Advice for selling Chicks?

[KikiDeAnime]

Hopefully this is the right spot to post this..
After I get NPIP certified, I plan on selling hatching eggs and chicks. I don't know a whole lot about selling poultry so I thought I'd ask here. The only reason I'm going to be getting NPIP certified, is so I can prove that our birds are healthy.

Any tips and advice you'd like to offer me?
What should I do to ensure I don't under price or over price my chicks/eggs?

 

[Redhead Rae]

@ChickenCanoe You do this on a smallish scale, right?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

NPIP is required to sell across state lines and in some states, it is required to sell birds and eggs within the state.
NPIP does not prove one's birds are healthy though. It is simply a rapid plate test that proves the birds don't carry antibodies to either pullorum or typhoid.
They could all be dropping dead from dozens of diseases but they could still be negative for P-T.
https://www.inpoultry.com/module-5b-testing-poultry-for-pullorumtyphoid-disease/
You can have the tester check for other diseases like AI, MG, MS, salmonella, etc. but those are at additional charge. Some states also require birds/eggs to come from flocks declared free of AI for importation.

As for charges. Just don't let yourself under charge because it is a hassle and you have to pay yourself.
Packaging isn't cheap. The boxes for chicks have to be certified by the USPS. Only a handful of companies sell them.
For eggs, I use foam egg shippers.
You can find the cost of shipping on the USPS website. You'll need your zip and the destination zip, size and weight of the package. Shipping live animals has a pricing all their own. If you want special handling for the eggs, that's a lot more.
Figure out all those costs and then add what you want for your birds or eggs.
To legally ship chicks, they have to be under 24 hours old.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

NPIP is required to sell across state lines and in some states, it is required to sell birds and eggs within the state.
NPIP does not prove one's birds are healthy though. It is simply a rapid plate test that proves the birds don't carry antibodies to either pullorum or typhoid.
They could all be dropping dead from dozens of diseases but they could still be negative for P-T.
https://www.inpoultry.com/module-5b-testing-poultry-for-pullorumtyphoid-disease/
You can have the tester check for other diseases like AI, MG, MS, salmonella, etc. but those are at additional charge. Some states also require birds/eggs to come from flocks declared free of AI for importation.

As for charges. Just don't let yourself under charge because it is a hassle and you have to pay yourself.
Packaging isn't cheap. The boxes for chicks have to be certified by the USPS. Only a handful of companies sell them.
For eggs, I use foam egg shippers.
You can find the cost of shipping on the USPS website. You'll need your zip and the destination zip, size and weight of the package. Shipping live animals has a pricing all their own. If you want special handling for the eggs, that's a lot more.
Figure out all those costs and then add what you want for your birds or eggs.
To legally ship chicks, they have to be under 24 hours old.

Thank you so much! This helps a lot.
From what I had read yesterday, I had thought it was only to prove that the birds were all healthy!

How do I get the boxes certified by the USPS?
Does NPIP also help for if I sell the chicks/eggs locally only and not across states?

I planned on starting locally first where people could come pick up the chicks/eggs or I would drive down to them with the chicks/eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The companies that make the boxes have already had them approved.
https://www.google.com/search?sourc....1..gws-wiz.....0..0i131j0i3j0i10.I7S6N_Mg9T4
I know that in MO, you need to be NPIP to sell within the state but I'm sure most people don't adhere to that rule.
The P-T plate test literally takes 5 seconds or less. That certainly won't prove anything about a bird's health.

 

[cmom]

I have my birds tested yearly. I raise pure breeds with show potential. I have had people that I have shipped eggs to ask me if I'm NPIP. I don't ship chicks but I do ship eggs. What are your breeds? Can you compete with feed stores that sell chicks? This is how I ship my eggs. Some of the boxes have reached their destination with some damage but no eggs have broken.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I have my birds tested yearly. I raise pure breeds with show potential. I have had people that I have shipped eggs to ask me if I'm NPIP. I don't ship chicks but I do ship eggs. What are your breeds? Can you compete with feed stores that sell chicks? This is how I ship my eggs. Some of the boxes have reached their destination with some damage but no eggs have broken.
View attachment 1627796

I don't want to compete with our feed store. I just want to provide healthy, amazing birds to those who will love and care for them.

I'm going to wait a while before I get NPIP because we don't have the min. number of birds for it. We also have no rooster right now. Lost our 2 good roos this year, 1 to an accidental death and the other to a hawk(We're fixing the yard soon).

2 B Sex Links, 1 R Sex Link, 2 BLR Wyandottes, 1 Blue Wyandotte, 1 Bantam Silkie/Cochin, 2 Bantam Cochins, 1 B Orpington, 1 Olive Egger. Getting a few Silkies soon so 3-4 Silkies as well once I'm able to go pick them up. Planning on getting Polish, OE, and Buff Orpingtons in spring to add on.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I don't want to compete with our feed store. I just want to provide healthy, amazing birds to those who will love and care for them.

I'm going to wait a while before I get NPIP because we don't have the min. number of birds for it. We also have no rooster right now. Lost our 2 good roos this year, 1 to an accidental death and the other to a hawk(We're fixing the yard soon).

2 B Sex Links, 1 R Sex Link, 2 BLR Wyandottes, 1 Blue Wyandotte, 1 Bantam Silkie/Cochin, 2 Bantam Cochins, 1 B Orpington, 1 Olive Egger. Getting a few Silkies soon so 3-4 Silkies as well once I'm able to go pick them up. Planning on getting Polish, OE, and Buff Orpingtons in spring to add on.

Are you planning on selling mixed breed eggs/chicks? You won't get as much for them in the long run. One thing I would caution you against, is doing too much too soon. If you are just doing mixed eggs that will be easier, but if you want to sell pure breeds or specific homemade mixes, you need breeding pens for each breeding group. If you want to close your flock (which makes NPIP more attainable), you'll need at least two pens for each breed you are doing if you want to do it right. The logistics become astronomically harder as you increase the number of breeds/mixes you are doing. I originally wanted to do Buffs, New Hampshires, Delawares and Indian River Broilers (a red sexlink from NH and Delaware crossing). Come to find out, my hatchery Buffs were just that, Hatchery quality, as are my New Hampshires. My Delawares were better quality, but I REALLY disliked the disposition of the hens (very pushy and domineering). I'm now planning on doing mainly Dark Cornish (which I got from a show quality line), with a White Cornish side project, as well as a few Blue/Black Cochins, because I like them, and I'm looking into a good egg laying breed to add as well. It will be a LONG time before I can even consider NPIP certification, if ever, because of the number of chickens kept on neighboring properties.

Long story short, it will be a logistical nightmare if you are doing individual breeds and you are less likely to be profitable if you are doing mixes.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

With mixed breeds, you likely won't get anyone who wants to buy them, especially having to pay for shipping/packaging. It just isn't going to be worth your time.

I highly recommend you don't take this on unless you have a pure breed that is in demand. They will also need to be high quality. That means, you'll have to hatch and cull a lot and need multiple roosters.
You can't improve a breed or even maintain standards with one rooster and a couple hens.
The birds may be amazing to you but you just don't have enough for a basis to judge.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I want to clarify something!
I don't plan on selling mixes unless there's an accidental breeding but that probably won't even happen.
I also forgot to mention in my post that we currently live near the city so I can't even get NPIP until we move anyway because of the limit of birds we can keep.

A few locals I know actually like mixes between Polish and Silkies as well as Silkies and Frizzle Cochins. So even if I was to breed a mix, I would only sell to those locals I know who will actually want them. Besides if there is an accidental breeding between 2 breeds, I plan on keeping them since I love mixes.

I'd also like to mention that I sell stuff on eBay, sell digital Art & Traditional Art, and sell stuff on facebook marketplace so a few bucks from each would help out a lot. I actually sell a lot more stuff on eBay than facebook so that will probably help me buy what I need to start selling chicks/eggs.