Raising while also Profiting from Chickens??

[Thisbirdsabsurd]

How much do you charge?

They're $45. And still on the lookout for new materials to expand the flock!

 

[afritz26]

I find the best way is to sell fertile eggs or hatching eggs, as you make more money on those than "eating eggs" lol

 

[Red Rooster Pro]

We take our 3-5 month old roosters to a local auction....so far we make anywhere from 10-20.00 each rooster. I would say that is pretty good. If you raise them a little longer and get them nice looking and filled out....they sell great. Egg sales, hen sales go for about $20-25 each for 6 month layers. We have a flock of about 45 hens and 10 roosters...free range. So we allow our girls to go broody and hatch their own...as we have roosters to sell we take em down to the local auction. Its great fun for the kids too. Thought about getting an incubator because our last mom that went broody hatched 2 babies and could of hatched more if she had stayed on them longer...I felt bad having to throw out the rest of the babies that were have "cooked" so to speak...

Make some money and fun raising your flock! They are certainly a blessing to have!

 

[RonP]

Prices will vary, depends on your area.

I could get pullets within 2 weeks of laying, for $12 each, from two separate suppliers.

This is within 5 miles of my location in NJ...no quantity restrictions.

I got 2-4 every year for the last 5 years.

 

[Red Rooster Pro]

You can also raise your own worms to supplement the cost of feed... We raise Soldier black fly larva....chickens love it and they reproduce on very little to no cost to us at all. We stop by our local produce stands and pick up their rotten and bad vegies and bring it home and put into the tank. All our left overs/things that get bad in the fridge go to the tank, leaves and a little bit of TLC produces thousands of these guys. We keep them in a horse troth turned into a giant worm breeder. As long as there is rotten or dead stuff in there the fly will come lay their eggs and they will produce over and over. We have shot squirrels and put them into the tank and they love pretty much anything dead. Now I did not say it is pretty to raise them or smells the greatest....but with a 45%-50% level of protein for your chickens...they will produce double yoke eggs before long.... Doing this saves us a ton of money... Bad thing is you can only raise them in warm weather. I am getting ready here in Tampa, FL for another season of Soldier fly raising and going to get my tank ready this week...hopefully things will warm up in the next couple of weeks and we can start all over again. Good luck!

 

[RichnSteph]

I am getting ready here in Tampa, FL for another season of Soldier fly raising and going to get my tank ready this week...hopefully things will warm up in the next couple of weeks and we can start all over again. Good luck!

Doing the same thing in Texas. We finished out BSF auto harvest bin last year late and still got a few pounds of grubs. I buy 500lbs of used brewers grain for $50 and put that in the bin over the course of the season. We use our kitchen scraps for our compost bin.

 

[Our Roost]

Are you a hobbyist or a backyard farmer like myself? I have 2 coops and roughly 30 chickens depending on the season. 1 coop is for meat birds and breeding and the other is for egg layers mostly. Going on our 5th year of raising chickens and there are just too many variables as to why when raising chickens you shouldnt expect to see a profit. Let me explain this further! First off, lets tally up your initial investment to get started. Did you buy or build a coop? Did you purchas an incubator? How about waterers and feeders? Write all those costs down and dont forget them! You dont have to feed your birds Filet Mignon, but they do need a well balanced feed consumption. Keep a log record of how much you use and how much you spend each week or month. Chickens are addictive and you will soon find yourself experimenting with different breeds. More money to enter into the log! I am being very brief here and I am sure I missed some additional costs not mentioned. Please enter those into your log also in case I forgot!
Now, lets start talking about those profits you mentioned? It takes on average about 5 to 6 months before your first hen starts laying eggs. How many birds did you say you have or plan on having? If you are very selective of breed, a good layer will produce an egg a day but usually every other day if its an average heritage breed coming from hatchery stock. Some lay better than others. 12 birds can give you a dozen eggs a day if your lucky. You are not going to eat 12 eggs a day ever so you need to store them in a refrigerator or sell them correct? Do you have a spare refrigerator or do you have to buy one? Better enter that cost in the log journal as well. Lets keep talking here as your journey becomes more interesting as you go.
That incubator you purchased hatches eggs correct? Where are you going to put the chicks until you sell them? Hmm, you need a breeding box. more cost? Yep, I can see big profits already for you in a short period of time. Your best egg customers are relatives whom you gladly give eggs to and very cheaply I might add. How much freezer space do you have for your meat birds? Not enough room? Well, guess what. Do I need to say more about profit? Trust that if you make enough money off of chickens to cover your feed costs you will be lucky. At least until you pay for your expenses!

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Thank you for all the advice everyone!!!

 

[RichnSteph]

Thank you for all the advice everyone!!!

I've just got to tell you that your avatar freaks me out a little and I have no idea why......

 

[sdm111]

U can make money focusing on the right breeds to the right people after a couple yrs cause you'll already have all the accessories ie: incubators, brooders, feeders, waterers. And getting yourself established in the loop. You're best advertising will be word of mouth but it takes time.