Hangin' at the Poultry Auction

J. and I headed down to the Poultry\Livestock auction in history Gardner, KS this morning.  I was under strict orders to look but not buy (big meanie!)  So I snapped some pictures of some of the more interesting critters they had for sale. 

Anybody know what the heck this is?  They were in with the chicks and small birds.

I love peacocks!  Don't tell my chickens I said this, but I think peacocks are the most beautiful birds in the world.

There were all kinds of turkeys, bantam and stands chickens, guineas, pigeons, and ducks.  You couldn't hear yourself think with all the honking, crowing, and cheeping that was going on.



Can't remember what kind of ducks these are.  Anybody know?



Look at the beautiful plumage on this pheasant!

There were only a few goats, including 2 full-sized and a couple of teenie little Nigerian fainting goats.  I wanted to take them home but J. wouldn't let me.  The full-size goats were very friendly and stood up on their hind legs to say hello.  Here they are getting some fresh grass from one of the 4H kids.



Yum!  These two wanted a kiss.  Or maybe they wanted to eat my hair.  Or both.



And there were 3 pigs.  But they weren't little.



Is it bad that I thought of bacon when I saw this guy?


J. and I didn't get to the auction until about 2 hours after it was in full swing, so we missed the announcement that was made about not taking pictures during the auction.  Oops!  I didn't even know they had done that until I read about it on Mary Ann's blog later today.  There were no signs posted anywhere about photography and, trust me,  I looked.  I guess they didn't want animal activists taking pictures?  Can't think of any other reason other than the flash bothering the already upset wildlife.  But I wasn't using a flash.  Nobody said anything to me either.

I found it interesting that Mary Ann mentioned in her blog post the same thing that bothered me about this auction.  There were many cases where the cages were much too small and the animals couldn't even stand up or move around.  Some of the peacocks had their long tail feathers stuffed through the opening in a box so there was no way they could turn around.  Many didn't have water in their cages.  I can understand that the animal is for sale, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be treated humanely during the process, especially since all the noise and people hovering over them is already very stressful for an animal.  I doubt I will go back to this auction because of that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the pictures of some of these beautiful animals.   After the auction, J. and I cruised the backroads in Kansas and took some pics of some really cool barns.  I'll be sharing those with you as part of the Barn Hop. And, tomorrow morning, I'll be setting up the worm hotel and will have a garden update for you, as J. and I spent all evening working in the garden.  And, man, am I tired....