Hatching eggs and business advice

[JacinLarkwell]

because if directions are followed carefully, customers can expect a ___% success rate from your experience.

The problem with that is that if eggs are shipped, there is absolutely nothing you can do to guarantee even 1 out of 100 eggs hatch. So much of the postal system is automatic that eggs can be just completely ruined, even if they don't appear it from the outside. You can put what your hatchrate is, but once they enter the postal system, all bets are off

 

[HealeyChick]

What are many of your hatching egg policies? Do you ever give free eggs if someone claims none were fertile? What if you knew the eggs had a great fertility rate?

I am having issues with people claiming no eggs were fertile/no eggs hatched. I am trying to ask people which it was. Not hatching does not mean they were not fertile. It's...difficult. I know some people are not dishonest--they really just don't know. For example: one person did not put eggs in their incubator for two weeks. I need to continue running my farm as a business, though, and not a charity or science experiments for other people. I realize I could have hatched those birds and sold them instead, but people want another dozen for free. That puts me at losing potential birds and lost income to pay for management and improvement of my set up. I feel I need to raise prices on my birds to try to compensate for not having as many to sell because I feel pressured to give another dozen here and there away. If I do this, though, dishonest people are likely selling chicks from my eggs for cheaper to my potential customers.

Should I have people agree (in a trackable way in messages or contracts) fertility is not guaranteed? I am feeling discouraged lately. I recently had someone short me on chicks...and the situation got weird...I know it seems to be a hard year for people with livestock businesses. I have a waitlist of people wanting birds and can't give away certain breeds, like my Lavender Ameraucana, Royal Palm turkey, and Welsh Harlequin duck eggs. I also have people questioning my prices, but I research hatchery prices, other sellers in my state, Craigslist, and the farms I got my birds from to make my pricing decisions. I also factor in breed standards. I have multiple people telling me I should be charging less than $3 a bird, and I am struggling to find a good professional response to their remarks. I believe it is time for me to type out policies to have on hand to keep people from getting to me. Business advice, anyone?

Hi. You are a professional chicken breeder. It has taken you time and money to perfect your skills. This comes at a price. Do not give birds/eggs away for free!! Have all buyers sign paperwork stating that once bought, chicks and eggs are their responsibility.
I had a client ask for bulk pricing once(38 years newspaper sports photographer). I reiterated my pricing structure. Client said that they could buy the equipment and take their own photos. My reply, not snarky, just matter of factuality - “perfect, go buy $2500 camera and $10,000 sports lens and even then you will never match my 36 years of experience which is the key to the photographic images i capture.” Client comment-“Oh”.

Do not under sell your professional product!
Have a blessed day

 

[Judy Todd]

I am asking $18 for Lavender Ameraucana pullets. $12 straight run. $8 for cockerels.

Barnevelders are $12 pullets. $8 straight run. Cockerels are $4.

Silver Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhaubens are $8 straight run.

The Welsh Harlequin female ducks are $18. Drakes are $9.

Saxony ducks are $25 for female ducklings. Straight run is $18. Drakes are $12.

I will figure out the Blue Swedish when they hatch.

The Ameraucana chicks (and eggs) and Harlequin ducklings (and eggs) seem to bring in the theatrics about price. I think I have nice birds. Hatcheries charging crazy numbers for Lavender Ameraucanas are sold out. I would rather just keep all the pullets if people expect under $8 for those. They could get easter eggers instead. I need to keep repeating this to myself! It's hard when you are actually speaking to a person to stay true to your own rules. I feel so pressured to go with the flow.

Wow, I don't know where you are located, but I paid $15 for a Lavender Orpington 2 years ago, at my local feed store. Your prices sound like a bargain. Wish I needed more chicks, I would buy from you. Iam in the PNW. I just paid $12 for some Beilefelders, they are doing well.
Stick to your guns. the good people will find you.

 

[Rcornerranch]

Wow, I don't know where you are located, but I paid $15 for a Lavender Orpington 2 years ago, at my local feed store. Your prices sound like a bargain. Wish I needed more chicks, I would buy from you. Iam in the PNW. I just paid $12 for some Beilefelders, they are doing well.
Stick to your guns. the good people will find you.

I'm glad my prices don't sound unreasonable. I always second guess myself. I keep trying to remind myself this is a business, and these people are not your friends...They really make me second guess myself! Lol.

 

[Rcornerranch]

I have not shipped eggs yet. If there was any rough handling, it was by the customer. I am realizing based on this forum people can do a lot of things wrong with their eggs. One person sent me a pic of a chick struggling to hatch, and she was trying to hatch that egg under a brooder light...So, yup! Def instituting no refund policies. I will mimic the best worded ones I see online. That's how I built my website and set up the goat sections. If I like what I see, I analyze why.

I am not opposed to people selling my birds later, but the one person was on a waitlist for birds and resold them later. The birds could have gone to someone who really wanted them. Her flipping them just kind of rubbed me the wrong way and made me feel a need to reflect on prices. I also see how people may believe she is the breeder and not me. It puts me at a slight disadvantage for selling. There is only one other person I know of breeding Lavender Ameraucanas within an hour of me. I see it this way: If she knew she could get more money based on my asking price, I should raise my price to lessen the amount she and others can make because obviously I am undervaluing my stock.

I am noticing a lot of people around me raise their birds in tiny filthy bins until they sell them. They overstock them so much the birds can barely move. That should be part of my asking price as well. I am not hatching and housing like most of the sellers in my area. I keep my chicks in areas they can run in. I keep the water clean. My birds are all housed, so they have room to move. I am hoping some of the money I get will be enough to pay for the new chicken runs I am going to build with my father. I want to slowly build things to look nicer and nicer.

 

[birdlady11]

The best way to protect yourself and your business is to provide two forms of important information.

First, a statement about the eggs the customer is receiving. This makes it clear that you are selling good eggs but you are not responsible what happens to those eggs once the customer assumes responsibility for them. It's as simple as a statement about the eggs the customer is receiving that goes something like this, "Because of conditions beyond our control during incubation, we are unable to guarantee hatchability. However, all eggs we sell with be fresh and guaranteed to be in good condition."

Second, provide a basic hatching guide. I wrote a very basic step by step guide that covered the importance of temperature control, humidity, and egg rotation. It was less than one page, gave just the basics, and most importantly provided web addresses for a couple of places that have more detailed hatching instructions. Backyard Chickens has had some of the best articles on how to hatch eggs successfully.

I always told my customers to sign up for Backyard Chickens and take the time to read those articles because they will be invaluable to the success or failure of both the incubation and phases of raising chickens from eggs.

Providing these two pieces of information will give your customers a clear message that you are not responsible for what happens to the eggs once they are out of your hands but also shows the customer that you care about making sure they have the basic information and somewhere to go for more in depth info to have a successful hatch.

Don't give up and stand your ground on pricing. You provide quality eggs and birds and if someone just wants cheap prices and the quality that goes along with that cheap price then they can buy elsewhere. Your good reputation and the quality of your eggs and birds will keep your customers coming back for more and the word will spread.