How to make a bit of money off of chickens?

[LunaMarieWolf]

Hello!

I am looking about how to make a few extra bucks off of my chickens.

I can't raise chicks right now because no one wants chicks where I am at. Plus they go for $1 a chick.

Hatching eggs doesn't sell very well where I am at right now either.

Can I maybe sell feathers? What else can I sell from them?

I just am wanting to get a few bucks over the summer.

 

[drumstick diva]

good luck

 

[clembone]

You are in a tough spot. The huge processors buy in bulk and do not care that their chickens are crowded. That cuts down on overhead.

You might sell eggs and meat at a premium for being hand raised. That is a tough way to go. If it is not family and close friends, you could run into problems with meeting requirements for clean and safe handling of market products.

Instead of making money, consider getting into the barter scene. Trade what you have for what you want. Does not work for everyone, but it gets around the cash profit problem.

Did I mention that you were in a tough spot?

 

[feathermaid]

Selling eggs is probably your best bet. I don't know where you're located, but my local Craigslist has eggs for $3.50 - $5 per dozen. We had a garage sale recently, and I sold a few dozens for $4 each... made a nice little sign "FRESH EGGS from my hand-raised free range backyard chickens!"

Not chicken-related, but my 8 year old daughter also ran a snack stand at the garage sale with packaged chips, candy bars, bottled water and canned soda from Costco. Everything was .50 to $1 each and she made $63 in 2 days (she left early one of those days for a play date). She also posted a hand-written sign that she was trying to earn money to go to horse camp, and some people just gave her money without even "buying" anything. So if you can think of a good cause to raise money for, people might have a soft spot for you. Maybe say that you're raising money for a larger coop...?

If you're good at crafts, you could make things out of feathers: earrings, headbands, fishing lures, wreaths etc. But autumn is usually the best time to collect feathers after yearly molting.


The hard part is finding customers and a way to market your goods. Maybe your town has a street fair or farmer's market. Or you could see if your local school has an event where you could sell homemade crafts.

I would love to make money selling crafts too, but it's a lot of work to open a store on Etsy or ship everything on ebay. Garage sales seem to be the best for me. Have all items priced, advertise with photos on Craigslist, and expect to make all your money in 2 days. You will actually earn more by selling LOTS of stuff for cheap rather than slim pickins for lots. Offer just a few high dollar items and they might sell. Get together with neighbors and extended family for a big crowd-drawing sale.

Good luck!