both young and parents.

Edit: HH you posted the same info as me whilst I was typing!!

[HunterPaul]

yes but mickey ..you have anger management problems so just calm it alright....
babs ....we all know your a rip off merchant ...but what would you look for if you were buying a bird and not selling one....for all the sense of humour bypass victims out there babs is not a rip off merchant and is lovely... you have to be so careful now on here ....

[MickeyDredd]

yes but mickey ..you have anger management problems so just calm it alright....


Yeah, me and The Hulk :lol:

[Barbary Boy]

yes but mickey ..you have anger management problems so just calm it alright....
babs ....we all know your a rip off merchant ...but what would you look for if you were buying a bird and not selling one....for all the sense of humour bypass victims out there babs is not a rip off merchant and is lovely... you have to be so careful now on here ....
i would have to use my judgement and to a certain extent take the breeders word.iwould appreciate contact phone nos of previous buyers but would wait till i had the bird in my hand before making a final decision. i have no problems with anyone walking away rather than buy a bird that they are not happy with. its never happened yet though?

[Bones]

I bred reds for a few years this was after i had flown the female for 4 years and the male i had given to me from a friend as he was moving on to other things and when people approached me for a bird i asked them as many questions as they asked me like how many years months you been involved in this ,how many birds you actually own/owned over this period of time as i think its important that the person breeding these birds hasnt just all of a sudden decided to put 2 birds together in order to make a few quid as there are many people local to me now that have mainly HH due to nobheads just breeding for the money side of it,but anyhows as for people i sold my birds to i allways let them have a look at the way they was reared,what they was fed (mainly what they was going to hunt in coming seasons)and passed numbers of previous buyers of my young this all being after i had found them worthy of owning one ie asked all my questions and if they was new people i had not met as most my young went to buyers that had ordered the year previously and i now still have the pleasure of seeing some of these birds still flown as try to keep in touch the best i can with the people who purchased them
PAUL
PS and as for why i no longer breed birds i dont want the hassle as theres plenty out there allready doing it and when the time comes to purchase a youngster i know what im after and if its not what i want then ill walk away

[Maxwell]

as i have made no secret of im not a big fan of the old doc.... so i look for lots of yellow fluff on the floor ...too much of that puts me right off....

Agree...
If a young bird has been fed on a quality diet, their legs and feet tend to be a lot paler in colour - bright yellow tends to mean too many DOCs!

[As The Falcon Her Bells]

Actually Im sorry to say but that is not completely correct, first of all it depends on what spieces of raptors you are talking about, second, pale feets (like a off/white yellow color) can also indicate anemia, so I would not look at the color of the feet and try to judge the diet. Look at feather quality, alertness, average aperence and condition of bird.
I saw two young peregrine falcons in scotland, in a wild nest, both had yellow feet and cere, and I doubt they had a lot of DOC fed to them....
An other thing to check as soon as the bird arrives (belive it ore not) is equitment. Most breeders supply basic equtment like jessies and anklets. Unfortenatly I know a few people who have lost their birds within a few hours by the bird bating and snapping the jessies. Just because the breeder put on the stuff does not mean to say that its good quality, always double check it!

[HunterPaul]

absolutely...i always prefer to redress the bird myself then i know what im dealing with....i still go with andy about asking to look in the freezer....

[Maxwell]

True ATFHB... regarding species, but speaking as a broadwing man - I stand by my words...

I think you've hit the nail on the head tho. regarding 'general condition'... alertness is the key...

[As The Falcon Her Bells]

Yes HP I agree, good advice, but not always accurate, If you look in our freezers you will find 75% doc, the rest is anything from deer, rabit, rats etc. But if you look in the stables you will find live quail and live chicks from 1 day to 5 weeks old. I would not condemm DOC at all, its a very good base diet, as long as you leave the yolk in and variate the food 2-3 times a week, it also depends if you feed fresh ore froozen. Even if you think that DOC is a poor diet, I would like to point out that even more importent is fresh food, froozen food is not good for young birds long term. They need the blood and also the food lose a lot of water when its been frozen.
So as long as the breeder feds fresh food to the young minimum a coupple of times a week, that is in my opinion more important then if he feds frozen rat, mice, DOC ore a mix of them all for the rest of the week.

[HunterPaul]

i have posted about the guy who provides my birds ...he breeds his own mice rats and guinee pigs ...the kids feed and look after them which is slightly macabre as they all get names....venison is brought in fresh and regularly hares are shot and so are rabbits all year roundon top of this is the usual quail grown ons etc...doc are fed very rarely...and i have to say he virtually interviews people before he lets a bird go ...feeling that they will be representing him and his breeding ability... i adore the guyand have nothing but respect for him... i personally think that too many people feed almost exclusively doc.... and some of the harris ive seen are virtually flourescent....
i feel the chick is fed because it is cheap.... if it was more expensive then it would lose its popularity....how many people on here were panicking about the bird flu because they were gonna have to find an alternative to doc...and i mean people with just the one bird......any way this is not about the merits of doc so i must get off the subject...a varied and healthy diet is a must when picking up a bird....

[As The Falcon Her Bells]

Really nice to hear about a breeder like that HP. We do the same when we get buyers, ask them a lot of questions, and we have denied a few buyers. Unfortenatly a lot of people seems to get offended when you ask about their falconry experience, what game they are planning to hunt etc.
One of my rules is to be wary of people who ask price BEFORE they ask anything else, my "cheap cool animal" warning alarm start ringing and I try to bring a quick end to the conversation.
So another advice: Do not ask the price first of all if you want to come a cross as a serious buyer....

[HunterPaul]

strangely enough he charges quite a lot for his birds...as he always has a waiting list so he is in no hurry to get rid...he gave me one for a painting of his dog...what an honour....

[Falcons7]

Spot on ,its always the breeder that gets in the neck if a falcon or hawk doesn't make the grade.If you want a falcon off me you either need to know me or someone who can recommend you to me.As this turns the norm on its head where the breeder is recommended to the buyer it could sound more than a little arragant and maybe it is but with some people been on a waiting list for 2 years and many over the space of a year getting the knock back I can choose who does and who doesn't.I don't breed many and don't want them going to plebs.
Barbary Boy has a pere tiercel for sale and if anyone is looking for falcon get in there. I sore its brother at the grouse on Spaunton Moor in N. yorks and he is doing the business big and in style. He is been flown by Nick Curry who had the great Zulu untill his death and if anyone asks a known longwinger about him they will tell you the same,he was a pure quality game hawk.The new charge is in his first season and is looking better than Zulu did in his first season and has had grouse ,ducks including mallard and partridge. BB isn't asking much and I know one wouldn't leave here for his price .


as a breeder how am i supposed to guarantee these things? i am honest but if you come here you will see chick fluff, as after the young are fledged thats mostly what they get. as to quality diet before this point you only have my word for it! i can tell you anything you want to hear, yes the parents were both flown, both went up over a 1000ft .they both killed ostridges and foxes no bother!honest.recommendations are the best, i allways tell people the truth but then you allways get the odd wa**er who fu**es up a bird and all of a sudden its the bird or the bloodline or the breeders fault! we just cant win.boo hoo.

[As The Falcon Her Bells]

I have seen your paintings HP, I would give you a bloody car for them, that Lepard was absoutely fantastic, I wish I was a millionere and I would buy one from you, they really are quite speciall!!!

[HunterPaul]

gosh why thank you..... actually taken aback...

[As The Falcon Her Bells]

You should not be HP, in my eyes that was one of the best paintings I ever seen (except maybe a coupple of Andrew Ellis), cant wait to see the lion head when it is finished!

[HunterPaul]

Spot on ,its always the breeder that gets in the neck if a falcon or hawk doesn't make the grade.If you want a falcon off me you either need to know me or someone who can recommend you to me.As this turns the norm on its head where the breeder is recommended to the buyer it could sound more than a little arragant and maybe it is but with some people been on a waiting list for 2 years and many over the space of a year getting the knock back I can choose who does and who doesn't.I don't breed many and don't want them going to plebs.
Barbary Boy has a pere tiercel for sale and if anyone is looking for falcon get in there. I sore its brother at the grouse on Spaunton Moor in N. yorks and he is doing the business big and in style. He is been flown by Nick Curry who had the great Zulu untill his death and if anyone asks a known longwinger about him they will tell you the same,he was a pure quality game hawk.The new charge is in his first season and is looking better than Zulu did in his first season and has had grouse ,ducks including mallard and partridge. BB isn't asking much and I know one wouldn't leave here for his price .unfortunately it is less reputable breeders that give breeders a bad name ....and also these are the guys that sell birds to complete plebbs so therefore are asking for it...the few breeders i have spoken to on here do not in my opinion fall into that category....peels and babs being at the top of that list....i have never even seen a pic of one of babs birds but would take his word through the respect he has gained from me on here alone.... and i think hes a girl pants who sucks enormous penis'

[Minty]

Different breeders i have found have different ways. Paul, You mentioned that a breeder you know keeps their chicks away from humans and feeds them on no chick at all.
On the other hand i recently went out with a breeder who uses open Aviary and feeds them a mix of everything but in the last few weeks exclusivly on Rabbit.
Horses for courses i suppose but i know he would not sell to an idiot!

I am trying to get a bird at the moment but he keeps oooming and arrrring:roll: ;)