Hobby hatching addicts-- where do all of your chicks go?

[peachRN]

I got an incubator for Christmas, and I'm planning on trying to hatch around 2 dozen eggs this early spring, with the expectation that I won't successfully hatch more than 12-18, and that 50% or less of them will be pullets. I already have a few people who are willing to take any extra chicks that I happen to hatch but don't need.

I can sense that this is something that I'll probably be obsessed with, and I'll want to hatch every breed and egg I can get my hands on. However, I definitely don't have room on my property for hundreds of chickens. So for those of you who love to hatch multiple batches every year, do you have a reliable group of friends and family who take the chicks? Do you post them online in the hopes that they'll all sell? I don't want to start hatching living beings left and right without a solid plan for what to do with them.

 

[Molpet]

I hatch for the freezer. I get about 70% cockerels. The extra pullets I usually can sell.

Around here people can't give the cockerels away and some end up dumped in forest preserves. So there's other people who run around trying to save the dumped boys. Animal control is full with dogs, cats and doesn't want poultry. Also there's a feed store that will take unwanted cockerels and sell them.

 

[redinator]

I have two people in particular that are happy to take my extras.

One is a true blue farm girl so she takes any excess cockerels and I give her a pullet for taking the males off my hands. Depending on how they get along in her flock she keeps the ones she likes and rehomes/dispatches the rest. She has more space than me so she has a bachelor pad she puts the males in until she makes a decision one way or the other.

The other is an older lady who doesn't care about breed as long as they're healthy and friendly. We trade eggs on occasion and she gets the girls that are on the smaller side and can't handle being bred by my Black Jersey Giant.

So far I haven't had trouble finding people that are looking for 'laying hens' but when I start breeding for more specific traits and charging more I might run into trouble.

 

[peachRN]

I hatch for the freezer. I getabout 70% cockerels. The extra pullets I usually can sell.

Around here people can't give the cockerels away and some end up dumped in forest preserves. So there's other people who run around trying to save the dumped boys. Animal control is full with dogs, cats and doesn't want poultry. Also there's a feed store that will take unwanted cockerels and sell them.

This first go round I'm hatching some breeds that I really want for egg production. I may look into dual purpose

I have two people in particular that are happy to take my extras.

One is a true blue farm girl so she takes any excess cockerels and I give her a pullet for taking the males off my hands. Depending on how they get along in her flock she keeps the ones she likes and rehomes/dispatches the rest. She has more space than me so she has a bachelor pad she puts the males in until she makes a decision one way or the other.

The other is an older lady who doesn't care about breed as long as they're healthy and friendly. We trade eggs on occasion and she gets the girls that are on the smaller side and can't handle being bred by my Black Jersey Giant.

So far I haven't had trouble finding people that are looking for 'laying hens' but when I start breeding for more specific traits and charging more I might run into trouble.

I've been binge reading your hatch-along threads over the last day or two and I feel like I've already learned a ton from you!

Sounds like you have a good system going for now.

 

[2ndTink]

I am really glad that you are making a plan ahead of time, this is really great!

We process our extra cockerels, we don't necessarily have dual purpose breeds, so they aren't super big when we process but they do make a nice pot of soup.

If you have nice breeds that people want, you might be able to find homes for your boys! If you know some chicken people locally you could ask around, maybe check with the feed store and see if they know anyone who buys or takes extra cockerels.

 

[redinator]

This first go round I'm hatching some breeds that I really want for egg production. I may look into dual purpose

I've been binge reading your hatch-along threads over the last day or two and I feel like I've already learned a ton from you!

Sounds like you have a good system going for now.

Aw thanks! I still have a lot to learn myself. I've only been at it around a year, my oldest chickens turn a year in February, lots of ups and downs, but always a lesson to be learned.

 

[AinaWGSD]

So far the plan is to process extras for the freezer. Pullets eat just as good as cockerels and we got them for raising our own meat anyway (eggs are just a bonus). We might try selling extra pullets this year, but we'll see. I did get the malines with the thought of hatching sex links. If we do that I figured it would be easy enough to sell pullet chicks at a young age and not have to feed them until they grow out.

 

[Sefirothe]

I cant have roosters where I am so I'm doing quail instead. Lots and lots of quail....

 

[redinator]

I cant have roosters where I am so I'm doing quail instead. Lots and lots of quail....

View attachment 4283394

A friend of mine has ducks, quail and turkeys for the same reason.

 

[NatJ]

This first go round I'm hatching some breeds that I really want for egg production. I may look into dual purpose

They all taste like chicken, no matter how large or small they are.