Is there any money in chickens?

I've raised LOT's of animals, chickens included, though currently all I have is two Shepherds (who I don't breed, puppies are hard!)

The only critters I ever actually saw a profit on were African Pygmy Hedgehogs and African Cichlid fish. The rest, lucky to break even on.

Now that I'm getting back into chickens, I wanted to see if there was a way to atleast break even. I've always fancied the rare breeds and Bantams, and I managed to break even last time by selling pairs and trios. They fed themselves and I got free eggs (small as they were... LOL) Every spring my chick sales were enough to buy more breeding stock... everything stayed a float without begging money from the parents. (it was a hobby thing that kept me entertained through homeschooling)

Prices sure have changed since then!

What I'm leaning towards, is 6 full-size layers and one Roo so that I can hatch replacement hens and Roos for sale/eating as needed. I REALLY like the look of Orpingtons and Australorps.

Then a second coop of a novelty breed. Choosing that breed though, is hard! I'm fascinated by the Longtails, and I'd like to have a trio of each color of Pheonix, and set a breeding goal of achieving those long tails.

I'm known for babying Roos if they're sweet and friendly, and those Long tail guys require some rather specific spoiling.

Finding these fowl seem to be a whole other matter though when you're looking for a specific type.

But the goals are to A: Have each coop support itself, B: Do right by the birds and breed for quality C: make some additional money from the quality birds, to spend on coop upgrades and a better incubator D: Thoroughly enjoy the hobby and not have to listen to husband about the cost/overhead for the sake of enjoyment.

 

Well I'm not looking to make it a JOB... LOL

The neighbors all said they'd pay $2 a dozen for eggs if I delivered. Which, walking 100 ft isn't a big deal. We currently pay $3.50 on organic eggs anyways, and would eat more of them if they were already here. The darker shell is an interesting point on the Marans, I'll have to research that a bit more. Having a goal on even the egg layers would be cool. The neighbors didn't give a preferance on shell color, said knowing where they came from was good enough.

First and foremost it is a hobby, and hobbies generally cost money. It would just be nice if it didn't.

I already have a building suitable for the layer group, a GIANT dog house the could sleep 3 people, or 5 large dogs, but for chickens, it would do a 6ft roost pole, 4-6 nest boxes, and a food/water area indoors. I have enough extra lumber laying around to frame out a roofed 48 square ft run, sand and fencing being the only purchase. I was debating on partially covering it with corogated roofing, which I saw for $19 per 22 sq. ft. on the lifetime warranty stuff.

So if I started with the Marans, then they could in theory finance another novelty "for fun" breed.

Being 27 years old... I could stand with waiting out a 20 year reputation. Showing I've thought about off and on.. I used to show dogs, I'm sure chicken showing is just as interesting and competetive.

I love chickens... I just REALLY like them as pets. They're so quircky and funny, and they really do have personalities. Even when I reached 53 total Bantams, I knew each individual, each had a name, and each had been hand raised and made uber tame. They all came when I called, all my hens would let me get an egg from under them without pecking at me or getting huffy about it. (Even Meanie, who would kill mice and gardner snakes and beat the heck out of the Roos and steal eggs from all the other hens.. would "growl" at me but never peck me when I reached under her, even on her broodiest days)

There was only one Roo that made his way to the kitchen after he tried flogging me for fulling with his #1 hen. All the other Roos were fabulous, my favorites being Jibbers and Jabbers, Black Jap Bantam brothers. If you asked Jibbers what he was up to, he'd tell you all about it while sitting on your lap in quiet rooster speak.

I really miss them! My neighbors have chickens now, and hearing all that chicken noise and not being able to reap any of the benefits is just driving me crazy.

So this time around, I'd like to do it the grown-up way, maybe turn a small profit to go back into them, in addition to just having them as pets. Previously they were pet egg makers and education on hatching, incubation, and the laws of nature. Now that I've learned all that, this time I can focus on a direction.