How do you arrive at a price when you sell chicks?

[Mandymooligan]

For those of you who sell your chicks how do you figure your price? Say you bought a chick for $3.00 had it vaccinated and shipped then fed it for 4 weeks. What would you ask for it?

 

[featherz]

Assuming it's just a standard hatchery quality chick and not something uber-rare or special, I'd check the craigslist going rate. Around here, I get about $2-$3 each for straight run 4-wk old chicks, *maybe* up to 5 for sexed pullets, but that's hit or miss. It really depends on your area.

 

[Mandymooligan]

Quote:
Do you hatch your own? Are they vaccinated? It would hardly seem worth it to sell them for that when you consider the price of feed. In fact that would be losing big time YIKES!!

 

[Fred's Hens]

It is extremely hard to get rich off chickens.

Seriously, when keeping accurate accounting, the profit margins on chicks, older chicks, POL pullets, etc is simply not high profit. Each local market is different and in most locales, the chicken is not one of the more expensive livestock animals by anybody's figuring.

In your example of "what if", I'd lose money.

 

[CapricornFarm]

It pays to sell them as soon as they hatch, because they eat lots and grow fast but no body wants to pay much for them.

 

[Mandymooligan]

Fred's Hens :

It is extremely hard to get rich off chickens.

Seriously, when keeping accurate accounting, the profit margins on chicks, older chicks, POL pullets, etc is simply not high profit. Each local market is different and in most locales, the chicken is not one of the more expensive livestock animals by anybody's figuring.

In your example of "what if", I'd lose money.

Seriously no way to get rich off chickens I know that. Just wondering how others come up with their prices and of course the breed would certainly play into it.​

 

[Fred's Hens]

For me, it is what the market can bear. It's just that simple.

I try not to intentionally have more chicks or POL pullets than what I need, but sometimes? You guessed it, things happen and I have a few to sell. I know I probably have $4 in a 5 week old chick, for example. I often cannot get more than $3. Yes, it is a loss, but what am I to do? If I keep it longer, my investment gets even larger and the sales price won't really catch up. A pullet at point of lay (POL)??? Same thing. I'm sure, because I've crunched the numbers and know that $14 is likely "break even", but again, what I may want and what the market here can bear might not match. I know if I sell them for $10, they will sell. If I try to hold on for $14 or $16 to break even, it MIGHT happen that they sell, but it might not.

This is agriculture and while I may want a certain price, I do not have show quality stock, so I have to accept certain realities. Chickens don't ship well long distances, so I am "stuck" with my local market conditions. Best regards.