can i make any money or break even?

[scflock]

You can make money on chickens. We have for the past three years, but we couldn't have made it happen if we had stayed local. By raising harder to find breeds and being willing to ship across the country, we have been able to pay all of our costs and still make a decent income. That being said, we are family run, and if we had to pay wages to anyone else, it would be a different story. If my husband and I only worked one hour a day, we would make a decent wage, but anyone that works on a farm knows you are not that lucky. Hatch day alone takes about six hours of our time. So, yes you can make money, but maybe not for awhile if you count your time. As long as you have a love for what you are doing though, I think it is worth it.

Oh my, just checked out your website. You aren't terribly far from me. You will be hearing from me soon!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Oh my, just checked out your website. You aren't terribly far from me. You will be hearing from me soon!

They have good eggs, i got a shipment of khaki campbell eggs from them due to hatch in 12 days.

20 eggs
2 OH broke(dropped a can of liquid wrench on the egg cartons when i had them resting before setting)
2 infertile
2 blood rings
so 14/18(not counting the ones OH broke cause not their fault)
The 14 are very very active at candeling which i would think means their very healthy.

 

[scflock]

They have good eggs, i got a shipment of khaki campbell eggs from them due to hatch in 12 days.

20 eggs
2 OH broke(dropped a can of liquid wrench on the egg cartons when i had them resting before setting)
2 infertile
2 blood rings
so 14/18(not counting the ones OH broke cause not their fault)
The 14 are very very active at candeling which i would think means their very healthy.

That's kind of the point she was making. That's a beautiful farm with special chickens, and it's only because it's family run that she can turn a profit. That being said, I will definitely be ordering some of her BCM and Ameraucana eggs.
I like having the special breeds, my wife and I love raising them, and I can sell the extra chicks, but on my small scale (60-70 chickens), I will never turn a profit

 

[misfitmorgan]

It probly depends more on the breeds a person has. i would imagine if you had the exspensive breeds like Svart Hona or Orust where you can get $99 for a day old chick you could probly cover exspenses for all other chickens and make a slight profit. However the start up cost would be alot more and there would be the grow time before they even get to POL. So its a trade off, right now i dont really own anything rare or special but i do plan on incorporating them into my breeding plans to help cover exspenses for other fun birds i want. i love odd, unique, crazy looking poultry so things like Pavlovskaya are right up my alley the higher priced chick is just a bonus if prices stay near the same or reasonable when i i got to POL and if the adults made quality progeny. Its all a gamble that could fail miserably or work out.

10 marans chick @$3 each is $30
10 Paclovskaya chicks@$99 each is $990

But again you have to make sure there are people willing to buy them, most people can not or will not spend $1,000 on day old chicks.

 

[scflock]

It probly depends more on the breeds a person has. i would imagine if you had the exspensive breeds like Svart Hona or Orust where you can get $99 for a day old chick you could probly cover exspenses for all other chickens and make a slight profit. However the start up cost would be alot more and there would be the grow time before they even get to POL. So its a trade off, right now i dont really own anything rare or special but i do plan on incorporating them into my breeding plans to help cover exspenses for other fun birds i want. i love odd, unique, crazy looking poultry so things like Pavlovskaya are right up my alley the higher priced chick is just a bonus if prices stay near the same or reasonable when i i got to POL and if the adults made quality progeny. Its all a gamble that could fail miserably or work out.

10 marans chick @$3 each is $30
10 Paclovskaya chicks@$99 each is $990

But again you have to make sure there are people willing to buy them, most people can not or will not spend $1,000 on day old chicks.

Just to give an idea of my scale, I'd say my average month would produce 20-30 started chicks, 60% pullets. Roosters go around $5-10, if they sell, and pullets average $15 ($30 for Polish and d'Uccle). A good month for me would be $400-500, which is almost breaking even if you go back to cover startup costs

 

[misfitmorgan]

Just to give an idea of my scale, I'd say my average month would produce 20-30 started chicks, 60% pullets. Roosters go around $5-10, if they sell, and pullets average $15 ($30 for Polish and d'Uccle). A good month for me would be $400-500, which is almost breaking even if you go back to cover startup costs

I would say your doing good then. So far im just dumping money into my birds lol. The buggers are not even laying.

 

[CrazyTalk]

10 marans chick @$3 each is $30
10 Paclovskaya chicks@$99 each is $990

But again you have to make sure there are people willing to buy them, most people can not or will not spend $1,000 on day old chicks.

You can definitely do better with the rarer breeds, but it's tricky. Prices are more volatile, and there's lag time involved. You can buy a dozen chicks at $100 a piece from an importer, spend 6 months getting them to the point of laying well (most of the rarer breeds are old heirlooms that don't come to laying as quick as leghorns, etc), sell a couple chicks and then have someone like Cackle or Meyer start selling them for $3 a piece. Your market disappears. You lose your shirt.


I think you've got a much better shot of breaking even with day old chicks than anything else though - there's a lot more profit margin in a $4 unsexed chick than there is in a $10-15 point-of-lay pullet.

 

[luvmigirls]

very good discussion!