Choose the right Cockerels

[Shezadandy]

Thank you for that, @Shezadandy ! Very lucid and deliberate. I've got a long way to go. And obviously need a lot more room if that's my goal! Hmmm.

Thanks! It's possible to break even without delving into large flock numbers. If we hadn't ended up with so many regular customers, I wouldn't have expanded the flock to its present size. Chicken math is my favorite kind of math! I would still be giving broody hens eggs to hatch or day-old chicks to raise, just not as many. The other trick is looking 6 months ahead - adding chicks who will be ready to lay as the others start to molt and so on, to continue the regular supply of eggs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

33c/a carton, that's great! I haven't found any for less than 50c, but that's for small quantities, I usually don't buy more than ten or a dozen at a time. I think I'm going to order half a dozen Austrolorp day-old pullets and half a dozen day-old EE cockerels to arrive about mid-March. My four last older hens will be pretty much spent by the time these little girls start to pop.

 

[Shezadandy]

33c/a carton, that's great! I haven't found any for less than 50c, but that's for small quantities, I usually don't buy more than ten or a dozen at a time. I think I'm going to order half a dozen Austrolorp day-old pullets and half a dozen day-old EE cockerels to arrive about mid-March. My four last older hens will be pretty much spent by the time these little girls start to pop.

It's been a while since I ordered cartons, actually I haven't had to reorder over the course of 4 years. I know I bought a box of 100 that came with free shipping because the price per carton was significantly lower. Fortunately most of my customers not only return their cartons (was very strict in the beginning - no return carton meant price went up $.50) but often I get more empties back than I sold them. It's handy to get the extra cartons that weren't mine- because I can look up the price on the brands they are buying from the grocery store. I think some buy our eggs for breakfast eating etc., but still end up buying from the store for recipes where you don't really taste the eggs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Good idea to order in bulk. Also charging for the cartons! Can't give the eggs away for free now, can I? Thanks.

 

[Shezadandy]

Good idea to order in bulk. Also charging for the cartons! Can't give the eggs away for free now, can I? Thanks.

Well, you can... LOL, but the feed store bill doesn't get covered that way. In the beginning, I wrote the name of the customer on each carton. That assured the customer that they're getting their own carton back- and I think having a name on there makes people think twice about disposing of them by "accident." If they generally ordered 2 dozen at a time, the first 4 cartons were "free" (2 in their fridge, 2 for their next order ready to go) with replacements after wear and tear. I don't do that any more because of the volume, but it seemed to be effective. There are a number of online stores - eggcartons.com eggcartonsonline.com eggcartonstore.com with lots to choose from, though I just went with the least expensive variety. Was a little surprised that the foam ones were a little less per carton.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks for all that, @Shezadandy! Certainly saves me a lot of time and frustration trying to figure out where to find cartons. U de best!

 

[Shezadandy]

Here's the reward at the end of the week after sorting for size and then color. Then everyone gets a good mix.