The final straw...

[Old Dog]

It's been an on going struggle to keep my game farm going for the last few years.  The rising cost of feed and vet bills, plus the enormous amount of time involved has had me thinking of shutting down anyway, but today I got the updated license fees.  To renew my license used to cost $48.  The updated fee is $118.  That is a 146% increase   Old Dog Gamebirds will be no more as of January 1, 2012. 

[marty]

Sorry to hear that.

[Hunterman]

Sorryv to hear that your done,,but I can't blame you. It seems like this state is so damn money hungry..

Hunterman(Tony)

[runamuk]

Sorry to hear that even more sorry to see another small business fold this state is so anti business and anti self sufficiency it just floors me

[Hunterman]

Just like the fee hike on the Taxi.'s

Hunterman(Tony)

[CAMPMEAT]

Feel for you. When Bush got in office and created a bogus war, he put me out of business because of diesel.........Not happy and don't like him !

[sebek556]

sorry to hear. 

[Birdguy]

Old Dog that really sucks  ! I have not looked at my paperwork yet but I am in the same boat. Feed is  INSANE and the people that do call and want birds all want them for nothing  . I am really sorry to see you get out but I will most likely be right behind you. I have had a ton of calls lately as other breeders are out of birds or quitting as well. The hours and hours of work are never compensated in the price we get for the birds but it is getting to be just too much. I started the incubator and brooders early this year (stupid cold wet spring  ) and the power bill for Feb. March, and April was over $400 a month! This could be just to push I too need to call it quits (I bet my kids throw a party that day  ) They too are tired of the Mrs. or myself always being tied to the farm. It is almost impossible to find someone who can take care of what we have for more than a day or two. On the plus side the $$ I currently put in feed, power, fuel, and equipment will certainly pay for several trip to the hunting club of my choosing next year .

[let.it.fly]

larry, man im sorry to hear about that. i know that was your heart.

[huntnfmly]

Larry sorry to hear

[gasman]

Man, this is a bummer hear  Larry and Dave are great guys I hate to see them shut down business 


Sorry guys to hear about your dreams coming to an end 

[Happy Gilmore]

Sorry to hear the news. It's hitting everyone. This is the first year the gun club where I live didn't buy pheasants for members because of the cost. Most dog trainers have backed off on using ducks and pheasant as well. Pigeon prices have come down and the sellers are getting more competitive. Basic reason of that is they have no cost. Catching pigeons is free and the guys who are good and have netting equipment/cannons can easily catch 300+ a weekend and sell them for $3.25-4 depending on quantity.

Having 30 homing pigeons coming home saves tons of money in training birds too.

[boneaddict]

I'm right there with you Larry and Dave.   I've been essentially raising enough birds to feed the coons. I'm pretty much done as well.  We'll see.

[Special T]

So do you think there will be just more unlicenced bird dealers, or just hobbiests? With the way the state runs things sometimes it makes you shake your head... I know i talked to the guy that raises Brant on Fir island and does the Brant fundraiser every year.. He said that if he didn't love the birds so much he would fold up shop, especially since they started making him/them start testing for west nile.. like 5-10% of the population each year.... Guess anyone that wants birds will have to mail oder chicks from the midwest/south...

[boneaddict]

Probably a decline.  Hobbyists are having a harder time aquiring birds.   That might not be the case with gamebirds, but it certainly is for the exotics or the harder to come by birds. 

[carpsniperg2]

That's to bad, sorry to hear  it. I just got the new fees to renew my guide license for fishing I was thinking of adding a few more species of fish. Not with the amount they want!

[runamuk]

So do you think there will be just more unlicenced bird dealers, or just hobbiests? With the way the state runs things sometimes it makes you shake your head... I know i talked to the guy that raises Brant on Fir island and does the Brant fundraiser every year.. He said that if he didn't love the birds so much he would fold up shop, especially since they started making him/them start testing for west nile.. like 5-10% of the population each year.... Guess anyone that wants birds will have to mail oder chicks from the midwest/south...

this state is anti animal ownership period they dont like breeders of any sort and make it tough this is just one more branch of a slowly dying industry.  Most people raise animals because they enjoy it not because of making a fortune.  Its a lifestyle and it can be really enjoyable but not here too many fees, too high of costs, to much regulation.  Lots of people simply dont know the laws or dont care you would be amazed at how many dog breeders are doing it illegally.  I belonged to some other websites and a few years back I predicted pet breeding in this state would become a black market industry and would be found alongside drug dealing and illegal weapon sales and so far that is the direction it is going.

Real sorry to see these guys quit

[Wenatcheejay]

So do you think there will be just more unlicenced bird dealers, or just hobbiests? With the way the state runs things sometimes it makes you shake your head... I know i talked to the guy that raises Brant on Fir island and does the Brant fundraiser every year.. He said that if he didn't love the birds so much he would fold up shop, especially since they started making him/them start testing for west nile.. like 5-10% of the population each year.... Guess anyone that wants birds will have to mail oder chicks from the midwest/south...

this state is anti animal ownership period they dont like breeders of any sort and make it tough this is just one more branch of a slowly dying industry.  Most people raise animals because they enjoy it not because of making a fortune.  Its a lifestyle and it can be really enjoyable but not here too many fees, too high of costs, to much regulation.  Lots of people simply dont know the laws or dont care you would be amazed at how many dog breeders are doing it illegally.  I belonged to some other websites and a few years back I predicted pet breeding in this state would become a black market industry and would be found alongside drug dealing and illegal weapon sales and so far that is the direction it is going.

Real sorry to see these guys quit

I don't disagree with you about the mind set of Politics or the people of this State, Oregan influences us a lot as well There are a few organizations that undermine hunting and breeding. The fact that the Government pays multi-million dollar advocacy groups $650.00 per hour to sue the Government (Equal Justice) doesn't help. It just funds their propaganda machine. As to Washington's fiscal debacle, rather than laying off employee's and shuttering departments, reorganizing, & seeking new revenue, our Governor's believes she can reduce services and increase fees as a reward for paying more, increase licence fees on small business, increase L&I fees, increase unemployment fees, (of course these are not taxes because they are to the evil self employed & Small Businesses.) This began with unfunded "feel good Government programs" that were and are unaffordable, the anti-business situation is only going to make matters worse & worse. I am looking at a 2300% increase in license fees over the next two years. It will go from hundreds to thousands just to pay the Government. The increase in Hunting/Fishing fees is the least of my problems.

[Birdguy]

So do you think there will be just more unlicenced bird dealers, or just hobbiests? With the way the state runs things sometimes it makes you shake your head... I know i talked to the guy that raises Brant on Fir island and does the Brant fundraiser every year.. He said that if he didn't love the birds so much he would fold up shop, especially since they started making him/them start testing for west nile.. like 5-10% of the population each year.... Guess anyone that wants birds will have to mail oder chicks from the midwest/south...

There are a lot of unlicensed dealers and hobbyist that claim ignorance and figure so long as they do not get caught they are OK. Like so many things in life you can get away with a bunch of things if you lack the morals and conscience that bother so many of us. As an outdoorsman I figured raising birds would be great and that most would support what I do. The problem is over the years I learned the laws and though I really enjoy doing it, the time and money NEVER comes back and the penalty for doing it illegally is not worth it. I will spend the next several spring seasons watching my kids play baseball and fastpitch, fishing, camping, and squeezing in an occasional turkey hunt instead. When the kids are grown I may revisit it. I will most likely still raise a few for me and the dogs, but I will not sell them as I would suspect being registered with the state and having them and the USDA ( for all the testing that is required for releasing birds) at my place several times already it would not be a good idea. I guess I could raise pigeons by the truck load but there is no satisfaction in that really. I am sure Bone and Old Dog would agree that when a kid or another outdoorsman comes to your place and sees what you do and how many different things are out there it is a great feeling . Raising the first chick of a new variety of bird is great too. Evey time my kids invite someone over they ALWAYS want to help feed the birds because most have never seen birds like I have in my pens, it is a cool feeling.