New Egg Business......how many chickens to start with

[debb7898]

Hey guys, I started with 12 chickens last year,. 2 of them were taken out by dogs that were brought onto the land, and they were taken before we realized what happened...Anyway I shed some tears....Im now starting to get more ppl stopping for free range eggs, and Im getting some more in a few weeks....
My question is: Anyone in the same business as me? If so how many chickens do you have, to build a business.....A customer stopped in today, and I said, I was currently out and wouldnt have any for a couple of days....I said, how many were you looking to get, 4 or 5 doz, and she looked at me, and said no we want more than that.....Sooooooooooooooo whith that in mind, Im thinking oh my gosh, I wonder if I sould get more ....I was planning on getting 14 more, that would give me 2 doz a day, however I already have a couple of families buying 4 to 5 dozen a month.....and Im thinking if this woman wants more than that, lol I should get more than that, so what is the average birds to keep on hand to build a free range eggs....
Thanks Debb

 

[lahowardjr]

I've got fourteen hens and right now average eight eggs a day. I sell my eggs too to a small customer base. I would suggest that you try for awhile and just see how your flock does in production. If you add to your flock, consider if you have enough room on the run and in the coop for them to roost. Most of the time I stay behind too on eggs but when sales go down, they stack up quick! 25 to 30 birds will help you get the numbers you want but they won't go into production for approximately 30 weeks. Also, List your egg business on www.localhens.com It is a free listing and it may help you sell eggs to those looking for them in your area. Good luck and I hope I could help.

 

[debb7898]

Oh my gosh, thankyou so much, thats what I was figuring, I may be adding different things to my business, Im on disability just trying to make a living.....God is Great, Ive been through quite an ordeal the last couple of years, and God sent me home to live on my daughters ad her husbands farm....Thank you so much for your reply...

Debb

 

[Den in Penn]

Starting small and finding how big your customer base is. I built my coop to house twenty 24 hens. I figured that would be enough to have a good hobby business. I think I could double that number and still not have enough.

With If you plan on continuing the business you need to rotate new hens into the flock to keep the egg production up. As they age they slow down on the number of eggs they lay. You need to know how many hens you can expand to and decide how often you will replace them. If you have the room and can expand to say 24 and keep them for three years, then replacing a third, 8, a year is the number you would do each year. I started with 14, figuring on losing a couple by the time the third year came around, and cull the least productive hens when the third year turned.

 

[Island Roo]

I built my facilities to accommodate 50 birds thinking I would never get that many. I now have 26 hens and 2 roos and my coop, run, feeders etc (and most important - my time) are as full as I want. The 50 birds estimate was based on sizes recommended on this site and elsewhere - seems I'm more comfortable with a less crowded coop than average.

I could easily sell double what I'm now producing but increasing production is not on the menu for me. I'm in a good place with more demand for product than I can fill. It's certainly better than having more eggs than I can sell.

My advice is to produce what you are comfortable with. If you're good with increased production, go for it. but don't get carried away chasing after demand unless you have all your ducks in a row.