How much feed would it take to raise 50 chicks to POL age?

[pixie74943]

another point.. "Point Of Lay" can be a very hazy term... if you want to be dodgy about it. Apparently people start as early as 14/15 weeks for 'point of lay'

The guy I bought my chickens from sells day olds at about $3 (from memory) and charges an extra 60cents a week. Perhaps you could try something like that? He runs a business, buying day old ands raising them, he doesnt hatch. Not sure how much profit he makes, or whether he just does it because he loves his chickens (he's a nice old guy, late 60's early 70's maybe, losing his hearing, v. talkative ).

 

[newchickmom]

I keep track of how much feed the girls eat on a weekly and monthly basis. The 22 layers (16 Australorp and 6 Buff Orphington) eat about 120 pounds of feed a month, when they are free ranging on a daily basis.
The 23 Delaware pullets ate 90 pounds of chick feed thru week 9. They are now 20 weeks and have been eating about 40 pounds a week and ranging for about a 6 weeks now. I think they eat more than the other girls do, and they are the same size and some slightly bigger than the older girls

. I have some that are starting to squat now, so I just switched them all to layer feed since they have been going into the other coop to get it anyway.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

It's probably best to first research the selling opportunities available to you in your area. And then plan accordingly, so you're not wasting your time & resources.

The first year I showed my own hens at our county's fair I was surprised to find so many fairgoers coming in to the tent looking for chickens to buy. My children & I didn't want to sell our "friends" so we took them all home, but the next year I planned to show POL pullets I raised with the intention of selling. Each family is allowed to show up to 30 birds, and I entered that many & sold them all for $20-$30 each.

But it was a LOT of work, spending almost every day there at the tent (I'm part of a local poultry club that mans the tent at the Fair each year) and having to talk up the birds I had to sell. My girls were in prime young condition, all won blue ribbons & 4 had won trophies. They were about 22-24 weeks old and just beginning to lay. It didn't help that there were other folks who had entered older hens with the intention of clearing out their flocks, and were selling them for $10. Some people didn't realize the difference in quality, and wondered why I was asking more for mine.

Some people think chickens are like fruit trees, and that the older they are the more they'll produce. They may not know that a POL pullet (to me, 20 weeks, right when I start looking for them to lay) is the ideal age to buy a hen, so they'll get the benefit of every egg she has to give, without the wait & expense of feeding a growing chick, nor the risk.

Maybe selling started chicks is better economically, as long as there's a market for them, and buyers looking for them. But I can't show them at the Fair at that age, and that's where I find the best buyers. I wish you all success, whatever you decide.

 

[shelleyd2008]

There aren't many venues in this area to sell, but there are some livestock auctions that are held weekly, then like Mojo said, there are some really big ones that are held twice a year, in various towns. That's where I would be selling at, one of the large consignment auctions.

Chicks don't sell worth a darn, no matter what time of year it is. I think a lot of them now are going for 30-40 cents a piece. In the spring is when everyone wants chickens.

The amount of birds I have now eat about 75 pounds of feed a week, but the feed is fairly inexpensive. The 75 pounds of feed is about $25.

This auction isn't until April, but like I said, things bring good prices for this area at that sale, especially if they are rare or unusual breeds, or well-known layers, like the barred rocks. The chicks would be around 25-28 weeks old by then, so they'd probably be laying already. I wish I knew how long this sale through MPC will be going on, cause I'd like to wait till later in fall to get them if possible.

Thanks for all your input, I'll have to think about it. Maybe I'll not get as many as I was thinking, but I know I'll be getting some. Dad needs some more layers, his are getting 'old', he likes the BR and I like the EE, so that will be quite a few with their special anyway.

ETA: Even if it were spring, I would take a loss trying to sell these chicks, even at what I will pay for them.

 

[pips&peeps]

None of the replies have even covered the electrical aspect of raising these chicks.

You have to have them under a heat light. And, depending on what part of the year and where you are located, that could be a long time. Do you have enough heat lamps?

You also have not considered to space to raise this many birds. Do you have the space to contain this many birds during the winter? Will you have to invest more money to build another area for raising them?