Chickens In Ya Window

[WalnutHill]

This might be a silly question but if I want to sell chicks for Easter time, should I have them hatch like a day or 2 before Easter? I've never sold chicks, so do people want to buy day olds?
You're such a lucky girl!!!

Yes, but not too early. I want to have mine hatch on Wednesday so they are pretty sturdy by Friday/Saturday. If they are too old, the wing feathers start coming in and they don't look so much like babies.

 

[scflock]

Penguins are so cute. Happy Friday Dan. And everybody!

This might be a silly question but if I want to sell chicks for Easter time, should I have them hatch like a day or 2 before Easter? I've never sold chicks, so do people want to buy day olds?

I put together a whole notebook this year of what sells and when, so I'm qualified to answer this one

I started hatching in January last year. Day olds didn't sell in the winter, but those started pullets got gone as soon as I could sex them. Day olds started selling in March, and my phone was blowing up from 2 weeks before Easter to a week after for day olds of any breed. Demand was so high that I was selling day old straight run for $10 each, and had people waiting for me to hatch again. I planned my Easter hatch to hatch the weekend before. That gave me time to get them advertised, and a few days to make sure that all of the chicks were healthy. Feed store chicks were no competition. If you have pure breeds and a nice setup, there are plenty of people, at least here, that know my chicks are better than the feed store's.
2 weeks after Easter, sales died. I couldn't sell day olds until the weather started cooling off again. You could pretty much schedule your sales to the daytime high temperatures. If it was over 90 degrees, no one was buying chicks. Pullets always sell, and I end up giving away a lot of roosters, but if I hatch in the summer I have to have dedicated grow out pens. As soon as the temperatures started dropping and people started thinking about the fall, I started getting the calls for chicks again. Now that the weather is about to turn cold, no more chick sales, but I have people begging me to sell my BCM pullets.
So, moral of the story is: Hatch in March for Easter chicks, hatch early fall for winter chicks, pullets are always in demand, and have a plan to sell, eat, or give away cockerels

 

[WVduckchick]

I put together a whole notebook this year of what sells and when, so I'm qualified to answer this one

I started hatching in January last year. Day olds didn't sell in the winter, but those started pullets got gone as soon as I could sex them. Day olds started selling in March, and my phone was blowing up from 2 weeks before Easter to a week after for day olds of any breed. Demand was so high that I was selling day old straight run for $10 each, and had people waiting for me to hatch again. I planned my Easter hatch to hatch the weekend before. That gave me time to get them advertised, and a few days to make sure that all of the chicks were healthy. Feed store chicks were no competition. If you have pure breeds and a nice setup, there are plenty of people, at least here, that know my chicks are better than the feed store's.
2 weeks after Easter, sales died. I couldn't sell day olds until the weather started cooling off again. You could pretty much schedule your sales to the daytime high temperatures. If it was over 90 degrees, no one was buying chicks. Pullets always sell, and I end up giving away a lot of roosters, but if I hatch in the summer I have to have dedicated grow out pens. As soon as the temperatures started dropping and people started thinking about the fall, I started getting the calls for chicks again. Now that the weather is about to turn cold, no more chick sales, but I have people begging me to sell my BCM pullets.
So, moral of the story is: Hatch in March for Easter chicks, hatch early fall for winter chicks, pullets are always in demand, and have a plan to sell, eat, or give away cockerels

back at ya!

Good info... Maybe I'll plan to set some on Valentine's Day for hatching the first week of March. I do remember my ducks hatched the last week of March, and the feed stores already had ducklings for sale.

Ruby -- how do you plan to market and sell yours?

 

[sourland]

Valentine's day is good. I'm such a romantic that I would always pair my pigeons up on Valentine's day.

 

[scflock]

back at ya!

Good info... Maybe I'll plan to set some on Valentine's Day for hatching the first week of March. I do remember my ducks hatched the last week of March, and the feed stores already had ducklings for sale.

Ruby -- how do you plan to market and sell yours?

I will fire up the incubator the week after Christmas, and won't shut it down until June or July.

 

[WVduckchick]

Valentine's day is good. I'm such a romantic that I would always pair my pigeons up on Valentine's day.

Princess is so lucky...

I will fire up the incubator the week after Christmas, and won't shut it down until June or July.

Or September....

 

[sourland]

Princess is so lucky...

So were the pigeons.



Can I quote that to her?

 

[scflock]

Or September....

If the people that are begging for BCM and Ams keep wanting them, it may not be shut down at all. Everyone that has come to buy something else has been begging for those two breeds, especially the Ams

 

[WVduckchick]

So were the pigeons.



Can I quote that to her?

Of course!

 

[rossfam06]

Here is my youngest in her little " chick hatching out of an egg " costume!

She loves it!