20 April 2024
A breeder from Stellenbosch achieved a huge price for a bantam rooster at a WhatsApp auction on 13 April – less than a year after he achieved the record price of R11 000.
Willie Schmidt sold a Sebright bantam rooster and hen at the auction for R11 000 and R8 600 respectively. The auction was presented by Poultry WhatsApp Auctions, which last year also auctioned Schmidt’s bantam rooster, an Indian Game bantam.
“It is an achievement to achieve such an enormous price for a Sebright,” he says. “A Sebright is one of the smaller chicken breeds. That rooster weighs 600 g. According to breed standards, they may not weigh more than 700 g. It was amazing and exceeded all expectations.”
According to him, a WhatsApp sale is just as exciting as a traditional auction. “The adrenalin is pumping all the time. The opening bid for the rooster was R1 200 and bidding had to be done in R100 increments. So you can see how quickly they bid. I had such a headache the next day from all the adrenalin.”
He says WhatsApp makes auctions more accessible as people from all over the world can take part. “South Africans who are overseas and want the chicken can also participate in such an auction.”
Schmidt is a member of the SA Show Poultry Organisation (Saspo). He says people’s interest in show chickens has increased significantly in the last two years. According to him, showing chickens is not only an enjoyable hobby but a viable way to earn an income.
“There is nothing more satisfying than breeding a champion show chicken. We love the chickens, but it’s an achievement to go to a show and hear you have a champion.”
He also breeds with Dutch Kriel bantams. (On Saturday evening, one of his Dutch Kriel bantam males was sold for R4 000.) At last year’s South African championships, 269 Dutch Kriel bantams were entered – the most yet for this breed. “If there are more than 100 entries for a species, it is enormous.”
His entry was then named the champion. “I have done many things in my life, but this was one of the nicest achievements.”
Schmidt says it’s a nice hobby; he can talk about chickens for hours. And besides the fact that a beautiful chicken is fun to look at, they are full of personality.
“I have a nursery and do garden layout, but I’m actually a clinical psychologist. I tell people, you can’t believe how therapeutic it is to look at chickens.
“Each species has its own personality. And where a group walks together, the socialisation is incredible. It takes you away from any nonsense in your head.”
Saartjie Odendaal from Poultry WhatsApp Auctions says they are humbly proud and grateful for the good sales achieved during the auction. “In the poultry industry it works very differently than in the livestock industry. When top-class poultry are sold and we achieve breakout prices, it is almost like when stud stock is sold.
“People can sometimes get the impression that every chick of the ‘outlier’ in question can sell for the same amount. However, it is not that easy. All good things come with patience and hard work.
“The sellers, Theo and Lana Nel, Willie Schmidt and Dalene Huyser, have been breeding show chickens for several years. They regularly support Poultry WhatsApp Auctions, so they can be rightly proud of their achievement.”
Here are the auction’s top performers:
• Willie Schmidt – top price for the Sebrights: Golden Laced Sebright rooster R11 000, Golden Laced Sebright hen R8 600.
• Theo and Lana Nel – top price for the Orpington breed: Buff Orpington rooster R7 100.
• Dalene Huyser – top price for the Brahma breed: Isabella Brahma hen R5 500.
