BigBlueHen53: Just BukbukbuKAAWS

[BigBlueHen53]

I tried brown leghorns once. Great survivors but like you, never again. Rather try to raise cardinals, lol.

 

[Kung_pao]

I tried brown leghorns once. Great survivors but like you, never again. Rather try to raise cardinals, lol.

Those things are one step behind guineas lol

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Those things are one step behind guineas lol

Oh guineas! Been there, done that, too! That's another hard pass, lol!

 

[Kung_pao]

I was so glad when mine ran away and terrorized my neighbors for years lol.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I was so glad when mine ran away and terrorized my neighbors for years lol.

Lol. We ended up butchering ours. There was as much sweet feed in each of their crops as what I usually fed to my half-Arab horses. I was never so happy to see anything dead as I was those bloomin', squawkin' guineas. Watchdogs indeed!

 

[SourRoses]

If my previous hens were worth ten times their chick price, then that means my Ams are now worth $300 each!

Well, normally the calculation for POL is:
Chick Price (+ divided Shipping)
+ Feed (at least 4 months, varies by breed so it could be 10 months)
+ Electricity (for heating)
Which is where the $25 for a typical layer comes in. But that is not adjusted for this years price increases.

With a purebred Am, since they often take longer to reach POL, you have a larger feed cost to factor in.
A typical price I've seen is $60-80 per hen, $20 - $40 roo.

However, when individuals better fit the SOP, it increases their sale price. That's where some of the housing and labor would be accounted for. But in reality that price is based on their breeding value in the future rather than their expense in the past. But since there are no guarantees on prepotence (the heritability factor of some genetic traits... aside from the simple recessive or dominant ones. Think of the way some families have bunches of twins.) due to that variable, one cannot assign the full value of potential breeding success, so quality accounts for 25% - 100% markup from expense... influenced by rarity of the breed, desirability, and
buyers market tolerance.
A nice Am hen at POL would probably fetch around $100, this year. Rare colors or exceptional show worthy form would increase that.

Generally, market tolerance works against the higher prices. But sometimes not, and it depends what method one is using to advertise.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks, Roses! Me and math are like oil and water, lol. I appreciate that breakdown. The bottom line is any chicken is worth "what the market will bear." Around here I'm guessing I couldn't give these lovely pullets away unless I included a year's worth of steaks. But I don't care. They are sweet and beautiful and I love them.