Despite of the rare breeds I have, no and I do not expect any profits either in near future or at any time!
Do you make an actual profit from selling eggs/chicks?
- Thread starter joebryant
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Wouldnt mind hearing more about your Perennial sales iffin you would mind. I sale vegetables during the spring and summer and am always looking to add things. I am also going to add bees to my gardening operation this year to help with pollination and get me some honey for my wine making.
I just realized that I have hijacked this thread. I sorry.
Ha ha ha- sorry here too. I sell lillies & hostas & hopefully this year cannas. Always have lots of started squashes too. I'm a crazy seed saver. The chooks & alpacas have definately helped the garden flourish. I had 14ft sunflowers and 12ft cannas last summer- not to mention the veggies!
Wouldnt mind hearing more about your Perennial sales iffin you would mind. I sale vegetables during the spring and summer and am always looking to add things. I am also going to add bees to my gardening operation this year to help with pollination and get me some honey for my wine making.
I just realized that I have hijacked this thread. I sorry.
Ha ha ha- sorry here too. I sell lillies & hostas & hopefully this year cannas. Always have lots of started squashes too. I'm a crazy seed saver. The chooks & alpacas have definately helped the garden flourish. I had 14ft sunflowers and 12ft cannas last summer- not to mention the veggies!
I have asked a similar question in the past and will now be trying to see if it is feasible. Now I know why everyone says that you'll never get rich farming, because its true. You might be able to make a living if you are careful with costs and seek the best prices available. Marketing is key and securing customers is important. Even more important is how you run the business side. Make sure you check for quality and good customer service. You need to sell a lot of eggs and startup costs are astronomical, try about 40-50k for 1000 hens. Either way I have delveloped a business model guideline and I am starting to see how it works out. I'll make money, but I'll also be working 365 days a year! I estimate it will take 7 years to pay off, while paying myself $50-60 dollars a day for labor. This is and assuming I sell most eggs and of course find a tremendous amount of egg buyers which is another job in it self! Good Luck!
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Amen! I do the same. I got my tomato cages when someone left them out at the curb on trash day, and a glass shower door to use for a cold frame because it was also left out for curbside pickup. And both of those were just while walking my son to and from school!
Amen! I do the same. I got my tomato cages when someone left them out at the curb on trash day, and a glass shower door to use for a cold frame because it was also left out for curbside pickup. And both of those were just while walking my son to and from school!
Well--not counting labor--I am not even breaking even. My feed costs have gone sky high. I think I am going to have to raise the price of the eggs that I sell.
Catherine
Catherine
I say yes.
Let's take a look at a flock of 15 production hens, Leghorns or Red Sex Links, not a mix of dual purpose breeds.
Production 365 dozen / year
15 hens @ an average 80% lay rate will lay 1 dozen eggs a day.
365 days = 365 dozen eggs
Cost of Hens $150
Without going into the costs of raising them, lets say a point-of-lay hen (20 weeks) costs $10, that's a bit on the high side and you could even raise them yourself for cheaper.
Cost of Feed $434
4 lb hen eats around .25 lbs per hen @ 68 degs. Let's assume you don't heat the henhouse and they eat ad libitum @.33 lbs per day.
Bagged layer ration @ $12 a bag = $0.24 a lb
.33 lbs x 15 x 365 days = 1806 lbs per year
1806 @ $0.24 = $434
Electricity $13
Production hens need supplemental light. These 15 hens in a small coop will need a 60 incandescent lamp or the equivalent CFL at 14 watts. We'll assume that it burns 16 hours a day, even though it could be turned off during daylight hours.
14 watt CFL x 16 hours per day x 365 days = 82 kWH
At a high rate of $0.15 per kWH (I only pay $.10), then that's $12.30
Housing $120 per year
I built an 8x8 coop with wood floors, windows, and a shingled roof for around $800. This was using high quality materials purchased from the local DIY store. Covered run cost another $200 and I probably had around $200 in additional fencing, waterers, feeders, and supplies. So around $1200. This is just under $20 per square foot, which is in line with costs for most ag production structures, such as a large layer barn, or a hog barn, give or take a little.
Depreciating that over 10 years (IRS calls this a Single Purpose Agricultural Structure and allows a 10 year depreciation schedule), then that is $120 a year.
Total Cost $717
Cost per Dozen $1.96
Sell these eggs @ $3 / dozen and you've made a profit of ~ $1 a day or $365 for the year.
If your time caring for these hens is 20 minutes per day to feed, water, collect eggs, then you've made $3.00 an hour.
Caveats
You can't eat all of your profits. On the other hand, if you sell at $3 / dozen and keep every third dozen for personal consumption, the enterprise pays for itself and supplies you with eggs. Your share of the eggs would be your profit.
This was using fairly conservative numbers. Costs could be tightened up a little.
Does not include any losses. If you use an industry standard of 5% loss you'd need a extra hen to meet that production.
Expenses are tax deductible. If you deduct these expenses and any sales tax paid as business expenses, the cost of production is actually less because you are not paying income taxes on that money. That can cut costs from by 15% or more, depending upon your tax bracket.
Let's take a look at a flock of 15 production hens, Leghorns or Red Sex Links, not a mix of dual purpose breeds.
Production 365 dozen / year
15 hens @ an average 80% lay rate will lay 1 dozen eggs a day.
365 days = 365 dozen eggs
Cost of Hens $150
Without going into the costs of raising them, lets say a point-of-lay hen (20 weeks) costs $10, that's a bit on the high side and you could even raise them yourself for cheaper.
Cost of Feed $434
4 lb hen eats around .25 lbs per hen @ 68 degs. Let's assume you don't heat the henhouse and they eat ad libitum @.33 lbs per day.
Bagged layer ration @ $12 a bag = $0.24 a lb
.33 lbs x 15 x 365 days = 1806 lbs per year
1806 @ $0.24 = $434
Electricity $13
Production hens need supplemental light. These 15 hens in a small coop will need a 60 incandescent lamp or the equivalent CFL at 14 watts. We'll assume that it burns 16 hours a day, even though it could be turned off during daylight hours.
14 watt CFL x 16 hours per day x 365 days = 82 kWH
At a high rate of $0.15 per kWH (I only pay $.10), then that's $12.30
Housing $120 per year
I built an 8x8 coop with wood floors, windows, and a shingled roof for around $800. This was using high quality materials purchased from the local DIY store. Covered run cost another $200 and I probably had around $200 in additional fencing, waterers, feeders, and supplies. So around $1200. This is just under $20 per square foot, which is in line with costs for most ag production structures, such as a large layer barn, or a hog barn, give or take a little.
Depreciating that over 10 years (IRS calls this a Single Purpose Agricultural Structure and allows a 10 year depreciation schedule), then that is $120 a year.
Total Cost $717
Cost per Dozen $1.96
Sell these eggs @ $3 / dozen and you've made a profit of ~ $1 a day or $365 for the year.
If your time caring for these hens is 20 minutes per day to feed, water, collect eggs, then you've made $3.00 an hour.
Caveats
You can't eat all of your profits. On the other hand, if you sell at $3 / dozen and keep every third dozen for personal consumption, the enterprise pays for itself and supplies you with eggs. Your share of the eggs would be your profit.
This was using fairly conservative numbers. Costs could be tightened up a little.
Does not include any losses. If you use an industry standard of 5% loss you'd need a extra hen to meet that production.
Expenses are tax deductible. If you deduct these expenses and any sales tax paid as business expenses, the cost of production is actually less because you are not paying income taxes on that money. That can cut costs from by 15% or more, depending upon your tax bracket.
To answer your OP
No, not for me anyway
but like a moth to the flame I can not resist
it does not help that my feed is $28 a bag either
No, not for me anyway
it does not help that my feed is $28 a bag either
A profit????
But what we have found is that the chickens are great therapy and therefore a lot cheaper than a psycotherapist so in the long run probably save us a ton of money.
Chicken TV is much cheaper and better entertainment than what is on cable.
They are cheaper to raise than children and if one talks back you can eat it.
We saved money by not having to buy a garbage disposal.
We no longer have to buy fertilizer.
They save time and energy when it comes time to till up the garden plot.
We saved money on not having to buy a new alarm clock.
We didn't have to install a new alarm system.
So with our birds we have saved a lot of money. Maybe not made a profit, but at least they work for us.
But what we have found is that the chickens are great therapy and therefore a lot cheaper than a psycotherapist so in the long run probably save us a ton of money.
Chicken TV is much cheaper and better entertainment than what is on cable.
They are cheaper to raise than children and if one talks back you can eat it.
We saved money by not having to buy a garbage disposal.
We no longer have to buy fertilizer.
They save time and energy when it comes time to till up the garden plot.
We saved money on not having to buy a new alarm clock.
We didn't have to install a new alarm system.
So with our birds we have saved a lot of money. Maybe not made a profit, but at least they work for us.
Psychiatrist run what? $120 and hour? I would need to go at least twice a week.
Or- sit in the coop and pet chickens... eggs be a bonus.
...I think I'm saving money.
Or- sit in the coop and pet chickens... eggs be a bonus.
...I think I'm saving money.
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