Come and Get It

The holidays will very soon be upon us and while some of you may already have visions of sugarplums dancing in your heads, cooks are already busy planning festive holiday menus. Not all will feature traditional dishes. For savory, exotic vittles consider turning to the many livestock auctions located throughput the region.  One such popular sale is the Renninger’s Farmers Market Fall Exotic Livestock Auction in Schuylkill Haven, PA.

Auctioneer Mark Bushold of Gilbertsville Sales says all sorts of livestock are accepted for consignment including rabbits, doves, quail, fancy pigeons, chickens, turkey, ducks, guinea fowl, peacocks, pheasants, pigs, goats, calves, geese, emu, as well as domestic snakes, lizards, mice, rats and birds such as lovebirds, canaries, finches, keets, tiels, parrots, cockatoo and conures which are between love-birds and parrots.

Sales start on Saturdays at 10 am with cages, feed, hay, straw, hatching eggs, brooders, hutches, supplies and anything else farm related followed by boxes of poultry, exotic livestock, etc. Large animals are sold at 4 pm. Consignors are advised that the sale gets a lot of animals and they can only be sold in the order received   Mark advises consignors to “Please come early and do not ask to sell your animals earlier.”

There are requirements for animals being sold. They must be healthy, they need to be in a wired cage, no cardboard boxes unless one whole side is wired or fenced. Large animals need collars. Any animals that need paperwork must have that done before they are brought to the auction.  All animals are to be sold in their cages.

Mark Bushold is accustomed to being around animals. He lives on a farm with donkeys, chickens and ducks. So if it’s a special holiday dinner culinary centerpiece you’re after contact him at 610-504-2406 or busholdsauctions@yahoo.com.  Happy Holidays.