Profitability

[rosetarantelli]

Hello, my name is Rose. I'm currently starting up my own farm in small steps on my parents farm land while I grow to hopefully have my own land & independent business in the next 4 years.
I'm considering building a mobile chicken tractor on a utility trailer and starting a small flock of about 20 chickens to gain experience before increasing my numbers. I plan on using the eggs for our family, and then selling what's left at my parents booth at the farmers market which gets a significant amount of traction- over 1,000 people per day.
I'm aware that starting up I won't be making a profit off of them while I'm going to be paying for all of the start up equipment and feed while I wait for them to start laying.
My family thinks it's not worth it and I'm better off buying eggs from the store because of all of the time and money it is going to take initially.
For me, the purpose of raising these chickens is not to get rich instantly.
I want to grow my own food and be self sustaining, to feel the satisfaction of eating/ selling a product I worked hard to make. I want it to be a learning experience, but I do eventually want to make a profit off of this.
I've raised chickens before, I know it takes hard work and I know small scale will never be profitable for me. But, I know there must be some money in raising chickens, I see a lot of successful farmers with large flocked producing pasture raised eggs.
I'm looking to expanded to a large flock (in the hundreds), get them well established, and make back the cost it took took to start up.
If my profit outweighs my feed cost it would be worth it to me.
Can any farms speak to this?
If I push through the first few years, treat it as a business and not a hobby, can I make a profit? How long will it take? What can I do to ensure that I'm successful?
I DO NOT want to start this endeavor only to give it up in 2 years and waste $1,000s.
I don't see that as an option, as I'm trying to start my own farm.
Please give me your guidance and advice.
Thank you!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Hi Rose! Welcome to BYC

I don't have any firsthand experience in trying to make a profit, but I can share the bit I've learned from someone that does.

It really helps if you can utilize all aspects of the bird: eggs, meat, and breeding. They primarily use Buff Orpingtons. Fantastic layers, good size for a table bird, and the hens frequently go broody to raise the next generation. She has them in a large, semi free-range enclosure with predator netting. She also keeps a smaller amount of non-broody layers (like Cream Legbars) to top off the egg levels during broody season.

Of course, there are people that just focus on eggs, in which case you're looking at breeds like Rhode Island Reds (and their hybrids) or Leghorns. I've heard these tend to be more aggressive than something like an Orpington, so it's possible you'll run into behavioral troubles/injuries if they're kept in closer proximity. I have a friend that keeps RIRs, but she has multiple coops and acres of land for them to roam, along with livestock guardian dogs.

I want to grow my own food and be self sustaining, to feel the satisfaction of eating/ selling a product I worked hard to make. I want it to be a learning experience, but I do eventually want to make a profit off of this.

I think this is the biggest argument for getting started. You said you've raised chickens before, but you're going to want to try it on this slightly larger scale to see if you can work out the kinks and get things running smoothly. Somewhere between 20-30 sounds like a great number. It's a lot of chickens, for sure, but it's not an insane amount. That will also let you test the market. You may find your product selling like hotcakes, or you could be disappointed, especially if there's other farms in the area with loyal customers.

I'm interested to see what others say. I hope you'll give it a shot. Even if it doesn't work out, you'll certainly gain a lot of experience and can course correct for another time.

 

[rosetarantelli]

Hi Rose! Welcome to BYC

I don't have any firsthand experience in trying to make a profit, but I can share the bit I've learned from someone that does.

It really helps if you can utilize all aspects of the bird: eggs, meat, and breeding. They primarily use Buff Orpingtons. Fantastic layers, good size for a table bird, and the hens frequently go broody to raise the next generation. She has them in a large, semi free-range enclosure with predator netting. She also keeps a smaller amount of non-broody layers (like Cream Legbars) to top off the egg levels during broody season.

Of course, there are people that just focus on eggs, in which case you're looking at breeds like Rhode Island Reds (and their hybrids) or Leghorns. I've heard these tend to be more aggressive than something like an Orpington, so it's possible you'll run into behavioral troubles/injuries if they're kept in closer proximity. I have a friend that keeps RIRs, but she has multiple coops and acres of land for them to roam, along with livestock guardian dogs.


I think this is the biggest argument for getting started. You said you've raised chickens before, but you're going to want to try it on this slightly larger scale to see if you can work out the kinks and get things running smoothly. Somewhere between 20-30 sounds like a great number. It's a lot of chickens, for sure, but it's not an insane amount. That will also let you test the market. You may find your product selling like hotcakes, or you could be disappointed, especially if there's other farms in the area with loyal customers.

I'm interested to see what others say. I hope you'll give it a shot. Even if it doesn't work out, you'll certainly gain a lot of experience and can course correct for another time.

Hey there!
Thank you so much for your insight, it was a really helpful perspective especially with the point you made about raising multipurpose birds.
Also thank you for the breed suggestions, I love the idea of them raising their next generation with lots of chicks around!!
Do you have any recommendations on how many roosters should be in a flock?
If I have permission from my family to use the land I’m definitely going to give it a shot now!
Thanks,
Rose

 

[Penpal]

If you are going to raise your own chickens spend the extra money on a pair (or more) of excellent birds. You will get the size, personality, etc. that you expect. Hatchery chicks are unlikely to come up to the quality of well bred chicks.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Hey there!
Thank you so much for your insight, it was a really helpful perspective especially with the point you made about raising multipurpose birds.
Also thank you for the breed suggestions, I love the idea of them raising their next generation with lots of chicks around!!
Do you have any recommendations on how many roosters should be in a flock?
If I have permission from my family to use the land I’m definitely going to give it a shot now!
Thanks,
Rose

I'm pretty sure the recommended ratio is something like 1:8-12, but I've also seen people with a single rooster for flocks of 30. You risk having altercations with multiple roos (if they're not separated), but it also increases the likelihood of fertilized eggs. Are you thinking of keeping the entire group together as one flock, or splitting into a couple sub-flocks?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Generally it's recommended that a rooster have at least 10 hens so he doesn't overbreed them, but that's just a general rule of thumb. I would advise you to pick the brains of a couple of accomplished breeders like @The Moonshiner (leghorns, but he may not tell you anything unless you promise to name all your chickens and your firstborn Moony, lol) and @Ridgerunner, who is very knowledgeable about chicken behavior. Also @Shadrach, one of our resident rooster experts. Good luck with your endeavors. And may I suggest you take classes in how to run a business, because whether it's eggs, chickens, grommets or gizmos, you can't go wrong with a solid background in business admin, bookkeeping and that sort of thing.

 

[rosetarantelli]

Generally it's recommended that a rooster have at least 10 hens so he doesn't overbreed them, but that's just a general rule of thumb. I would advise you to pick the brains of a couple of accomplished breeders like @The Moonshiner (leghorns, but he may not tell you anything unless you promise to name all your chickens and your firstborn Moony, lol) and @Ridgerunner, who is very knowledgeable about chicken behavior. Also @Shadrach, one of our resident rooster experts. Good luck with your endeavors. And may I suggest you take classes in how to run a business, because whether it's eggs, chickens, grommets or gizmos, you can't go wrong with a solid background in business admin, bookkeeping and that sort of thing.

Thanks for the advice & connections!!
I’m currently taking a smalls farms course through Cornell (it’s online & free) it’s connecting me to a lot of really helpful resources, and I think it’s going to cover some business & marketing chapters.
So many things to learn all at once!
I’m reading Storey’s Guide to Raising sheep right now- When I’m done I’m going to read the Chicken book in that series as well to give me more info, but I know the farmers with the first hand experience are the most valuable resource

 

[rosetarantelli]

If you are going to raise your own chickens spend the extra money on a pair (or more) of excellent birds. You will get the size, personality, etc. that you expect. Hatchery chicks are unlikely to come up to the quality of well bred chicks.

Thanks for the input! Would I purchase them from farms that raise select breeds for well bred chicks if not hatchery’s?

 

[Penpal]

I went to the poultry show at Cheboygan, Michigan. I asked somebody if there was anyone present who sold Brahmas. She pointed out the Brahma judge and said that he was "Mr. Brahma". Mr. Brahma called his wife. I drove a couple of miles to their little homestead and bought two chickens. One rooster, one hen, $100 each. See, much more reasonable than a racehorse. Compared to my hatchery Brahma, incomparable.

 

[Penpal]

As Big Blue Hen wrote, take a couple of classes on business. Your local community college probably has practical classes for you. Basic Bookkeeping, Accounting for the small Business, Small Animal agriculture.

Be sure to compare the prices of commercial chicken feed with that which you can grow yourself, and also a combination of less expensive feed supplemented with homegrown. How to produce viable fertilizer using chicken manure.