- Oct 8, 2012
- 77
- 10
- 48
I want to have 10-20 hens laying eggs for hatching. My plan was to hatch chicks February through June (22 weeks), setting eggs every week.
I have been wanting to raise Rhode Island Red hens and cross them with a White Leghorn rooster. According to a publication titled "Crossbred Poultry" published in 1930, this is a superior cross, similar in production to a White Leghorn (study showed pullets laid 3 more eggs than White Leghorn), but lays large light brown eggs and starts laying 2 months earlier than Rhode Island Reds. Another advantage is they can be feather sexed.
Now, here is where I need help. Let's say the RIR hen lays 4 eggs a week. On average, 75% of the eggs are viable for hatching. So 3 eggs a week x 15 hens = 45 hatching eggs. Is there an incubator that can hatch 45 eggs and is relatively cheap? Let's say that I get a 80% hatch rate. That means only 36 of those 45 eggs will hatch. Total, that's 60% of the eggs laid are hatched. Is that accurate?
This means I will end up with 792 chicks, around 400 males and 400 females. Obviously I won't be able to sell all of the males. What would one suggest doing with the extra males not sold? We have a small animal auction every Thursday. Could I schedule my hatches for Wednesday and take the male chicks to auction on Thursday? Or would it be better to hatch on the same day?
And the 400 females. Do you think it is more profitable to sell day old chicks, or raise them up and sell them as started pullets? I mix my own feed for my chickens, so I only spend around $19/100 lbs chick feed. Layer feed costs about $18/100 lbs.
Thank you for any input. I would like to probably keep back some pullets out of the cross for commercial egg production (sales to restaurants, co-workers, family, etc) as they seem superior to their dams in terms of efficiency.
Yes I could just raise red sex links, but it's not as fun (or as much work!) as hatching and raising your own babies.
I have been wanting to raise Rhode Island Red hens and cross them with a White Leghorn rooster. According to a publication titled "Crossbred Poultry" published in 1930, this is a superior cross, similar in production to a White Leghorn (study showed pullets laid 3 more eggs than White Leghorn), but lays large light brown eggs and starts laying 2 months earlier than Rhode Island Reds. Another advantage is they can be feather sexed.
Now, here is where I need help. Let's say the RIR hen lays 4 eggs a week. On average, 75% of the eggs are viable for hatching. So 3 eggs a week x 15 hens = 45 hatching eggs. Is there an incubator that can hatch 45 eggs and is relatively cheap? Let's say that I get a 80% hatch rate. That means only 36 of those 45 eggs will hatch. Total, that's 60% of the eggs laid are hatched. Is that accurate?
This means I will end up with 792 chicks, around 400 males and 400 females. Obviously I won't be able to sell all of the males. What would one suggest doing with the extra males not sold? We have a small animal auction every Thursday. Could I schedule my hatches for Wednesday and take the male chicks to auction on Thursday? Or would it be better to hatch on the same day?
And the 400 females. Do you think it is more profitable to sell day old chicks, or raise them up and sell them as started pullets? I mix my own feed for my chickens, so I only spend around $19/100 lbs chick feed. Layer feed costs about $18/100 lbs.
Thank you for any input. I would like to probably keep back some pullets out of the cross for commercial egg production (sales to restaurants, co-workers, family, etc) as they seem superior to their dams in terms of efficiency.
Yes I could just raise red sex links, but it's not as fun (or as much work!) as hatching and raising your own babies.