Can you MAKE MONEY with chickens?

[ultasol]

Quote:
It's called have a fence and have a guardian, whether it be a dog or an herbivore.

I have a fence- but it was a significant investment. Has to be factored into the cost of keeping chickens and reduces any potential profits,. also, since I breed for show and need pure breds, they have to be penned separately both indoors (silkies), and geese (outdoors). Not trying to be a downer, just being realistic on cost and investments required to sell certain chicken-related products. Hatching eggs vs eating eggs vs....

 

[onthespot]

I don't think you need extremely good stock to make $ even. I just put an ad up yesterday afternoon. In fact, I just put up about forty online free ads. Hoobly.com, Chicktrader.com, Craigslist, and Ebayclassifieds.com and Pennysaver are on my to do list for today. I listed silkie/showgirl chicks, clearly called out as pet quality, for $10 and up. Just got an email from someone in Las Vegas, a five hour drive from here, wants to pre-pay for all the showgirls and pick them up on the 25th. People wanting to drive from Santa Barbara, San Diego and Lancaster area, all are around three or four hours one way, depending on traffic, to get various breeds. An "in-town" guy, lives ten minutes away, will be right over to buy three POL pullets, $50 each. I am giving him a cockerel to go with them for breeding. People just seem to be going nuts for chickens as pets these days. People who are not making money, I say, you can broaden your market by taking good photos and take advantage of all the free advertising you can. Raise your prices. You might be pleasantly surprised. For the same effort, smell, expense, joy, excitement, someone can give you $5 or $50-100 for the very same bird. Someone, somewhere, is DYING to get their hands on what you have for sale. Advertise, advertise, advertise. That is all I can say. Take good pics #1. Get someone to help you with that and get online and run your ads. You might be surprised.

 

[Jake Levi]

I am in a similar situation, with several LF breeds plus turkeys, but what has to be has to be. I am going with 6' horse wire fence, $110/100' roll. I am looking at $400 worth at the pens I need.

 

[WallTenters]

We have found that keeping everything building wise in 2' increments has reduced our cost a lot. It makes leftover scraps much more usable in future projects, most fencing, etc already comes in those increments, it's a nice number for supports, etc on tops of runs... the list goes on

For example, this weekend we will be tackling a new run on the breeder coup. After doing all the math, we will actually save quiet a bit by doing 2' up in plywood (painted, OSB - the cheap stuff) and then going the other 4' in field fencing (I think the same horse fencing you're referring to Jake). Why? Because OSB and paint are inexpensive, and we can use the much cheaper 8' 2x3's instead of buying 2x4s for many of the dimensions, and we won't have to add anything extra for a wind break (like tin, which predators could easily get through on it's own) on top of the fencing. We get a lot of wind here and the dust can really irritate the eyes pretty much all year round. This way, the birds will have a little wind break in the whole run, plus a corner that has the plywood on three sides so they will always have a nice spot for poor weather days. It will also serve as a nice predator block should that be needed.

Also, though doing the 4' fencing is realistically more expensive than the 5' fencing per sq ft, we hate seeing sagging roofs over runs after a few hard winters. The 4' fencing can be stretched tighter, and looks nicer if you do have to add a support brace at 2' later on down the road. That's just a personal preference

The real reason to use 4' fencing? Because that's what our chicken tractors need - 4ft of fencing, 4ft enclosed in plywood/tin. Again, we are able to re-use any leftovers and don't have to make any more cuts than necessary. What a time saver!

By doing this 2' building method, we find ourselves able to save TONS of scrap wood and supplies from projects, and it's streamlined everything. We just built our first test treadle feeder. We had PLENTY of osb and regular plywood 2'x4' sections to use, as well as some 2x2s, 2x3s, 2x4s etc etc. We bought the bolts at $1 a piece so our total cost was $8 for the feeder. The best part is the feeder didn't even require 2x4 sections, so we were able to use pieces that might have been junk because of cut out corners, etc.

Sorry for rambling on! You should all know by now you never want me to show up on your thread!

 

[Jake Levi]

I'm with you on the 2' measurements, it can make a big difference.

I am redoing some of my plans to the 2 by 3 instead of 2 by 4, and 3/8s OCD instead of 1/2" . On brooders, 2 tiered pair pens, and some 10' long ones instead of just standard 8' lengths. Some pens I want for keepin stud roosters will be 3' long and a bit, pens for trios will be 4' long by 2' deep, one of these can house 6 roos in good condition. Some lucky chooks will have outdoor runs. Not all, not this year.

all this said, these are basic capital costs, not to be repeated every year, I am longing for the day when I cdan have a pole barn with all the birds and critters in it with their runs out each side, just like a kennel, maybe when I grow up.

That said, all hens have to lay, if she is older its because she is good so I will allow fewer eggs expecting good chicks from her. All have to pay their way somehow.

 

[trailgurl]

Quote:
couldn't agree more

 

[phasianidae]

It all depends on how your predator population is, I rarely have any predators and when I do I get rid of them quickly.

 

[mypicklebird]

We make a small profit with our hobby chickens. We have been tracking feed, supplies ect and cash inflow for 3 years. We sell eggs for 5$/dozen (free range, happy chicken, localvore market). Occasional hatching eggs for kindergarden classes, roosters to the feed store, and home grown chicks- but mostly eggs. We both have 'day' jobs that pay the house bills, but the chickens pay for their own food & supplies- and we made a net profit of about 500$ for the year 2010. First year we made a 50$ net. I was really surprised by the total cost of feed for the year when I actually started tracking it. Breaking even is my goal for my hobby, I do not expect it to replace my day job! We do not track the money saved by producing our own eggs for the table, and occasional meat bird. So yes, money can be made, even a net profit- but at least for us, the profit is not very high. Won't be funding our retirements on the chickens.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

I make 20-60 cents a dozen in profit. so its possible.

 

[Jake Levi]

There are very few hobbies that can pay their own way, but chickens are one, if they pay for their own feed, and new pens etc and still provide home meat and eggs its a winner to me, plus it fits into my overal rural lifestyle. It cuts down on storebought food, so raises the health level, and provides a LOT of enjoyment so I have to say that yes chickens can make money, but for most of us we still need to keep our main income.

But all in all mine are on the plus side of the ledger.