Hatching other peoples eggs for hire

[muddstopper]

I have had several request to hatch out eggs for other people. Not just one or two eggs, but 2 or 3 hundred at a time. I am just wondering, what would be a fair price to charge for doing this service. I am sort of thinking about $1 per every chick hatched. Does this sound reasonable, to low, or to high. I have the capacity to do several hundred at a time if I want to, but I usually only hatch about 20 or so at a time.

 

[evonne]

i would do it per egg you set though... what if you put 50 in but only 2 hatch... you put the effort of checking them and your electric bill takes a hit for keeping the bator running....

or if you do a flat rate in increments.. say $40 for up to 2 dozen (totally random number) and then $15 each additional doz?

 

[farmin'chick]

I offer to do mine on shares -- the share depending on the value of the birds, and how many eggs I'm setting. If they're run of the mill, ordinary LF eggs, and there are a lot, it might be 50/50 on hatched chicks. (That would be the most). If they're rare chicks, I might do as low as 2 out of a dozen hatched.

I also put it in writing, and I DO have a charge for brooding, feeding and tending them if they're not picked up within 3 days.

 

[abooth]

I am in a wierd situation something like this. I ordered eggs to hatch for someone else. Now the person is trying to back out. I have a bator full of purchased silkie eggs and a buyer trying to haggle after the eggs are bought and set. So, if you have to buy the eggs I would get some kind of payment up front. Because I didn't and I may end up with more birds than I ever wanted.

 

[muddstopper]

The person wanting the eggs hatched will be furnishing all eggs. Nothing that I would want a share of. I wont order and hatch eggs for anybody. I wont buy shipped eggs for myself, why would I want to do it for somebody else. To many things can go wrong out of my control. If I order eggs that didnt hatch, I think it would be hard to convince the buyer to pay for them.

I'll probably just charge a flat fee as suggested for a set number of eggs and then add something for everything over that number. I think this one fellow that is asking me about doing his hatching, is already paying someone to hatch for him. Hes probably just price checking to see if he can get it done cheaper. I think he sets about a hundred eggs a wk currently. He also goes to several different chicken sales a week. Not sure I even want to fool with him. But, if the money is right, then we can talk.

 

[Jess N Jeff]

Quote:
I think a flat fee up front is fair. If you go by price per chick, then you run the possibilty of someone giving you bad eggs and then you are out of the $$$. You did all the work with nothing to show for it.

I would suggest putting it in writing. Expectations can cause people to get weird and a little nasty when they don't get exactly what they hoped for.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you!!!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I would set a price per chick hatched an be willing to eat the power bill if none hatch. You would have the potential to make more, it will show you have confidence in what you are doing and people will respond to it better. If your like me the incubator is on anyway.

 

[muddstopper]

Actually, the only eggs I am incubating right now are just to test the incubators that Cbiblis and I are working on. We are just setting our own eggs and then getting rid of the chicks. I will be picking up 4 dozen Buckeye eggs in a couple of weeks that I will be hatching and keeping for myself. With building incubators, one is always on somewhere in a test faze, and capacity really isnt an issue, 10 eggs or 1000. Getting rid of the chicks (and making money while doing it) is the problem. I figure if I am going to be hatching eggs anyways, I might as well hatch for somebodyelse, (and get paid for it), and let them worry about what to do with the chicks. I am fixing to get started building a dedicated brooder house just for baby chicks. Right now, I pretty much have to get rid of all the chicks as soon as possible, which means I am just covering hatching expenses. I hope to be ready by spring time to hatch and sell chicks to the locals. I think once word gets out that I am hatching and selling chicks, I will have a steady market to sell to. By summer time I should have plenty of Buckeyes, Welsumers, Cuckoo Marans, RIR, and Australopes to keep my bators full.

 

[Junkmanme]

muddstopper,

I think it's a good idea....with a couple of "caveats".

IF the "prospective buyer" is likely to be "squirrelly", you could "hurt" future business more than help it.
(On the other hand, IF he is a fair-minded, gregarious person, his business will help you.)

Whatever "pricing policy" you decide upon....make sure it is worth your while. It's TOUGH to RAISE prices!

just a couple of thoughts.

(I'm SURE you have considered this yourself!)

GOOD LUCK !
-Junkmanme-

 

[muddstopper]

Junkmanme, you are mighty right about a resistance to future price increases. Been there done that. My favorite saying is its easier to set on the couch and go broke, than it is to go out and work and lose money doing it. Either way you endup broke, at least setting on the couch you dont work up a sweat.

Really and truely, the folks asking me to do their hatching arent customers I would care to retain. They are what I call traders, they will swap nickels if they think they are getting the upper hand. I use them to get rid of my unwanted roo's, but I never buy anything from them. They dont care if the birds they are selling come from a diseased flock and dont go to any effort to even try to find out. I've heard every sob story about how chicken prices are down and how they will lose so much money on all of our deals. I fugure they cant be loseing to much or they couldnt afford to keep coming back.