Raising Chickens For Sale

[MD_Plants]

Hello! This is my first post on this fourm! This is probably in the wrong place and i hope some mod can move it to a more appropriate section.

Im a 15 year old in Maryland who loves animals and nature and such. A year or so ago i decidied to hatch quail (without telling my parents), and lets just say they found out, and we only kept one. Sadly it got out and our dog ate it, and everyone was sad. Low and behold my mom decided to spontaneously pick up 6- 2 week old chicks from a local mill and build a huge run, then get pecan ducks.

We found a women on craigslist selling silkies for 20 each, and we picked up 3 hens. She also offered me a job landscaping and taking care of her chickens. This was probably 3 months ago or so. Yesterday i said it would be so fun to raise chickens, and she said i could use one of her runs to do it and shell take care of them. (i insisted on paying a rate she said no, ill probably end up giving her 50 percent of profits).

So what chickens in Maryland are worth breeding and ill actually be able to sell?
I want to start with eggs, as i cant drive by myself and no one has many options close by, is this a decent plan?
Any other input?

 

[Futuregreenefarm]

Hey there, welcome!!

There are others on here who will have great advice for you.

What I want to do is give some encouragement. That's great how you want to be responsible and already thinking of giving back to the lady who has helped you! I am proud of you! Keep up the good work!!

 

[MD_Plants]

Thanks a bunch! I leave for college in 3 years... Is this worth doing? Is it possible to make money from it?

 

[linsybird]

I’m not from Maryland, so I can’t tell you what breeds would be best, but if there are any chicken Facebook groups for Maryland, that would probably be the best place to look. You should be able to see what other people have for sale, and get an idea of what is popular. You can also check swap meets your area.

What ages do you plan on selling? Chicks sell for less, but you don’t have to spend money raising them. You also don’t have to worry about dealing with all the unwanted cockerels. Pullets and hens sell for more, but you also have to account for the cost of feed and other expenses.

Eventually I’d like to sell chicks and started pullets myself, so I’ve looked into it some, but I don’t have much experience. That seems like a pretty great setup though!