Are buying started pullets worth the expense?

[Cattle dog Mom]

(Don't forget that shipping on older pullets is generally a LOT more than a "box" of chicks!!!! I've seen 1 hatchery (Meyer) that charges $50 EACH for shipping started pullets.)

That said, to ME, the higher cost of older pullets is TOTALLY worth it. I have ZERO desire to brood chicks. (Been there, done that with game birds.(Pheasants, quail and chukar. This was many years ago and I no longer have any of the things needed to brood.) So even though many of the supplies needed would mostly be a 1 time cost, I am saving that money by not brooding them. I am also not getting cockerels I don't want nor need.

What I AM getting in my case is 5 month old pullets from a breeder of my chosen breed. They are $25 each. (He also delivers for FREE!.) But to ME, I have NO problem with that to get EXACTLY what I want! The breeder has done all of the "hard part". And I have zero issue paying him for it! (I may have a different outlook on that than a lot of people as I bred horses for a LONG time. So I KNOW how much time, blood, sweat and tears a breeder puts into whatever they are producing. And IMO they should be PAID for all of that.)

 

[LaFleche]

Be aware that "shopping around for chicks" from several different sources will also increase the amount of interchanging different germs, bacteria, virus and parasites you bring to your flock and the odds of failing chicks will be much higher this way.

 

[Mellowmalt]

@jher77 hey can you break down the cost a bit more? Is it so expensive because you only raise a few?
I'm estimating 6 week food is $2-3 per chick?
I've worked out that 3 weeks of incubating and 6 weeks of brooding would cost me roughly $3.50 for about 10 chicks. It then drops drastically the more you breed.

Lets say food is $2? Does anyone know how much in weight a chick eats in the first 6 weeks? I am completely guessing.

But electricity works out at 35 cents per chicken for 9 weeks. My brooder is highly insulated so that helps keep the cost down there.

I'm thinking I could probably raise a chick to 6 weeks on $2.50 if my food estimate is right.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

@jher77 hey can you break down the cost a bit more? Is it so expensive because you only raise a few?
I'm estimating 6 week food is $2-3 per chick?
I've worked out that 3 weeks of incubating and 6 weeks of brooding would cost me roughly $3.50 for about 10 chicks. It then drops drastically the more you breed.

Lets say food is $2? Does anyone know how much in weight a chick eats in the first 6 weeks? I am completely guessing.

But electricity works out at 35 cents per chicken for 9 weeks. My brooder is highly insulated so that helps keep the cost down there.

I'm thinking I could probably raise a chick to 6 weeks on $2.50 if my food estimate is right.

Keep in mind that at least in the US, the cost of electricity varies Greatly. Not just one state to the next, but even one county to the next.

 

[LaFleche]

@jher77 hey can you break down the cost a bit more? Is it so expensive because you only raise a few?
I'm estimating 6 week food is $2-3 per chick?
I've worked out that 3 weeks of incubating and 6 weeks of brooding would cost me roughly $3.50 for about 10 chicks. It then drops drastically the more you breed.

Lets say food is $2? Does anyone know how much in weight a chick eats in the first 6 weeks? I am completely guessing.

But electricity works out at 35 cents per chicken for 9 weeks. My brooder is highly insulated so that helps keep the cost down there.

I'm thinking I could probably raise a chick to 6 weeks on $2.50 if my food estimate is right.

You have to add the cost for the purchase of the brooder, heat source, feeders, waterers, bedding, vitamins and electrolyte additives, possible medication as dewormer, Corid or antibiotics, cleaning supplies, gasoline when driving to get anything chicken related etc. etc.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I personally dont think it's worth it.i also like buying young chicks because I train them to come when I call, I handle them multiple times a day so they are used to being checked for lice or mites, and I like to brood in the coo to allow early integration which makes a smooth transition when I let them in the run with the older girls.

 

[NatJ]

Does anyone know how much in weight a chick eats in the first 6 weeks?

http://www.farmersjoint.com/blog/li...sumption-plan-body-weight-target-laying-hens/

This article has a feed consumption chart for ISA Brown pullets, saying they should eat 1.1 kg of food each in the first 6 weeks.

That works out to about 2.5 pounds.

Allowing for different breeds & sizes, and for a bit of wastage, you should probably be able to feed a chick for 6 weeks on less than 5 pounds of food. (Cornish Cross may well need more, but I don't think we're talking about them here.)

 

[jher77]

@jher77 hey can you break down the cost a bit more? Is it so expensive because you only raise a few?
I'm estimating 6 week food is $2-3 per chick?
I've worked out that 3 weeks of incubating and 6 weeks of brooding would cost me roughly $3.50 for about 10 chicks. It then drops drastically the more you breed.

Lets say food is $2? Does anyone know how much in weight a chick eats in the first 6 weeks? I am completely guessing.

But electricity works out at 35 cents per chicken for 9 weeks. My brooder is highly insulated so that helps keep the cost down there.

I'm thinking I could probably raise a chick to 6 weeks on $2.50 if my food estimate is right.

I suspect a lot of people don't completely figure theirs and sell their chickens for a loss and don't know it. If you can give me your costs, I can figure yours. I didn't figure in the cost of the coop, brooder, or incubator in my figures. I'd never make my money back on those. I usually brood around 20 chicks when I brood them. That helps to offset the cost of the electricity. I could probably fit 40 chicks in my brooder but I haven't gone that far yet.

1) Cost of electricity per kWh. Mine $0.106 per kWh
2) Cost of water per gallon. Mine $0.015 per gal
3) Cost of feed per 50 lbs. Mine $15.39 for 50 lbs
4) Cost of chick grit. Mine $7.69 for 5 lbs. I think I may be able to use sand and cut my cost here, haven't tried.
5) Do you buy your chicks? If so how many at a time and how much for each one?
6) I need to know how many watts the heat source is. Mine 250 watts on 100% of the time in winter.
7) I need to know the total of any other watts you use. Fans, lights, etc. Mine 5 watts for an led light I leave on constantly.
8) Cost of bedding for the 6 weeks of brooding. Mine $1.39 worth of pine flake shavings per brood. I actually weighed what I used.
9) Any other costs per 6 weeks of brooding such as medicine. Mine I have had to give corid and electrolytes. I estimated $1 per brood.
10) That is all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Hey all,

This is starting our 2nd year of chicken raising. We would like to get several more (chicken math) to add to our current flock. Due to availability, timing, and minimum order requirements, we are not able to purchase all the different breeds that we want. No single hatchery has everything we are looking for, and due to minimum order requirements, we can't split the order up across different hatcheries, and we are also wanting to get the chickens at about the same age so we don't have to coordinate different ages/needs.

I see that there are some places that sell 4-6 week old started pullets, that don't have the same minimum order requirements. I could get some of those to fill in the missing gaps in our order, and schedule it in such a way that the older chicks arrive about a month after the chicks arrive, which would put them at roughly the same age.

However, started pullets are 4x-5x the price of the day-olds. Is it worth it? Obviously there is some expense on our part to get the babies up to 4-6 week old, but I don't think it is that much.

I plan to shop around at the near-by farm stores to see if they happen to have the breeds we are lacking. That would be the best option. But in case they don't have what we are looking for, I am working on a backup plan.

I bought all of our flock of 5 mixed chicks last Sept. @ 6 weeks old. They are vaccinated and all chick problems such as cross beak are avoided. They are hardier, easier to feed, and I only used a heat lamp on cold nights.

 

[whitenack]

(Don't forget that shipping on older pullets is generally a LOT more than a "box" of chicks!!!! I've seen 1 hatchery (Meyer) that charges $50 EACH for shipping started pullets.)

Holy Smokes! You are right. I hadn't checked that but it is costing as much to ship as it is just for the birds! I could buy a boatload of chicks and sell/process/give away for the same price.

Thanks for the help!