Oswestry Rare & Pure Breed Poultry Auction
Saturday 25th August 2012
Market Report
One year old!
This Saturdays auction marked the first anniversary of the Oswestry Poultry Auction and the association between Roger Parry & Partners LLP and ChickenStreet. Richard Corbett and Andy Cawthray first set about organising the auction back in May 2011 and now, 5 auctions later, the sale continues to grow and go from strength to strength
“The last year has not been without it hitches as there is very little in terms of guidance when setting up a poultry auction” said Andy of ChickenStreet “but as each auction comes around we make improvements from the lessons we are learning. The auction is now starting to feature quite highly in the poultry calendar and is drawing support from sellers and buyers as far away as York. We even had one buyer head up from Kent as he’d seen the catalogue and located some stock he was particularly eager to buy.”
Richard of Roger Parry & Partners LLP went on to say “Talking to many of the people that attended the last auction its evident that we are heading in the right direction. Some have been with us since the beginning and commented on how the day has improved with each auction and is starting to become as much a social event as an auction.”. He added “It’s great to have the support of Wynnstay Stores and the Oswestry Showground and we will be continuing this relationship into 2013”.
The grading of the auction lots prior to commencement of the sale has proved to be a success with the vendors and buyers alike and this will continue as the team aim to further drive up the quality of the stock on sale. This, along with the self-enforced 300 pen limit, means vendors are having to get their entry forms in early in order secure a position in the auction with over 90 entries needed to be turned away in advance of the closing date due to oversubscription.
This months sale saw the clearance rate drop slightly on the April sale however this didn’t hamper the prices for those lots that sold
Within the waterfowl section Indian Runners seemed to attract the most attention with pairs averaging at around £40. With the miniature ducks, Silver Appleyards faired well at £40 a pair and Calls at £25 a duck.
Wellsummers within the large fowl were by far the most popular choice with three pens of 3 pullets selling for £124, £80, £70 respectively. Some outstanding Light Sussex were entered with two pens of 3 pullets each fetching £70 with Speckled and Buff Sussex averaging £20 a pullet. Other highlights included a pen of 3 Araucana pullets reached £90 on the hammer and an excellently turned out Silver Laced Wyandotte trio at £62
Bantam fowl prices were consistent with previous sales attracting reasonable prices, the highlights were a Buff Rock trio selling for £54, a pair of white Pekins for £50 and a New Hampshire Red quartet at £44.
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Oswestry Rare & Pure Breed Poultry Auction
Saturday 14th April 2012
Market Report
Rarities Rally As Prices Rise
Oswestry Poultry Auction Team, ChickenStreet and Roger Parry & Partners LLP, once again “upped the ante” with their latest sale held at Park Hall Showground. Not only was the auction sponsored by two big names from the poultry world, namely Wynnstay Stores (a major feed and equipment supplier) and Fancy Fowl (the UK’s best selling magazine for the poultry exhibitor) but the sale also became ‘graded’.
Two Poultry Club of Great Britain panel Judges were secured for the day to judge the lots on offer prior to the auction commencing and cards were awarded to those lots that had either poultry show potential or would make quality breeding stock.
Andy Cawthray of ChickenStreet said “By grading the lots in this manner it not only helped prospective buyers in understanding the potential of the stock available but it also gave recognition to those breeders who were selling high quality stock. There were some excellent examples of poultry on display with almost 25 lots gaining the top grade of ‘Show Quality’ and around 50 obtaining the ‘Breeder Quality’ status”. Richard Corbett of Roger Parry & Partners LLP added “We decided to take this line with the auction so we can continue to build on the quality of birds available. We hope to continue with this approach and Andy is already talking about providing rosettes to the ‘Best of Breed’ and ‘Best in Auction’ entries. In fact he’s already been approached by a potential sponsor to provide the awards”.
The sale certainly took yet another step in the right direction reflected in the 94% clearance rate with the unsold lots in main made of those not reaching their reserve price.
The sale kicked off with a wonderfully tame and tremendous looking pair of Show Graded Bourbon Red Turkeys from local breeder R. Pointer which reached a fine £50 price on the hammer. There was a smaller turn out of waterfowl this time although prices were well up with Indian Runners averaging £20 a duck.
Within the large fowl prices for the more specialist birds such as Cochin, Brahma and Orpington were high with pullets fetching close to £30 each. Light Sussex pullets sold well with an average of £25 each and the dark egg laying Marans and Wellsumers remain a popular choice amongst the buyers achieving £20 a bird on average. Within the bantam fowl, Pekins were once again consistent in their prices with pullets on average reaching £20 per bird and a trio of Silver Laced Wyandottes reaching £78.
The Auction team though were particularly pleased to see an increase in the number of rare breeds being entered and some of the highlights being amongst the bantams with a Yokohama trio reaching £74, a pair of Silver Sebrights close behind at £72, a trio of Sabelpoots at £66, a pair of Blue German Langshan at £56 and a pair of Serama reaching £50.
Across the board the average price per pen increased by almost 30% and Andy said “This reflects not only the quality of stock on sale at the auction but the continued increased interest in taking on chickens as productive pets. Its little surprise to read recently that over 3 million chickens can now be found in the gardens and allotments of the UK!”
The next sale will be Poultry Only on Saturday 23rd June, followed by another combine Poultry, Farm Machinery & Antiques auction on Saturday 25th August. The team are also looking to organise a fifth and final auction for 2012 in October and hope to announce the schedule of 2013 auctions in the next few weeks.
A Blue German Langshan bantam cockerel on sale at the Oswestry Poultry Auction
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Oswestry Rare & Pure Breed Poultry Auction
Saturday 25th February 2012
Market Report
Following the success of last year’s combine Poultry & Farm Machinery Auction, Roger Parry & Partners once again teamed up with ChickenStreet to put on a Poultry only auction. Wynnstays Stores were also welcomed as the catalogue sponsors and they turned up with a excellent trade stand offering a range of poultry products, 10% discount on the day and vouchers that could be redeemed in their stores against poultry feeds & products until the end of March.
There were almost 100 more lots entered than the last sale with 388 pens booked of which very few were left empty on the day. Once again there was an excellent cross section of breeds available with 80 waterfowl pens, almost 150 bantam pens and over 160 large fowl pens.
There were a number of notable rarities on sale with Phoenix bantams accompanying some of the rarer coloured Dutch and Pekins, Old English Pheasant Fowl within the Large Fowl, Black Pheasants, and even a pair of Mandarin Ducks in the waterfowl section.
The sale was structured with approximate start times for each of the main sections and this seemed to work better with the buyers. Some problems were experienced with the PA system during the sale meaning some short breaks in volume however this is being looked into for the next sale along with the layout of the penning in order to provide for a more comfortable experience for all involved.
The clearance rate for the sale was once again very good and topped 80% allowing for the empty pens and once again the upset price was fixed at £15.
Best prices on the day were £120 for a trio of Lemon Porcelain Dutch bantams (A . Jones), £110 for a pair of Buff Orpington large fowl (S.Carver) and £102 for three POL Silver Laced Wyandotte large fowl (A.Wood). Within the waterfowl a trio of Apricot Call Ducks (G.Oliver) picked up £80 with the Mandarin pair (S Younger) at £63 and a trio of Miniature Silver Appleyards(C. Davies) at £55.
Within the large fowl there was a good selection of Welsummers within the large fowl section with the average price for pullets being between £20-£25 a head. Sussex also drew a lot of attention with pullets from Speckled, Light and Buff on average exceeding £20 a head. Wyandottes and Orpingtons attracted good prices within both the large fowl and bantam sections with trios of both averaging £50
Call Ducks and Indian Runners dominated in the waterfowl section in terms of average prices with pairs on average attaining £45 and £35 respectively. There were also some excellent specimens of new colour Muscovys on sale from one notable local waterfowl breeder.
The sale concluded at 3:30pm with the next one on 14th April already attracting interest. This will be a graded sale meaning the pens will be assessed by PCGB Panel A judging staff with the top lots being carded according to their quality (Exhibition or Breeder stock) prior to the commencement of the auction.
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Oswestry & District Rare Breed Poultry Sale
Saturday 27th August 2011
Market Report
For those interested in how the recent first ever Oswestry poultry auction went that was organised by myself and Roger Parry & Partners, below is the market report 
The first ever Oswestry Poultry Auction certainly drew some attention with hundreds of buyers turning up to view the 295 lots on sale.
There was a great cross section of breeds available with over 100 bantams, 130 large fowl and more than 60 waterfowl & geese pens in the hall.
The sale commenced at 10:00am, 30 minutes later than planned due a few late entries and change to catalogues.
The clearance rate was excellent with more than 95% of lots being sold which is a good indication of the quality of the stock on sale given each pen carried an upset price of £15.
Best prices included four Chamois Poland pullets at £105, three laced Wyandotte pullets at £90 and £70 respectively, a trio of blue mottled Pekins at £75, three Ancona pullets at £68, two Cochin pullets at £64 and a trio of Welsh Harlequin Ducks at £70.
Sussex prices were strong with pairs of Light & Speckled averaging £50-£60, with Wellsummers and Marans attracting £20 a pullet on average. Other large fowl of note were Rhode Island Reds at £48 a trio, Faverolles at £50 a trio and Buff Orpingtons at £60 a trio. Within the bantams Pekin trio’s were well represented in the sale an average £40 for a good trio. Good pairs of young Dutch were selling at £25 a pair. Within the waterfowl Miniature Silver Appleyards averaged £60 a trio, Indian Runner ducks at £35 a pair and Call Ducks at £25 a pair.
The auction ran for almost 5 hours finishing around 2:30pm.
