OK, lets talk about really managing your flock, and that is how to support it financially. I've been going in the hole a lot these past few years and it's mainly because I have three llamas that protect my chickens from bears and mountain lions. They do a great job of protecting the flock but it costs me over $1,000 in hay to feed the llamas! Add to that the chicken food and I'm up over $1,300 a year for a flock of 20 chickens.
So these past few weeks I've been brainstorming different ways to make this more profitable, at least to the break even point. I thought I'd share some of my ideas here since I shared them at work and people gave me some great ideas I had never thought of before.
If you have any other clever ideas to generate revenue please post them!
So these past few weeks I've been brainstorming different ways to make this more profitable, at least to the break even point. I thought I'd share some of my ideas here since I shared them at work and people gave me some great ideas I had never thought of before.
- Raising Chicks ($48 per dozen eggs): I recently bought a high end incubator for $700, an RCom 20 Pro with USB. I decided to raise some chicks and sell them for extra $$. On my very first batch of eggs I decided to post an ad to sell the chicks and on the first day I had two people wanting my chicks! Now I'm working on a waiting list. I just ordered another incubator, an RCom 50 Pro for about $850. While this is a huge initial investment I believe that it will pay off in the long run. Assuming a 90% hatch rate and selling at $4 a bird I'll be making $252 every three weeks! Assuming my birds won't lay in the four coldest months that's $2,016 a year! That alone turns my losses into profits. And selling the birds before they hatch reduces my costs to zero since I can sell them shortly after they hatch, no food needed!
- Selling Hatching Eggs ($15 per dozen). These seem to sell pretty good on E-bay, even with the $15 shipping charge added.
- Selling Eggs to Eat ($3 per dozen): This is probably my biggest seller right now. I give free eggs away at work to get everyone hooked, then get three bucks a dozen!
- Selling chicken manure: I've seen chicken manure sold on the internet for gardens. I don't think it's a huge money maker but it would generate some revenue. I haven't tried selling this yet.
- Selling llama manure: Llama manure is as 'hot' as chicken manure and needs good composting before it can be used. But I do see it for sale on the internet so here is a source of revenue.
- Selling llama fur: I don't shear my llamas because of the extreme cold up here in the mountains in the winters, but this could be a potential source of revenue. I do consider my llamas as part of my flock as my chickens wouldn't survive without them.
- Selling old chickens: I can sell my 'old' chickens for $7 - $10 each at my yard sale! This generates more revenue than trying to butcher chickens. I can sell an old hen for ten bucks and go to the grocery store and buy whole chickens for five bucks each ready to cook!
- Selling Rooster Feathers: A guy at work told me about this, the feathers on the back of the rooster in the 'saddle' are used for tying flies for fly fishing and can sell as much as $50 for one rooster!
If you have any other clever ideas to generate revenue please post them!
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