what do you do at a bird mart ?

[Colt]

KarenB -

www.thebirdmart.com

It's in Cleburne and is being hosted by the Fort Worth Bird Club.

All the details are on the website there, but it's August 23. I know Sally, finchmix22, myself, Su Yin, and Helen Hoffman will all be there. I believe Jan Door with Pride Aviary will be there as well.

[Sally]

Colt

I forget that not everyone knows Ace! That is Ace Goates, he will be a vendor at the mart and another good friend of mine, you'll get to meet him there. He usually has an assortment of small carriers that he sells for those who need carriers. Or I could probably spare some 11x7x6 out of my supply. I'll be right across the aisle from you, so a customer could get one from me if needed.

How many 24x16x16 cages do you need? Since I probably won't be bringing any birds to sell, I can loan you some of mine for the mart. I can bring them to the mart, or I will probably be seeing Helen sometime between now and the mart, so I could take them to her house.

Yes, Jan Door of Texas Pride Aviary will definitely be there, she has paid for her tables.

Your prices look good to me, though I haven' t really paid attention to what all the finches go for at the mart. I usually don't even price mine for sure till I get to the mart and see what others may be asking.

[finchmix22]

Colt
Don't worry, you'll do fine! You are well prepared so far. Your prices seem fair. I like to write down the band numbers of each finch, DOH, and price sold and to whom in my notes. When I get home, I enter those in the finchbreederdatabase. That way, I can recall who bought which finches and from whom I bought finches too.

Sally had a good suggestion, which I forget to do most marts. Bring some small hooded bulbs to keep them warm. I bring a baggie with some of the seed I feed the finches, so the new owner can transition them from what they are used to eating to whatever they feed their finches. I give all the finches small water bottles and seed, with some veggies to show newbies the finches eat more than seed etc. Millet is always good for stressed finches too.

I bring my finches in a couple small cages, depending on how many I am bringing. Last mart, I brought 1 foot square and 2 foot wide cages. Then, I had a few of the small metal ones, just in case and one extra for the new finches I bought.

I bring my finch bag, which has bottles water, seed, clips, paper towels, a small first aid kit, nail clippers, scissors, a syringe and some business cards that are handmade, not anything fancy. I've had several people take one of those cards at past marts, then I get a call later about finches. I even helped one woman who lived in Dallas when she had unexpected babies because she had my card from the mart two years ago! LOL.

There is so much you learn as you go, so enjoy the process and have fun too!

[Jen]

Comparing prices to the last two marts I attended as a buyer, your prices look good. That is what most vendors were charging, give or take $5-$10. The vendors with cheaper prices had birds that didn't look so good so I felt better paying a few extra bucks to get the healthier bird. First mart I attended I had to buy a small carrier cage to bring my birds home. I was totally unprepared! When I purchased birds from Jan a couple of months ago, she offered her birds with a small carrier and small plastic containers that held seed and water to get the birds home. I had a long drive home so I was happy to get those items with my purchase!

Good luck! Wish I lived a little closer so I could attend! But I'm looking forward to the upcoming bird mart in Port Arthur! Can't wait!