Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Auctioneer: We have a black, bantam coaching hen………
Kelly Mc: There might be nothing that speaks to free market capitalism like Mechelle Watson’s
booming business in Wilson’s Mills, North Carolina.
Mechelle Watson - Auction - My son and I were brainstorming one day and my son looked at
me and said, “Mama, let’s open a chicken auction.”
Kelly Mc: Mechelle owns and operates the Wicked Chicken Auction. It’s one place, you can
buy, sell, maybe trade and certainly hang out among the birds, the rabbit, the goat
and the Regulars who stock their flocks with Wicked Chicken buys.
Ricky Belcher - There’s always variety uphere. There’s a little bit of everything. There’s
always a bunch of stuff. A good auctioneer. Good people and I enjoy it. We just come up
here and have a good time. Buy a few chickens and go on back home.
Mechelle Watson - You get so many different people in here. I mean everything. The hobby
farmers, serious farmers, you get the serious breeders that you’ll see a state fair showing
and here we are.
Kelly Mc: Cindy O’Neal’s at The Wicked Chicken for a couple of hens.
Kelly Mc: How much money do you need to bring to the auction?
Cindy O’Neal: Well, right now in my pocket I’ve only got fifteen bucks. So, that’s
my limit today.
Kelly Mc: And how far will fifteen dollars go at the average auction?
Cindy O’Neal: Not very far. {laughs}
Kelly Mc: The Wicked Chicken’s Sunday afternoon auctions seem to bring every one of every
age from every place imaginable. Steve Novakovich visits a twice a year.
Kelly Mc: What am I getting into?
Steve Novakovich : Well, a lot. It’s quick. It’s fast; just a lot of birds.
Kelly Mc: The auction rules are simple. Get there early and scout the birds you might
want to buy. You’ll find an occasional rabbit or goat that will be auctioned as well. Some
buyers take written notes and wait for the lot they wish to bid on but experienced buyers,
like Asheboro’s Ricky Belcher, they know what they want when they see it.
Ricky Belcher: If they’re old, I don’t need them. Nobody wants to eat them.
Kelly Mc: How can you tell an old chicken from a young one other than size?
Ricky Belcher: Just look it. You can see it. You know, an old rooster, he’s old. He’s
got big spurs and big cone. You can look at them and see.
Kelly Mc: Is it right that somebody would try to push an old rooster off on an auction
or should you not do that?
Ricky: There’s some people, if you’re going to breed them and keep them, to raise
from, you need an older rooster. He’s better.
Kelly Mc: More mature and settled.
Ricky: That’s right. Like me.
Kelly Mc: This is pretty cool.
Robert Jones: You never know what’s in the next box. You can find some of everything
- young, worn out - just pick out what you want and go get it.
Kelly Mc: Mechelle says when she opens that gate every Sunday afternoon at 1pm, the buyers
are lined up to check out the merchandise.
Kelly Mc: They’ve got the notes. They’ve got their money.
Mechelle Watson: This is serious business now. They’re serious about their poultry
and what they want to buy or sell or. Yeah, this is a serious industry. People really
like knowing they raised it in their very own back yard.
Kelly Mc: Direct from the chicken to your plate.
Mechelle Watson: That’s right. That’s right. Cut the Middle Man out.
Auctioneer: “Five dollar bill…….”
Kelly Mc: The auction team can sell a crate of birds every 45 seconds all afternoon
Auctioneer “You bought it. 50-cents. You’re number 876.”
Blake Phillips - It gets pretty hectic. I’m usually on the front holding animals up and
stuff. We go through about 100 to 115 boxes an hour. So, we move pretty good.
Mechelle: When my auctioneer gets cranked up, you’re going to understand that.
Auctioneer: “We have two hens. There’s one black Americana hen and……
Will Jenkins/Auctioneer: I try to read the crowd a little bit the best I can but I try
to keep it moving. If they want in, they’ll put their hand in the air but there’s no
time to waste that’s all I’ve got to say.
Kelly Mc: The Wicked Chicken needs the speed because it can sell four HUNDRED crates of
poultry and other birds in a single afternoon auction.
Will Jenkins - Sell or Trade - We have people come from all over, just everybody - big families
come out - fun place to go on Sundays, Man. Buy, sell, trade - you name it.
Kelly Mc: It’s reached a point where The Wicked Chicken Auction will spread its wings
into the weeknight to accommodate a growing market for backyard chicken and poultry.