Backyard Chick Selling Opinions

[chickpunk]

Hello all! I've recently become passionate with incubating hatching eggs! However, I can't keep all my babies. I'm asking for experienced opinions and success strategies on selling chicks locally, and online. I am able to vaccinate all my chicks for Marek's, and wondering if I should always vaccinate, or just offer to vaccinate. I know there are debating opinions on vaccinating chicks.
All opinions are welcome, thanks!

 

[mymilliefleur]

I have never sold chicks, just bought them, so I may not be able to give you that much helpful advise. I would advertise them on Craigslist, Facebook (if you do that) or put up an advertisement at your local feed store. I know a few people that sell chicks, and they always sell out as fast as the chicks can hatch. As for vaccinating, I would offer the choice of having them vaccinated or not. Most hatcheries let you chose, and some people definitely don't want their chicks vaccinated.

 

[BertandMary]

We've only sold a few times. BYC NC on FB and Craigslist are all we've used. Our Pekin sold in a day and a Splash Waynadotte pullet sold in an hour recently. The roosters are a little more difficult. If the two we are going to sell don't sell by mid june, they will swim with noodles. A couple of barred rock roos will be sold or slow cooked in a couple of months too.

 

[Sristi]

Last year I hatched bantam Cochins with the intention of keeping the best and selling the rest. I advertised on Craigslist, put up ads in the local feed store and grocery store, and finally took them to a local livestock auction at 10 weeks. I sold a few, but not nearly what I expected. My area is rural agricultural, and it turns out most people don't want fluffy, little birds no matter how cute they are. On the other hand, I had no problem selling my adult bantams through those same channels. Backyarders with kids, who somehow didn't catch on to the chicks.
This year, I'm hatching and selling Ancona ducklings through Craigslist and local FB poultry group. They are selling like hotcakes, out of the house within three days.
So, as far as my opinion goes, make sure you are selling something people want to buy. Almost always this will be purebred poultry; not many people want straight run backyard mix. Learn to vent sex and sell sexed chicks for a higher price. If you are accurate, your customers will be happy and probably come back for more. (We all know about chicken math) Always include cute pictures of clean, perky chicks, and advertise through Craigslist and a local FB group if you have it. Have a contingency plan if they don't sell as chicks. Mine is either the freezer or local livestock auction. Everything at that auction sells, but it may be for $1 a bird. At that price, I ought to have kept the birds and eaten them myself. And remember that generally prices are high through the spring and early summer, and will drop drastically in the fall, because everyone is trying to cut their flock down for winter. At least, this is true in my area.
Have fun! Just think, after this first season, you will have learned so much about incubation and your local backyard poultry economy.

 

[BertandMary]

Good advice

 

[chickpunk]

Awesome! All info is appreciated! My husband just built me a new monstrous coop, and our neighbors saw, and asked about cutting a deal to incubate eggs for them. *Score!*

 

[waddles99]

I have sold pullets on Craigslist and Facebook groups. Something very important to consider is if somebody can get a breed some place else, why should they buy from you? If a hatchery or local feed store carries the same breed, there is a good chance you cannot compete with their price and they will buy from them instead of you. I learned this while selling RIR pullets for $30 and Ameraucana pullets for $50. No one seemed to be interested in the RIR, but they were interested in the Ameraucana. I finally realized why, because farms can get RIR for $3 as chicks and put $10 of feed in them and sell them for $20. It doesn't matter that I paid $7 for a nice quality chick and put $20 worth of high quality feed in them. They want the cheapest price they can find.
People want blue egg layers like you wouldn't believe, and if there aren't any other local places where one can easily find them, YOU determine your market. While I love RIRs, Buff Orps, Plymouth Rocks etc, there is no sense in selling chicks of these breeds since they are readily available for so cheap. Not only are blue egg layers unique, but chances are your local feed store isn't selling them.