What would be a fair price to hatch out some chicks for someone out of my chicken's eggs. It would be mix breed right now my pure breeds are still just babies. The chicks that I've hatched out for myself are good , nice looking and the ones that are laying are putting out some nice tinted to light brown eggs a few lay every day the others are just getting started. Would you charge by the chick or by the egg etc. I don't know how much the electric bill is affected, and what is my knowledge worth?
All I can tell you is what I charge for someone picking up eggs or chicks from my house. All except the rarer breeds, I charge $2 per chick, one or two days old, and for my Blue Orpingtons or if I started back with a line of exhibition/breeder quality Delawares or Blue/Black/Splash Ameraucanas, they'd be $3-5 per chick. For hatching eggs from my Blue Orpingtons, I charge $1/egg up to $10. So, if I managed to get 13 eggs, it'd still be $10 total. For regular Barred Rocks, it would be a little less per egg, unless I got an exhibition strain.
If I hatch MY eggs for someone, the chicks are $2.25 a piece. If I set and incubate someone elses eggs for them, it's $1 a day. That doesn't near cover time, knowledge or the light bill, but it does help get your name out there and such. I hatch game birds for a man near me and he gives me back all the pullets, AND he tilled my garden up this Spring for me. So, money isn't always the only way to deal in birds. Everybody around here calls me the "chicken lady", so even if they don't know ME personally, they at least know I am the chicken lady!! LOL
I got 25 bucks for hatching a dozen eggs for someone I was hatching some for myself as well so it was all good
I would also make sure that you get a down payment, before you hatch the chicks. That way, after you hatch them, if they come and say, I dont want the chicks, you have some money, and havent lost much.
Tell them first of all you will check the fertility on 10% of the eggs, nothing lost nothing gained you eat the eggs! $20.00 setup fee non refundable, plus $1.00 per live chick. If these hens arent getting proper nutrition it will end up a failure. This the reason to check fertility. Most bators will hold 40+ eggs so 80% hatch 32 chicks @ $1.00=$32.00+$20.00 setup=$52.00. This 80% might be high but not if you have experience and fertile eggs.
