Raising then selling chicks

[Sueby]

I bought 10 week old pullets that way once, but they are much more expensive here in CT! I think I paid $20 each & believe me, she gets the price, she goes through a LOT of chicks. She has a website where you place your order way ahead of time & pay (which I think you should do too). She then emails you a time to pick up the chicks where (due to COVID) they are in a box in her driveway with a bag of chick starter ready to go.

All in all the process went well. She has a very good variety, which is one of the reasons I went to her - the only other birds I could find at the time were POL RSL, which I didn't want. & her website was set up nicely, you could choose all the breeds you wanted, with the age you wanted them & the time of year.

 

[Iluveggers]

Could you D

I bought 10 week old pullets that way once, but they are much more expensive here in CT! I think I paid $20 each & believe me, she gets the price, she goes through a LOT of chicks. She has a website where you place your order way ahead of time & pay (which I think you should do too). She then emails you a time to pick up the chicks where (due to COVID) they are in a box in her driveway with a bag of chick starter ready to go.

All in all the process went well. She has a very good variety, which is one of the reasons I went to her - the only other birds I could find at the time were POL RSL, which I didn't want. & her website was set up nicely, you could choose all the breeds you wanted, with the age you wanted them & the time of year.

Would you mind DMing me her website? Maybe I could see if my cousin could make something similar for me! That sounds super easy once it’s set up!

 

[Sueby]

Done!

 

[Tallisdibrani]

So I absolutely love chick babies. Obviously due to space I can’t continually have little ones in my house and move them outside!

Has anyone successfully had small hatching orders or bought specific chicks and raised them to 4-6 weeks old for people? I was thinking to take a $5 per chick deposit, and then they pay a second $5 once they reach 4-6 weeks and are ready to be picked up & can easily go outside. (Obviously more rare breeds would cost more. I can get eggs for $1.50 each if people wanted straight run chicks, or chicks for about $4 locally). They are pure breeds not barnyard mixes.

Thought this could be a fun way to have babies regularly without the worry of whether or not I can find a buyer. Do you think people would be interested? After next year, we will only be adding to our flock sparingly to replace birds that pass on, and I know I will miss having the little ones around! Thanks for any input or help!

Makes sense x

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So would you only get the chicks or eggs once you had the deposit in hand? So you'd be reasonably certain you would not be stuck with chicks you didn't want or need?

 

[Iluveggers]

So would you only get the chicks or eggs once you had the deposit in hand? So you'd be reasonably certain you would not be stuck with chicks you didn't want or need?

Yes, I would need orders about a month in advance. I actually am trying a hatch this year and have a buyer who is paying $2 per hatched chick. I am not worried about making money, just wanted to try hatching and needed someone to take the chicks. So it gives me the opportunity to experiment. He is going to pick them up around the 2 week mark.

Once I am more confident I can try hatching for others more regularly. With the chicks, I am hoping some people don’t want to deal with heat and a brooder, so if I raise them for 4 weeks so they can go off heat, I can ask for $10 each and save some people some time, and fit a few bins in my “chicken brooder room.” If they want straight run babies, I can just sell them for $3 each out of thr incubator and still make $1 per chick. Honestly, as long as I break even I can enjoy the hobby and not have to go in debt with it.

I was thinking I could even offer a hatching service for people who want their own chicks but don’t have a chicken broody at the time. Maybe $1 per egg that hatches? So they aren’t paying for eggs that don’t hatch.

I won’t get into this until the end of summer or next spring, but sometimes it helps to bounce ideas off of other chicken people!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sounds fascinating! I wish you well and hope it works out for you. Please keep us posted. (You might just turn into your own hatchery some day, who knows!)

 

[Iluveggers]

Sounds fascinating! I wish you well and hope it works out for you. Please keep us posted. (You might just turn into your own hatchery some day, who knows!)

Thank you for the encouragement! It will be a little bit but I will definitely update!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Good luck with your project! Honestly, I think you’re charging too little.

 

[Iluveggers]

Good luck with your project! Honestly, I think you’re charging too little.

Thank you! This year is just an “experiment”. I can always adjust upwards if there is demand!