i have a great plan...i think?

[thechickman04]

i think i have a great idea....i think im going to buy some good quality RIR chicks or hatching eggs....and just have a big flock of Rhode Island Reds....when they start laying i would incubate the eggs....and take the chicks them by our local feed store to sell......the good thing about the feed store is the owners are great friends with my parents.


will this work? or not?

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

If you have a lot of RIR girls you will need approximately 1 rooster for every 10 hens. From what I've read and learned on this site, RIR roos can be very aggressive to other roos and people. Perhaps you would have to keep each roo and his hens separate. If you have young children, RIR roos won't be good birds to have around the kids. I can't imagine making money by selling chicks. IMHO you would have to be a big time operater to make a profit. Chicks are so cheap - the feed store would want to make money too. By the time you pay for incubators, feed, electricity and figure losses seems like you would be lucky to break even. Don't want to rain on your parade and I hope someone with experience in this can prove me wrong.

 

[thechickman04]

im not really doing it for the money im 15 why do i need money...more for the experience....i will prolly sell hatchicng eggs as well

 

[Frizzledhen]

Hey Chickman, you have picked a great bird to work with. RIRs are a very popular laying bird produceing many large brown eggs and they are also dual purpose and all those roos make for good eating. I say go for it and the best of luck with your new adventure.

 

[thechickman04]

thanks...i hope it will....i RIR's because they are so popular

 

[claud]

RIRs are great birds. I had about a dozen hens and a roo. The roo was the sweetest roo I ever had - never aggressive and very nice to the ladies. I hatched many of his girls eggs and always had 100% fertility.
It will be a great hobby for you. Probably you won't make any money but you'll have a lot of fun!

 

[sara]

I've never met a rooster I didn't like, except for the 2 RIR's I have had in my lifetime. They were so mean, they went in my tummy.

It sounds like a nice idea though, good luck in your venture!

 

[opihiman911]

Yup, RIR roo can be very mean. My grandpa had a RIR roo that you could never turn your back to if you were in the coop collecting eggs. I was attacked by him several time as a little kid. I still have a scar on the back of my leg from an attack 30 years ago. Left some bad lifelong impressions on me.
I kept on raising RIR and hatching them, but the roos all end up in the pot. I just got rid of a RIR roo who was about 5 months old and he started puffing up and making threating advances toward me and my kids when we go in the coop. He made a really good pot of chicken papaya soup.
Right now I have a austrolorp and barred rock roo that are both so tame that my 3 year old daughter carries them around. Its going to break my heart when I have to tell her either Keoki or Rocky is going to have to go for a permanant visit to her uncles house (she doesn't know about the pot yet) because I only keep 1 roo for my girls.
If you aren't 100% stuck on hatching and selling RIR, give barred rocks a thought. They are what most people remember as grandmas chickens. Very popular backyard bird a couple generations ago. They lay large light brown eggs and are very gentle a docile, even the roos.
Best of luck with your project.

Aloha,
Cory

 

[JimnJanet]

Quote:

QUICK !!!! tell yer folks to write a book !!!!!
They are rich beyond their wildest dreams and don't yet know it !!!!

Oh yeah, good for you Drew, i think oyu have a wonderfull and enterprising idea. You go for it young man.

 

[thechickman04]

thankyou jimnjanet that i hope it works