Though I have a teeny outfit compared to Mac's, I approach local restaurants as well as sell at the small plant nursery where I work. I do trade with some of my restaurants which works well for me. The farmer's markets here in Portland sell a dozen, free-range organic eggs for $5-6 a dozen! I sell mine for 3.75. They are pastured and fed only organic, I use no antibiotics; but my dozens may include a bantam egg or two. I can't meet the demand from my customers. Just some ideas for direct sales.
Is small commercial egg business feasible?
- Thread starter DanIndiana
- Start date
NHchicks
Songster
Quote:
Mac in abilene: I notice your hens are indoors. Is that because it's winter, or are they always indoors? Also, how do you clean droppings in an enclosed environment? Just curious. I would love to go into "business" but can't imagine ever having the time/energy, but if I did, I would want my birds to be free-rangers no matter what, and primarily outdoor birds. Right now my 10 roam my property, except that they won't go outside now because there's too much snow. I realize a cozy home environment would probably not work with a full-scale operation, but I'm curious as to just how close one can get to that.
Mac in abilene: I notice your hens are indoors. Is that because it's winter, or are they always indoors? Also, how do you clean droppings in an enclosed environment? Just curious. I would love to go into "business" but can't imagine ever having the time/energy, but if I did, I would want my birds to be free-rangers no matter what, and primarily outdoor birds. Right now my 10 roam my property, except that they won't go outside now because there's too much snow. I realize a cozy home environment would probably not work with a full-scale operation, but I'm curious as to just how close one can get to that.
I would say that it breaks even, but you have to look at that remark. I'm also a Ham radio operator. My hobby could cost alot, or very little depending on how much equipment you buy, make, or trade for. I could say that just to get into the hobby will cost you about 500-600 bucks depending on what you are doing. Out of that the only cost assoicated is upkeep of equipment, and cost of electricity. With that being said, you won't see any returns at all, but it is fun. Raising chickens is also for most of us a hobby, or at least it started as a hobby. Is it possable, well yes, right now I get only 3 eggs a day, so that is covering my family's needs, but once they all start laying I'll be getting a few dozen a week. I also incubate my own, and others eggs so the income brought in from that basically covers my electrical cost, as well as the cost of the incubators over time. I am currently building a larger incubator, being that I can only Hatch a bout 100 eggs at a time now. 84 in the hovas, and 24 in the Brinsea. At 3 dollars a chick, that's not bad. I get my purebred eggs from a couple of fiends so the cost of eggs is about 25-30 bucks. If they want BYC's then I use my eggs. I'm working on building breeding pens now that I can produce my own purebreeds. But the cost of the pens won't cover the cost of the hatches for a while.. but it is a Hobby. Most of the people that buy from me are getting into, or getting back into raising chickens. So I make sure to give them a card with my website and BYC's website.
As with any hobbies there is some type of introduction cost to start, but this is one of the few hobbies that you can generate enough income to cover most costs, and have a little pocket change in the end. Even if I didn't make a dime, just the reaction on the faces of the kids that get to pet or hold a chicken for the first time is worth it. I take my Seramas to schools in the area, and they love it. I also take my Serama Roo to a local morning radio show on every once in a while so that he can crow for them.. It's too funny to listen to the show, they do a talk show in the morning, and I hear little truffles break out into his Serama crow in the back ground.
As with any hobbies there is some type of introduction cost to start, but this is one of the few hobbies that you can generate enough income to cover most costs, and have a little pocket change in the end. Even if I didn't make a dime, just the reaction on the faces of the kids that get to pet or hold a chicken for the first time is worth it. I take my Seramas to schools in the area, and they love it. I also take my Serama Roo to a local morning radio show on every once in a while so that he can crow for them.. It's too funny to listen to the show, they do a talk show in the morning, and I hear little truffles break out into his Serama crow in the back ground.
Quote:
Mac in abilene: I notice your hens are indoors. Is that because it's winter, or are they always indoors? Also, how do you clean droppings in an enclosed environment? Just curious. I would love to go into "business" but can't imagine ever having the time/energy, but if I did, I would want my birds to be free-rangers no matter what, and primarily outdoor birds. Right now my 10 roam my property, except that they won't go outside now because there's too much snow. I realize a cozy home environment would probably not work with a full-scale operation, but I'm curious as to just how close one can get to that.
They are inside because there's two feet of snow on the ground. It's a USDA Certified Organic operation so they are required to go outside, weather permitting. Once the snow starts retreating in March I'll start letting them out to pasture in the afternoons, then a little longer each day until they are outside all day by late spring. Last year I didn't have the pasture fencing all the way up when they started going outside and the remaining snow banks kind of created a barrier for them that they wouldn't cross. Once the snow was gone they start roaming. When they started to dig up all the garden beds around the house and started running out into the road I confined them to the pasture. That many birds can be terribly destructive.
The barn is maintained in a deep litter system and is cleaned out once a year. I keep the humidity in check and watch the waterers closely to make sure there isn't excess moisture going into the litter. I go through once in a while with a pitchfork and remove any caked up litter in high traffic areas. Properly maintained, the litter has the consistency of loose dirt, is very absorbent of new droppings, and is more sanitary than what you would think. After a year it averages 8 to 10 inches deep and I clean out the barn with a skid steer.
Mac in abilene: I notice your hens are indoors. Is that because it's winter, or are they always indoors? Also, how do you clean droppings in an enclosed environment? Just curious. I would love to go into "business" but can't imagine ever having the time/energy, but if I did, I would want my birds to be free-rangers no matter what, and primarily outdoor birds. Right now my 10 roam my property, except that they won't go outside now because there's too much snow. I realize a cozy home environment would probably not work with a full-scale operation, but I'm curious as to just how close one can get to that.
They are inside because there's two feet of snow on the ground. It's a USDA Certified Organic operation so they are required to go outside, weather permitting. Once the snow starts retreating in March I'll start letting them out to pasture in the afternoons, then a little longer each day until they are outside all day by late spring. Last year I didn't have the pasture fencing all the way up when they started going outside and the remaining snow banks kind of created a barrier for them that they wouldn't cross. Once the snow was gone they start roaming. When they started to dig up all the garden beds around the house and started running out into the road I confined them to the pasture. That many birds can be terribly destructive.
The barn is maintained in a deep litter system and is cleaned out once a year. I keep the humidity in check and watch the waterers closely to make sure there isn't excess moisture going into the litter. I go through once in a while with a pitchfork and remove any caked up litter in high traffic areas. Properly maintained, the litter has the consistency of loose dirt, is very absorbent of new droppings, and is more sanitary than what you would think. After a year it averages 8 to 10 inches deep and I clean out the barn with a skid steer.
Quote:
Me too, although I haven't been too active lately. I have an Advanced Class license.
Me too, although I haven't been too active lately. I have an Advanced Class license.
NHchicks
Songster
mac in abilene, That sounds like a great operation. I would love to run something like that on my 10 acres. Do you ever rent yourself out? If you come set me up, I can take it from there...
(just kidding - altho I would love to have a similar setup)
(just kidding - altho I would love to have a similar setup)
Last edited:
This is interesting. For myself, I think I'd rather do a slightly smaller operation (several hundred hens). Could you still make some sort of profit?
Quote:
Unless you buy ready to lay pullets...
We have a 2500 hen layer operation here. We sell the majority of the eggs to an organic farmers' co-op in bulk. The extent of our work is caring for the hens and packing eggs, in bulk, for weekly pickup. The co-op handles processing, packaging, marketing and distribution.
You have a few options here. There is direct marketing which would involve selling from your premises, door to door sales routes, or farmer markets. There is retail marketing through small specialty stores or food cooperatives. It is unlikely you going to sell eggs to a local chain supermarket unless they have shelf space set aside for local products. Otherwise marketers usually pay "slot fees" for shelf space at the large stores.
While Urban Grower was close in that estimate, I see a few issues there. A large operation is generally not going to buy bagged feed. It will be ordered and delivered by the ton at a much lower cost. $4000 a year for medications? No medications here as we are organic. Grit and oyster shell? A good layer ration doesn't require much extra. Raising your own pullets? If you have extra facilities to do it. I generally consider that a separate enterprise.
We buy ready to lay pullets and put them into production for a year. At the end of the year they are sold to live markets or processors. We clean up, give everything a rest for two weeks (this helps to break the parasite cycle) and start over again. Keeping different ages of birds on the same property can be problematic for commercial production (especially in organic production) since there is never a chance to break any disease or parasite cycles and biosecurity can be difficult in such close proximity.
Here is what we did in 2010:
Sales (including bulk egg sales, direct egg sales, and spent hens) : $97,000
Feed: $40,000
Pullets: $15,000
Electric and Propane: $3200
Egg cartons for direct sales and other consumable supplies : $1600
Repairs and maintenance: $1200
Organic certification fees: $1100
Office expenses: $600
Farm Insurance: $1000
Farm Portion of property taxes: $1800
Profit: $31,500
This does not include the depreciated cost of $100,000 in facilities or the associated mortgage interest.
I also let the neighbors cut three acres of alfalfa for use on their farm in exchange for about 75 bales of alfalfa a year and occasional use of their skid steer for barn clean out.
You can see photos here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2328-wisconsin-layer-barn
NICE barn!!!! How much time do you spend weekly taking care of hens? Maybe I should start a chicken farm! I'd have broilers too, though, because I like meat.
Unless you buy ready to lay pullets...
We have a 2500 hen layer operation here. We sell the majority of the eggs to an organic farmers' co-op in bulk. The extent of our work is caring for the hens and packing eggs, in bulk, for weekly pickup. The co-op handles processing, packaging, marketing and distribution.
You have a few options here. There is direct marketing which would involve selling from your premises, door to door sales routes, or farmer markets. There is retail marketing through small specialty stores or food cooperatives. It is unlikely you going to sell eggs to a local chain supermarket unless they have shelf space set aside for local products. Otherwise marketers usually pay "slot fees" for shelf space at the large stores.
While Urban Grower was close in that estimate, I see a few issues there. A large operation is generally not going to buy bagged feed. It will be ordered and delivered by the ton at a much lower cost. $4000 a year for medications? No medications here as we are organic. Grit and oyster shell? A good layer ration doesn't require much extra. Raising your own pullets? If you have extra facilities to do it. I generally consider that a separate enterprise.
We buy ready to lay pullets and put them into production for a year. At the end of the year they are sold to live markets or processors. We clean up, give everything a rest for two weeks (this helps to break the parasite cycle) and start over again. Keeping different ages of birds on the same property can be problematic for commercial production (especially in organic production) since there is never a chance to break any disease or parasite cycles and biosecurity can be difficult in such close proximity.
Here is what we did in 2010:
Sales (including bulk egg sales, direct egg sales, and spent hens) : $97,000
Feed: $40,000
Pullets: $15,000
Electric and Propane: $3200
Egg cartons for direct sales and other consumable supplies : $1600
Repairs and maintenance: $1200
Organic certification fees: $1100
Office expenses: $600
Farm Insurance: $1000
Farm Portion of property taxes: $1800
Profit: $31,500
This does not include the depreciated cost of $100,000 in facilities or the associated mortgage interest.
I also let the neighbors cut three acres of alfalfa for use on their farm in exchange for about 75 bales of alfalfa a year and occasional use of their skid steer for barn clean out.
You can see photos here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2328-wisconsin-layer-barn
NICE barn!!!! How much time do you spend weekly taking care of hens? Maybe I should start a chicken farm! I'd have broilers too, though, because I like meat.
Quote:
It's less than 30 man-hours a week. My wife and go out in the morning to pack up eggs and let the birds out (when there's no snow on the ground). That takes about an hour and a half. I'll then do a quick walk through around lunchtime. Around 4 PM I spend another half an hour packing up any remaining eggs for the day. In the late evening I'll do a final walk through of the barn. In the summer we also walk the pasture in late evening to make sure any stragglers make it back in the barn. So, generally less than four hours a day.
There's nothing too pressing as long as we pack up the eggs once a day. There have been times when we've had emergencies in the morning and I've ended up packing eggs in the evening. Once in a great while we'll be out for the afternoon/evening and the remaining eggs that I usually pack up at 4 PM will get packed up with the next days eggs.
We tend to keep a close eye on it as things can go wrong in a hurry. Power outages or major water leaks can have devastating consequences. I installed an alarm system in the barn with a number of sensors. If things go wrong it dials out to a pager I carry or calls the neighbors. I installed temperature sensors in the egg cooler and barn area, a sensor on the cooler door to tell me if it's left open, low water pressure and high water flow switches. Since I had to run a phone line down to the barn for the dialer, I had extra wire pairs available that I use to sound a local alarm in the house. I also installed a rope style water leak sensor around the well equipment and water heater in the house basement that is tied back to the alarm panel in the barn, to warn us of any leaks/flooding in our basement.
That tends to give me peace of mind when I'm away from here.
It's less than 30 man-hours a week. My wife and go out in the morning to pack up eggs and let the birds out (when there's no snow on the ground). That takes about an hour and a half. I'll then do a quick walk through around lunchtime. Around 4 PM I spend another half an hour packing up any remaining eggs for the day. In the late evening I'll do a final walk through of the barn. In the summer we also walk the pasture in late evening to make sure any stragglers make it back in the barn. So, generally less than four hours a day.
There's nothing too pressing as long as we pack up the eggs once a day. There have been times when we've had emergencies in the morning and I've ended up packing eggs in the evening. Once in a great while we'll be out for the afternoon/evening and the remaining eggs that I usually pack up at 4 PM will get packed up with the next days eggs.
We tend to keep a close eye on it as things can go wrong in a hurry. Power outages or major water leaks can have devastating consequences. I installed an alarm system in the barn with a number of sensors. If things go wrong it dials out to a pager I carry or calls the neighbors. I installed temperature sensors in the egg cooler and barn area, a sensor on the cooler door to tell me if it's left open, low water pressure and high water flow switches. Since I had to run a phone line down to the barn for the dialer, I had extra wire pairs available that I use to sound a local alarm in the house. I also installed a rope style water leak sensor around the well equipment and water heater in the house basement that is tied back to the alarm panel in the barn, to warn us of any leaks/flooding in our basement.
That tends to give me peace of mind when I'm away from here.
Quote:
Start an "Egg your neighbor's house day"
Start an "Egg your neighbor's house day"
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