ive been over run by chicks and ducklings...

[pandahomestead]

so this year, i decided to hatch out a bunch of my hens and ducks eggs.. figuring i could sell them as soon as they hatch , or when they where fully feathered....


well i didnt expect to have 100 chicks and 40 ducklings to hatch ... since it was my first time incubating .. my hatch rate was almost 95% success... GREAT ! buuuut ... i havent been able to sell any ... their all fully feathered and staying outdoors.. and i have sexed them and pretty sure i have mostly females... culled the boys.

i love all the babies running up to me and sitting on my feet and knees. BUT the issue for me is , feed..... ive already come to terms with having to raise them to adulthood and selling them as egg layers.

im buying 100lbs of food a week... and the older they get, the more they will eat... is there anything i can do to substitute their feed, or something? i dont think ill ever incubate again ... lol this experiment was a little too much for me.

gotta get rid of these babies.... using facebook to advertise, and got a sign at the bottom of my driveway advertising as well. no bites... too bad i didnt do this last year when people where panic buying all the animals... lol

i sold all my hens and my rooster a while back after finding out i cant eat eggs.. so all i have is babies... oh... and a year old cornish cross meat hen..... shes a pet.. shes not going anywhere.

also fun thing ... up till February of this year , i could eat eggs .. and now all of a sudden developed a allergy to eggs... home raised, store bought , foods with egg.. feels like death is slowly creeping up on me ... which really sucks, because eggs was the easiest , cheapest and fastest food any of us can make.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Free ranging can help cut feed costs, as well as feeding scraps. I hope you find some buyers. Any swap meets in your area?

 

[theycallmechickmagnet]

yo find an auction nearby!! we were never able to sell anything until someone told us about a animal auction that's about an hour away. about 3 weeks ago, i sold half the flock for $500 (but they take commission so I basically got $400) since our excess of adult birds are gone, i'm trying to hatch and bring loads of ducklings. the price for each ranges between breeds and species and it depends in the auction too. i heard from some guy there, he buys animals from an auction, then goes and sells them at another for more $

it's a good way of unloading an excess of birds tho. my advice is if you find an auction and decide to sell, stop culling the males because the people literally don't care what it is

 

[pandahomestead]

Free ranging can help cut feed costs, as well as feeding scraps. I hope you find some buyers. Any swap meets in your area?

they free range all day. and i dont really generate much scrap food. but they get what i do have. swap meets arent really a thing in this area , we have a auction every other friday , but every time i apply i get denied .

 

[pandahomestead]

yo find an auction nearby!! we were never able to sell anything until someone told us about a animal auction that's about an hour away. about 3 weeks ago, i sold half the flock for $500 (but they take commission so I basically got $400) since our excess of adult birds are gone, i'm trying to hatch and bring loads of ducklings. the price for each ranges between breeds and species and it depends in the auction too. i heard from some guy there, he buys animals from an auction, then goes and sells them at another for more $

it's a good way of unloading an excess of birds tho. my advice is if you find an auction and decide to sell, stop culling the males because the people literally don't care what it is

got an auction close to where i live , but you have to apply for a spot , and every time i do , i get denied. being told regulars come first. i cant travel too far for one. plus my car isnt big enough to lug them all around. i hope if i keep bugging them . they will just accept me seeing how much i want in .

main reason for culling the boys is well ... i cut back on some mouths to feed. and im limited on space.

their all mixed as well. i know most of the parents breeds, and i have 3 hens from the last batch i hatched out left from last year, and they turned out to be ADORABLE .... i was hoping that would be my selling point . 2 of the hens i kept , have small neat afros and a few feathers on their legs. lol

 

[pandahomestead]

"teen" duckling and baby ducklings..

less then half of the chicks .



their all really cute... too bad i cant keep them this size.. people like "miniature animals" lol
and i know some roos slipped by ... but i cut back on quite a few. at least.

 

[Aapomp831]

Craigslist. I know people still associate CL with rape and murder, but it’a not that way (if you have basic common sense lol). I had 3 calls in one hour as soon as I listed my birds.

 

[pandahomestead]

Craigslist. I know people still associate CL with rape and murder, but it’a not that way (if you have basic common sense lol). I had 3 calls in one hour as soon as I listed my birds.

ive tried craigslist a few times.. no bites... actually i had 1 call , and it was to ask me if i ever butchered a 4 week old chick and ate it, and how it tasted..... because i was selling 4 week old chicks at that point... was weird... ive even reached out to people with large reptiles...

 

[Isadora]

Are your birds competitively priced? Are you rural enough that people don't want to drive to see you? Perhaps you could post your advertisement in a different town that you're willing to deliver to. If you live in a neighborhood, are you on the website Next Door? It's basically a website where you can meet people in your area, post advertisements, get put up to date on things that are going on.
Your birds are very beautiful! I wish you all the best in trying to sell them.

 

[pandahomestead]

Are your birds competitively priced? Are you rural enough that people don't want to drive to see you? Perhaps you could post your advertisement in a different town that you're willing to deliver to. If you live in a neighborhood, are you on the website Next Door? It's basically a website where you can meet people in your area, post advertisements, get put up to date on things that are going on.
Your birds are very beautiful! I wish you all the best in trying to sell them.

i had them priced at $2 each for chick and $5 each for duckling. i was able to sell the parents of my chicks easily .. since they where already egg laying age for $10 each.

i now have my chicks priced at 4 for a $1 and duckings 2 for $5 just because im trying to get rid of them ... and wanted a TINY little fee for raising them/ make sure people are willing to spend a bit of money on them .. but honestly if someone wanted ALL of them .. id give them up for $20 total ... ive learned my lesson and wont be doing this again .. lol

and thank you , their very friendly as well, since i spent a lot of time with them.