I wanna raise chicken for a living?

[heather112588]

I believe it's possible to come out on top financial wise with chickens. Firstly- Yes, you would need alot of birds, land and upfront feed cost. I live in MD and know a woman who does... she is not rich by any stretch but has a suffient business. She has a small family ran butcher business ... she sells eggs and charges $3 per lb for her birds and then an additional butchering fee. However, She also raises lambs for butching. MD has little to no butchers ...i had to search hard to find her...however when i was there getting my birds butchered, she had a booming business ( at least 12 people came in while i was there, Ordering whole lambs and multiple chickens). Just saying its work but it is possible.

 

[FireTigeris]

-

How so you can't make more than me if you work 12hr a day and all year long

Because the only people paying you are the ones that might have disposable income to buy chickens/expensive eggs/expensive meat...

But you could eat your chickens and eggs too- chicken and eggs everyday... all day ... everyday...

And if you get enough eggs you can feed them back to the chickens...

-You currently get paid hourly or salary- farming isn't like that, its working 24/7/365 regardless of weather or if you are sick with NO vacation time EVER because your animals need you and are too expensive to trust with someone else...

Example you buy chicks and feed, 1000 of them and enough feed for the year- then you want to go to the mountains to see the leaves change and your 'pet/farm sitter' accidentally turns off the automatic water.OR they come down with some disease. Your birds all die so instead of $2.50-3.00 profit you are now in the hole for 1000 biddies because you expected to sell 800 or so of them and now you cant sell any.​

 

[pringle]

If there are any asian markets in your area it would be a lot more economical to raise coturnix quail.They are more cost efficient and only need about .5 to 1 sq ft of space per bird.they are happier raised in wire bottomed cages and can even be raised in your basement or something.Im not saying you will be a millionare but if you research correctly and make a buisness plan then you can make money.

 

[awesomefowl]

Quote:
This is what I want to do. We have both Asians and health foodie people around here, and if I can culivate a market I can make some money. Plus,Ican supposedly hatch up to 40 quail eggs in my incubator, and butcher them easier because they are small.

 

[supremeguy]

so raising quail is good and better than chickens? It uses less space and is easier to take care as well?
Why did you say an Asian market? I mean I'm Asian myself but I don't get it.

 

[write2caroline]

I bought a chicken book at Walmart and the funny thing was - it was written by someone who did not even own a chicken and the whole thing was kind of funny (not really) The advice inside was clearly copied from some other source.

Why not learn about building coops and write a helpful hints book as you learn about chickens - or a blog.

It may not pay at first but then again it may down the road.

I come from a family (with a few who have earned over a million) where the millionares did not have a formal education. My cousins who did go to college....well none of us are millionaires. Seriously, find something you love and make it your career. Education does help but it is not required unless you plan to be a rocket scientist or a teacher. I loved College and I feel that it really has helped me but I didn't go to college to get a good career, I went to learn.
The extra in extraordinary is that little bit more disapline to stick to something you love.
A good attitude, strong work ethic and determination will take you far. Most folks don't figure that out for years to come.

Did you know that the CEO of Jet blue cannot read or write because of a severe learning disability? But he can run an airline very well.

Caroline

 

[pringle]

Quote:
Well the thing is,at least around here,they just sell better.I think quail is sort of a more common to them and hardly anyone sells it so they will pay top dollar.Post in the quail section of this forum of any questions you might have.Im not saying your going to get rich but if you are really into this and prepared to work hard and think a lot then you might make it.

 

[supremeguy]

Quote:
Well the thing is,at least around here,they just sell better.I think quail is sort of a more common to them and hardly anyone sells it so they will pay top dollar.Post in the quail section of this forum of any questions you might have.Im not saying your going to get rich but if you are really into this and prepared to work hard and think a lot then you might make it.

Where I live I can buy 4 frozen quails for 10 bucks in Kroger.
I'm not looking at some luxurious lifestyle, I just wanna be able to raise some poultry and live a normal life, with food to my stomach and roof over my head, is raising quails suitable for my lifestyle?

 

[pringle]

I can't answer that,I don't raise them for a living.

 

[Royd]

Quote:
That's pretty much called farming... Do you really have room for a poultry business "in your house"? You aren't going to earn a living selling a few hundred birds. You need to think in the thousands, or tens of thousands, of birds.

It is things like that makes me depressed, I gotta do so much work in order to at least a minimum level of comfort in living, and I mean somebody else is raising chickens already so why would I raise chicken and make a living,I probably won't make any money, it's things like youtube, facebook and twitter that makes me so depressed because if I was the one who made one of these then right now I'm a millionaire, wish I can go back in time in the early 2000's and make them before anybody did.
But now back in reality, I'm thinking about raising rabbit for a living, would it be better than chicken? Because rabbit is exotic meat and should cost more, plus its meat is healthy and they reproduce fast

People like Bill Gates and the person who created Facebook, are one in several billion. Sad to say, but the days of easy money are over. Also sad to say, but in today's regulatory environment, due to government fees, liscences and sometimes, required schooling, unless you have access to a several thousand dollar grubstake, to get the business up and running, with enough money to sustain you, until it starts turning a profit, you will be working for someone else, until you can scrimp and save a little...If you have a preponderonce for the latest gadget or toy, that, too, will be a hindrance.

In the meantime, get busy and stay busy, doing something....If you have the room, raise a dozen laying hens, with a rooster, if possible...Get a couple of quality doe rabbits and a buck....See what kind of effort and expense is involved in a small operation, just to raise your own meat and eggs.
There is a lot of nuance to animal husbandry, which can only be achieved through hours of observation and learning, just as there is in trying to grow a garden, which will sustain a family.

Also, how far are you from sources of employment?....I rode a bicycle 16 miles a day, for 4 years, in all weather...Admittedly, I enjoyed the sport, so it wasn't a problem.