Can anyone tell me about hatching to sell?

[NYRIR]

I just hatched my first batch of chicks (9 out of 13) hatched on the eighth and are doing well. I enjoyed it soooo much I thought about doing it on the side as a kind of hobby. Can anyone tell me how I would go about this? Does it cost more to do than is worth it? Also,do people buy "barnyard" mixes or do they only want purebreds? My coop will be full after these (and a few on order) get put in, but the kids and I enjoyed it so much I'm looking into selling. Any input (positive or negative) is welcome. Thanks

 

[joe17]

I fill orders for people locally. People around here dont want show birds that want eggs so they want me to hatch anything that is known to lay eggs. I dont do it to make money, I do it because I love to do it. I might make a few dollars but Im not getting rich. lol I usually hatch a dozen eggs for 20 dollars. I also keep the chicks for an extra week to make sure they are off to a good start. My brinsea is MY incubator used for MY eggs. My forced air hova bator is to fill the orders for other people. I can hatch about 4 dozen at a time. My feed store says that if I have any extra chicks I would be lookin to sell that they would buy them from me a dollar each. Its enough to pay for a bag of feed! lol Just dont expect to get rich and ask the people what they want chickens for etc. I have pet chickens and then the laying chickens. They choose which ones they want. Its really a lotta fun!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

check your local craigs list and if you have a local for sale paper and see what is in there, that will give you an idea about your area. In our area chicks sell like hotcakes from Jan until about now then the interest drops off. We sell hundreds and hundreds every year, just from chick sales they totaly paid for 2 GQF Sportsman incubators, they pay the feed bill and then some during the season. Pure breeds will outsell barnyard mixes. Once again it depends on the area you live in and what's popular. In our area the Buff Orp and Rhode Island Red are king. You put an add up for Sussex or Cochin and people say "what is that" It's fun and you can make some pocket money off it, don't give up your day job to go into the business. lol

The only down side is dealing with some of the people. Most are easy to get along with and do business with. Some to be honest are creepy, when you put your phone number on a sale paper people assume they can call you at midnight, prank calls, lonely people that want somebody to talk to etc. My wife has always said if it wasn't for me being there she would not sell from the house and that makes sense if you are single or way off by yourself and hubby is working. There are ways around that, set up a table at your local feed store or something like that in public.

Also, you don't want to over hatch and have to hold on to the chicks for a long time, they will eat what they sell for. We time ours to hatch on Monday or Tuesday and be ready for sale that weekend. They are moving around well and eating/drinking so you are selling good quality and healthy chicks

Steve

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

If you take orders for a hatch get paid up front. We got burnt a couple times from people placing orders then a month later you call them that their chicks are ready and they have gotten them from somebody else.

Steve

 

[NYRIR]

Sounds it...

I just thought for fun and a few bucks maybe. I don't plan on quitting my job ...although,full time hatcher sounds good

Also,do you hatch all year? or only in the spring/summer?Do you ever have trouble selling any?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We hatch and sell from Jan 'till June. Early in the year people want chicks then as it moves into summer the sale numbers go down. There are some people around here that do sell year round and they must do ok as they are there year after year. From mid summer on we switch more to the garden than chicks - there just isn't enough hours in the day. lol

Steve

 

[NYRIR]

Yeah,I'm sure there are jerks out there...I just thought maybe for a few "feed bucks" and fun. And I love the fuzzybutts!I will look up craigs list first though,good idea. The hubby would kill me if I had to keep more! LOL I don't want to sell to people for easter though...I wouldn't be
upset if people wanted meat birds,or laying hens...but NO tye-dyed easter toss outs!Also,how about the county fairs?Don't people sell there? I also would have to buy a bator as the one I hatched in was borrowed.Any suggestions?How many at a time to start do you think?

 

[BlackBart]

Prices here for custom hatching of other people's fertile eggs: $1.00 for the egg to go in the incubator (money up front) and $1.50 for the chick to come out.
They are busy.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Flea markets and fairs are good places to sell. Do you have local livestock auction? those are always great places. We sometimes sell in front of the Tractor Supply, the manager didn't have any problem with us there as long as they weren't selling chicks at the same time. on the incubator alot of people sell them in the summer so you can get a good deal.

Steve

 

[NYRIR]

I'm sure we do...just never been. I only owned cats and dogs before this year.I got chicks and ducks this year.I am going to look into it though...it sounds like a lot of fun! I'll have to check out craigs list for bators too.I could always try it and just see how it goes I suppose