Hatching other peoples eggs for hire

[bargain]

We have hatched for others and charged a set rate. I'm glad we did decide to do that as I've used up a whole tray once on guinea eggs, none of which hatched that were brought to us. Then we had a gentleman that kept bringing me nonfertile eggs, time after time...Finally we just refused to hatch any more as it was eating up our space at a time and basically costing more than it was worth because I needed to be hatching out eggs for chicks for our farm and a few to sell.

Reading your last post made me want to warn you about those eggs contaminating your incubator!!!!! If this person is a wheeler/dealer as I call the reseller, you might just have some contaminents and disease enter your incubator and any other eggs that might be hatching at the same time,,,, in the brooder, etc. etc.

I'm sure you thought of this, but thought I'd bring that up as well.

Hope this was helpful and happy hatching!

 

[ginbart]

I charge $1.00 per egg. I get the money up front if they give me 4 dozen eggs I want $48.00 before they go in my bator. They need to come pick them up 2 days after they hatch so I know they are eating and drinking. If they don't pick them up I will sell them. If you get the money up front then they have something invested.

 

[Junkmanme]

muddstopper,

Good thinkin', Bill !

Also VERY COMICAL !

-Junkmanme-

 

[mr_shinn]

If your prospective "clients" are looking for a better deal, get them to tell you what the current rate is. If you can recoup costs at a lower rate, give them a quote.

It reads as if you're not looking forward to doing business with these folks. If they are as unscrupulous as they sound, you should insist on money up front.

To me, a fair deal would be that they pay you a set amount per egg set (say $1.00 or any agreed amount) with some kind of quantity discount. This amount must be paid when the eggs are delivered. Then, when they come to pick up the chicks, you should refund the money for the eggs that didn't hatch. Reduce the agreement to writing and include an "infertile egg" liquidated damages clause whereby you get to keep all the money if less than 10% of the eggs develop. Also include a clause that lets you keep all the money if they don't pick up the chicks within two days of notice and lets you keep the chicks and all the money if they don't pick up the fuzzy buts within five days.

This way, you have an incentive to have a high hatch rate. Also, they have an incentive to provide you with fertile eggs, pick up their chicks quickly and get some of their money returned. I guess I've outlined what seems to be a balanced transaction that correctly allocates risk between the buyer and seller.

 

[muddstopper]

Bargain, I had thought about possible diseases. Disinfecting the incubator after everyhatch would be a major must do, not really all that hard to do though. What really burns me up is when they driveup unexpectedly with a pickup bed full of all kinds of nasty looking birds. Then they want to walkover and look at my birds. This aint going to happen. We have already been over that, I made them mad, but they left without getting out of their trucks. When I sell them roo's, I deliver to them. This keeps them away from my birds and any possible contaminates they might be carrying on their shoes and cloths. I have yet to have any outbreaks of sick birds, and I plan on keeping it that way. The more I think about it, the less I think about the ideal of even dealing with them.

I am puzzled by some peoples attitudes when it comes to traders. If you say something to them about bio security and possible diseases, they get all huffy about it." My birds aint sick, they dont have no diseases," bullcra.. How would they know. They buy birds at auction houses and dont know anything about where the bird has been, or how it was treated and housed. Sure that bird might not be sick, but has it been exposed to a disease, could it be a possible carrier. I know one trader that goes to one auction house in the morning and then drives to another in the evening. Buying at one and selling at the other. I'm sure he really knows a lot about the birds he sells.

I buy very few live birds, and what I do buy are isolated until I know they are not sick. Eggs are much safer to buy, it might take longer to build a laying flock just buying eggs, but the end result is a healther flock. If I sell a bird or eggs, I want people to be able to trust that they arenot buying something that could wipeout their whole flock. I keep all of my birds in moveable coops that are moved at least every couple of days. The coops are all in the same field, but spaced well apart with minimal numbers of birds to each coop. This keeps down the flies in the summer as well as the smell, also the mud during the winter and rainy times. Rodent problems are non-exsistant, Plus it keeps my field well fertilized. In late winter I move the coops over my garden letting them pick and cleanup any residues and fertilizing my garden for spring planting.

 

[bargain]

There are some diseases that canoot be cleaned out of the incubator without the kind of chemicals used in operating rooms and almost a complete tear down of your incubator.The disease transmits to the chickie as well..I'll try to do a search for you on these.

Maybe someone can list them for you.

Have a blessed day.

 

[bargain]

One of the diseases transmitted via egg is MG....see the thread response from chickenzoo... regarding it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=273445

I believe coryza is also transmitted the same way.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Advice from the experienced-

Never mind how many less than capacity that you are setting.
Figure out how much electricity it will take to run the incubator 100% of the time and triple that. Remember to that you may have to have additional heat in the room the incubator is in. Get the money up front.

Guarantee them that NONE of the eggs will hatch and if they do guarantee them not to live. No chance of them getting less than they bargained for that way.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:
Infectious Coryza is not transmiited via the egg. MG certainly is.

 

[evonne]

there's a feed store out here that has chickens, and i think they may be related to your guys.. i went to check it out once becasue a friend of my moms said they had peacocks.... OMG.. the place was disgusting.. i don't think there was a healthy bird in the bunch... all housed too many in a not clean run... most of them had at least 30% of their feathers missing.. and not from molting....

BLECK!!!!!!! don't even want to go near there again....

and just another 2 cents if you decide to do this later for more reputable people...
i read about refunding for eggs that didn't hatch... i wouldn't even dream of it... it's not your fault.... if a good % of them hatch, and even if a bad % of them hatch, you don't know how fresh or fertile those eggs were... you would thing if someone was paying money to get them hatched they'd make sure they knew they were good, but that's not your responsability....
i would however keep in the back of your mind that if you were to do something to casue them not to hatch that you would refund the money... something like "crap.. the kids tripped over the cord and it was off for a whole day" kinda thing... and at that point, you need to think about if it is your fault would you be willing to replace those eggs??
the more i think about it, the more it's ssoo iffy....
once your flock is going, you could offer to let people reserve your eggs in your hatchers.... that way you know how the eggs were handled, that they are disease free, and that they are fertile....

good luck with all your plans... i wish i could do something like that... i need to move out of the city.. lol..