First chicks in 30 years.

[PapaCharles]

Next week I receive my first chicks in 30 years. I went with a heritage breed for both meat and eggs. Buff Orpingtons: 20 females, 2 males, and 1 mystery chick.

Between now and then I'll be building an outdoor brooder, 4'x8' with 2 heat lamps and a digital controller. I'm shocked at what this is costing to build ($400) and as soon as I get that built I've got to build a coop and run.

Sweetly, my daughter presented me with a 120 egg incubator the other day.

The plan is to build to a flock of about 40 laying hens.

I know people sell hatching eggs. I'm wondering whether anyone has also sold incubator and brooder time?

I live out in the middle of nowhere, so that might not be an option for me. So, say a hatching egg sells for $3(?). What if one could add $2 for incubating/hatching and another $10-$15 for brooding?

Sounds like a terrible idea, now that I think about it. For folks in more populated "high end" areas, it might be a nice side.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell somebody. I'm pretty isolated here.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, I feel like I should welcome you to BYC, but you're not exactly a newbie, are you? That sounds like a lot of chickens! Do you have a market for your eggs or meat? I also live out in the sticks. We have about 15 consistent layers out of 20 hens and I can't sell the eggs very consistently. Just last week I donated 14 dozen eggs to the local Bread Shed, a soup kitchen kind of thing.

 

[PapaCharles]

Hi, I feel like I should welcome you to BYC, but you're not exactly a newbie, are you? That sounds like a lot of chickens! Do you have a market for your eggs or meat? I also live out in the sticks. We have about 15 consistent layers out of 20 hens and I can't sell the eggs very consistently. Just last week I donated 14 dozen eggs to the local Bread Shed, a soup kitchen kind of thing.

There's a farm store up the road that will take my eggs and fruit. When I have eggs, I generally eat four to six a day (my cholesterol is 110 at 62) Then my two growing grandsons and their mother live 15 miles away. The boys can set up a stand on their street in town.

I don't plan on turning a profit. I'm not really in it for that. There are plenty of needy people that can eat my excess. There's getting ready to be a whole lot more needy folks.

As far as meat goes, we need about 500 birds a year ourselves. Chicken for lunch. Chicken for dinner. 1 bird a day at my house. Less at my daughter's. I'd rather do 5 hatches with a full incubator each time, than many smaller hatches. I also have a dog to feed.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I love your generous attitude! Bless you!

 

[PapaCharles]

I love your generous attitude! Bless you!

People have been good to me. People are going to need hope and compassion. There's a dark storm brewing. They need light.

 

[Ralph_Mueller]

Are you talking about for selling birds from your own eggs or selling the service of incubation to those whom provide their own eggs? or just buying a mass of hatching eggs and incubating them for profit?

 

[PapaCharles]

Are you talking about for selling birds from your own eggs or selling the service of incubation to those whom provide their own eggs? or just buying a mass of hatching eggs and incubating them for profit?

If somebody needed eggs hatched, and don't have an incubator or brooder, one could sell the time. That's all I'm saying.

Mine will sit idle for months each year. I know people order eggs. Maybe leasing incubator/brooder time would be less expensive than buying an incubator/brooder. I'm not saying it could be a business. Just a possible service/experience.They could just order chicks for less, but some people like a different experience. Sometimes people pay for unique experiences, especially people with children.

You know, the kids pick out the eggs from the daily lay, go through the process of preparing the eggs for incubation, they place the eggs, etc. They return for the candling prior to lock down, and place the eggs in the hatching trays. The farmer calls when the chicks start hatching.

Just an idea. Not really any different than a corn maze, pumpkin patch, or face painting. I do photography workshops and attend workshops. People like to pay for "different ". Heck, one might get $100/person for the experience of the total process of getting their chicks in a unique way rather than ordering already hatched birds from an online screen.

 

[Ralph_Mueller]

Not a bad idea, sounds like a great opportunity to educate the youth. You might even consider offering a sort of class along side the service for the sake of preparing them fully for the responsibilities required to take care of their new chickens. I'll be praying for your success.

 

[PapaCharles]

Not a bad idea, sounds like a great opportunity to educate the youth. You might even consider offering a sort of class along side the service for the sake of preparing them fully for the responsibilities required to take care of their new chickens. I'll be praying for your success.

I don't think it would work here. I'm in a very rural area. Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. I think it's probably too far from any population. But, you never know.

 

[Ralph_Mueller]

I don't think it would work here. I'm in a very rural area. Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. I think it's probably too far from any population. But, you never know.

There might be some local schools that might like to make a field trip for that. Just got to talk to the right people. Never underestimate Gods ability to make a good thing awesome.