Can I make a profit doing this?

John Knight

Chirping
Aug 29, 2017
55
32
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Hi friends,
I've been wondering whether I could generate some income if I got maybe a 50 egg incubator, bought some fertile eggs online of high quality chickens (can't have a rooster here) then raise the chicks to pullets then sell them online? I don't whether the cost i could sell the pullets for would cover expenses, much less generate a profit. What do y'all think?
 
I don't think so. Even selling day old chicks locally, you won't be able to cover your costs.
But selling started pullets on line requires you to feed and house them and then hassle with shipping mature birds. That's a money loser. Most people don't want to pay what it costs to raise pullets.
You won't have control of the quality of the birds since you are buying them from someone else.
Shipped eggs are notorious for having low hatch rates. Lets say you get eggs for $2 each and 50% hatch, you are now at $4 per chick that you need to get, then 50% will be boys that I assume you are planning on butchering. Now you are at a cost of $8 per chick, not counting the cost of the incubator, the brooder space and the electricity for both.
Then if you are going to feed them out, there is no way to make money on that scenario.
 
:goodpost:
Plus any losses during grow out. You just need to get an outbreak of a respiratory disease or coccidiosis or worse still, Marek's and you are well and truly out of pocket. For the outlay on your incubator, feed and bedding and your labour plus looking after and treating any sick chicks and getting rid of the surplus cockerels before they start aggravating the neighbours with their crowing and some can crow as early as a few weeks, you will probably not even see the venture pay for your incubator. Oh and probably dealing with unhappy customers, because there will always be some who are not satisfied or the birds die at some point after they get them home and they think it's your fault..... and want a refund/replacement.
 
Maybe if you buy eggs locally and hatch them. I get 1 dozen for $2.50-$3.00 for hatching eggs. Chicks sell for $2-3 each for breeds you see all the time.
 
putting the pitfalls aside,
it will cost you at least $5.oo for feed per bird to get it to POL. on top of that you have the cost of the hatching eggs, plus the cost of incubating.
we won't include the incubator in here because you probably have one anyway, and it would otherwise be sitting idle.
Your time is your time. you can charge for it or not.. but just for the sake of argument, figure an hour per day for feeding etc.

if people around you are like the cheapskates around here, you will be lucky to get $8.oo per hen,,, more than likely you will sell many of them for as low as $5.oo each..

at best, you can figure a profit of $2.oo per hen. is it worth just $100.oo per summer for all that ??

good luck what ever you decide..

......jiminwisc......
 
I don't think so. Even selling day old chicks locally, you won't be able to cover your costs.
But selling started pullets on line requires you to feed and house them and then hassle with shipping mature birds. That's a money loser. Most people don't want to pay what it costs to raise pullets.
You won't have control of the quality of the birds since you are buying them from someone else.
Shipped eggs are notorious for having low hatch rates. Lets say you get eggs for $2 each and 50% hatch, you are now at $4 per chick that you need to get, then 50% will be boys that I assume you are planning on butchering. Now you are at a cost of $8 per chick, not counting the cost of the incubator, the brooder space and the electricity for both.
Then if you are going to feed them out, there is no way to make money on that scenario.
That's exactly what I needed to know, canoe, and what I thought would probably be the case. Thank you for your well-reasoned response
 
:goodpost:
Plus any losses during grow out. You just need to get an outbreak of a respiratory disease or coccidiosis or worse still, Marek's and you are well and truly out of pocket. For the outlay on your incubator, feed and bedding and your labour plus looking after and treating any sick chicks and getting rid of the surplus cockerels before they start aggravating the neighbours with their crowing and some can crow as early as a few weeks, you will probably not even see the venture pay for your incubator. Oh and probably dealing with unhappy customers, because there will always be some who are not satisfied or the birds die at some point after they get them home and they think it's your fault..... and want a refund/replacement.
Thank you very much, rebra, that settles it for me!
 
putting the pitfalls aside,
it will cost you at least $5.oo for feed per bird to get it to POL. on top of that you have the cost of the hatching eggs, plus the cost of incubating.
we won't include the incubator in here because you probably have one anyway, and it would otherwise be sitting idle.
Your time is your time. you can charge for it or not.. but just for the sake of argument, figure an hour per day for feeding etc.

if people around you are like the cheapskates around here, you will be lucky to get $8.oo per hen,,, more than likely you will sell many of them for as low as $5.oo each..

at best, you can figure a profit of $2.oo per hen. is it worth just $100.oo per summer for all that ??

good luck what ever you decide..

......jiminwisc......
Very thoughtful response jiminwisc, thank you for your analysis.
 
You're welcome.
I have the capacity to incubate about 1500 eggs at a time..
I did very well collecting guinea eggs and hatching them and sellling the keets.
However, I did not have to buy eggs.

I also did OK custom hatching batches of eggs for people, but there are drawbacks to that, too.
Like if the power goes out and you lose a whole batch of someone else's eggs.
Some people bring eggs that aren't fertile and then look all disappointed when the hatch
%-age is low.
now I hatch only for the people who understand the draw backs.
and that number is few..

......jiminwisc.......
 

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