I come out very well ahead. My eggs are selling very easily for 3.00/dozen. I also increased my operation to include selling of chicks....which the first was really for me to have the roosters for meat and to sell the pulets for financing the project. It did very well. I had already used 26.00 on chick starter and I got 70.00 for the pullets, so I have quite a bit leftover for feed to get some meat in the freezer. I am currently incubating for a big Easter hatch. I have about 150 chicken eggs and 7 goose eggs going.
I told my neighbor yesterday,"This is the decision I have to make: Do I want 3.00/dozen or 2.00 for the contents of one single egg?" But I would still come out ahead with just the egg selling operation.
You might want to consider a road trip and get you feed in bulk. If I was buying my feed in 50LB sacks at the feed store for 12.00 each I wouldn't even want to have all these chickens, except for a small # just for my family. I get grain close to the river, which comes off of ships at the grain elevators. I pay 7.00/sack, which weighs about 70LBs. If I get rice it is 5.00/sack. I have to get what is available. I get the biggest combination I can.
I also pasture my chickens where I need them. They are almost finished cleaning the garden now. I want to give them another pasture, because they wiped out the goat pen. That saves on gas for the lawnmower and feed and helps contribute to some healthy, happy chickens. I even planted some rye grass for them so they could have something green throughout the winter.
I could sell my eggs for 2.00/dozen if I wanted to pass my savings on to the customers, but I am considering what I would need to sell if I bought my feed at the feed stores, because it is me that has to get in the surburban and travel out of parish to get 700Lbs of grain and me that had to get a big bin to put it in and if I didn't, I would be paying out the *^%% for my feed. A few people have problems with the price, but I still can't keep eggs long, so I am not dropping my price.
If you are not coming out ahead, you might look at why. I would increase their access to grass and space to start with and then see in what ways you can get cheaper feed. I think I have to travel about 70 or more miles for my feed. Its only worth it if you have place for several hundred LBs of feed though.
I told my neighbor yesterday,"This is the decision I have to make: Do I want 3.00/dozen or 2.00 for the contents of one single egg?" But I would still come out ahead with just the egg selling operation.
You might want to consider a road trip and get you feed in bulk. If I was buying my feed in 50LB sacks at the feed store for 12.00 each I wouldn't even want to have all these chickens, except for a small # just for my family. I get grain close to the river, which comes off of ships at the grain elevators. I pay 7.00/sack, which weighs about 70LBs. If I get rice it is 5.00/sack. I have to get what is available. I get the biggest combination I can.
I also pasture my chickens where I need them. They are almost finished cleaning the garden now. I want to give them another pasture, because they wiped out the goat pen. That saves on gas for the lawnmower and feed and helps contribute to some healthy, happy chickens. I even planted some rye grass for them so they could have something green throughout the winter.
I could sell my eggs for 2.00/dozen if I wanted to pass my savings on to the customers, but I am considering what I would need to sell if I bought my feed at the feed stores, because it is me that has to get in the surburban and travel out of parish to get 700Lbs of grain and me that had to get a big bin to put it in and if I didn't, I would be paying out the *^%% for my feed. A few people have problems with the price, but I still can't keep eggs long, so I am not dropping my price.
If you are not coming out ahead, you might look at why. I would increase their access to grass and space to start with and then see in what ways you can get cheaper feed. I think I have to travel about 70 or more miles for my feed. Its only worth it if you have place for several hundred LBs of feed though.
