Chicken Tender

[Hunnied]

First, I wasn’t sure where to post this, so this was my best guess. If anyone thinks it’d be more appropriate elsewhere, please let me know.

So, I was thinking about starting a small business offering my services taking care of folks’ backyard chickens while said folks travel. Think there’s a market for this, generally speaking? I don’t expect it to make me a lot of money. Heck, I doubt it’d even generate enough income to pay for the food for my own flock. I was thinking it’d mostly provide me with job satisfaction, and maybe even fulfill some of my need for the company of chickens so that I stop adding to my flock for a spell.

Any suggestions for how to research my local market for this? How to advertise? How much to charge? Think this is just a silly idea?

If the world opens up again by July, I need to go out of town for a week, and I’ve no idea who I can ask to take care of my flock while I’m gone. I’d certainly utilize such a service if it existed.

 

[swamphiker]

That is a neat idea! Are there any backyard chicken Facebook groups for your area? If so that might be a good place to gauge folks' interest for the service.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I think it’d be a niche market, but probably a market...may depend on size of your community and how many chicken folks are nearby.

For advertising, I’d say signs at your local feed store’s bulletin board, Craigslist, and maybe a local ad flyer if your town has one (ours is called “the Reminder”).

if you were in my neck of the woods, I’d leverage the service a couple times a year, for sure!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

The Facebook groups idea is a good one. I don’t Facebook so I often forget there’s an active community there.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think as long as the cost was reasonable, and your area had the right type of potential customers, you could probably do it.

Goes without saying that you'd have to go to your customer's set up, and not host birds on your own lot, for biosecurity reasons. I'd also have a plan on how you can manage biosecurity concerns (many backyard owners won't ask, but it's a good selling point), like bleaching boots between one house to the next, wearing disposable gloves.

 

[CatsandCrops]

I think as long as the cost was reasonable, and your area had the right type of potential customers, you could probably do it.

Goes without saying that you'd have to go to your customer's set up, and not host birds on your own lot, for biosecurity reasons. I'd also have a plan on how you can manage biosecurity concerns (many backyard owners won't ask, but it's a good selling point), like bleaching boots between one house to the next, wearing disposable gloves.

That is a great point and would definitely catch my eye if I was looking into a service like this! I would also be interested in such a service and would even offer extra to look in at the cats (they have an automatic feeder/waterer so they are good to go for at least 5 days)

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I like that it could be a tiered thing cost/service wise.

Food/water/egg collection as the baseline, with cost based on number of birds.

Add-ons for morning/evening open/close, coop cleaning, etc.

 

[Hunnied]

The Facebook groups idea is a good one. I don’t Facebook so I often forget there’s an active community there.

I’m in a lot of local chicken fb groups, but like you, I don’t Facebook often, so I worry about posting and then not checking in for replies. Definitely worth getting over my fb anxiety and giving it a try!

 

[Hunnied]

I think as long as the cost was reasonable, and your area had the right type of potential customers, you could probably do it.

Goes without saying that you'd have to go to your customer's set up, and not host birds on your own lot, for biosecurity reasons. I'd also have a plan on how you can manage biosecurity concerns (many backyard owners won't ask, but it's a good selling point), like bleaching boots between one house to the next, wearing disposable gloves.

Glad you mentioned that! I’m an RN, and do a lot of home care, so it’s a no brained for me during my day job. I didn’t even consider it in regards to this, though! Feel like you just saved me from a lot of trouble, thanks!

 

[Hunnied]

That is a great point and would definitely catch my eye if I was looking into a service like this! I would also be interested in such a service and would even offer extra to look in at the cats (they have an automatic feeder/waterer so they are good to go for at least 5 days)

I could definitely offer an add-on house pet and house plant service, great idea! I can’t seem to keep any plant alive, though (I’ve even killed mint), so I’d have to be upfront about that, and issue a disclaimer.