Raising while also Profiting from Chickens??

[Our Roost]

scflock, how are you doing with your addiction problem? Are you getting plenty of rest and taking care of your chickens?

 

[Our Roost]

Bama1, we raise Belgium malines, Bielefelders, Blue orpingtons, And maybe some English crele orpingtons this year. I have a few Golden cuckoo hens also in the mix. All are good dual purpose meat birds. Some crossbreeding projects slated for 2016. 2 Coops and its going to get a little crazy before it gets better!

 

[scflock]

scflock, how are you doing with your addiction problem? Are you getting plenty of rest and taking care of your chickens?

And I work 55hrs a week. Two words changed my life.
Nipple waterers

 

[scflock]

We're now up to 3 bators full of eggs 24/7 from Spring thru fall as well as doing once a month Saturday "poultry swaps" AND selling chicks on craiglist...We sell, when rockin, 2-300 chicks/ducks a year with only Silkies and various ducks...Our goal this year is to double that, if not triple it, and we've added Pekins, Sultans, Polish and Sebrights to our menu which has upped the $@bird rate considerably...We were going to add Lakenvelders but found demand for Sultans to be very high so we're doubling up on those for production...Xtra eggs we give away if we can't eat them all...You can make money selling birds, we don't ship and we don't even live in a populated area...It won't be your only source of income but it can surely supplement one...

How are you doing with the Polish? I just started selling them this year. I actually haven't had a reply to the ad, but am selling them to people that come for marans or silkies, and see them in person. That's a very rare breed around here. I'm hoping the few I sell during the winter will translate into word of mouth sells this spring. I have 6 different pens, and anyone that comes over is instantly drawn to that one

 

[kathleens1979]

Interesting thread. I do sell eating eggs, but I don't know if I am ever ahead. It's nice to take in a bit to offset costa though.

 

[Our Roost]

Nipple waterers? Is that all it took to get rid of your OCD? I have a 55 gal. barrel water set up with PVC piping and nipplers both inside and outside the coop. Screed and filtered rain water service their drinking needs all seasons except for winter. I use heated doggie water bowls in the winter. I keep them somewhat up off the ground but they still get dirty pretty quick. Changing out frozen water a couple times a day just dont get it eh!

 

[scflock]

Nipple waterers? Is that all it took to get rid of your OCD? I have a 55 gal. barrel water set up with PVC piping and nipplers both inside and outside the coop. Screed and filtered rain water service their drinking needs all seasons except for winter. I use heated doggie water bowls in the winter. I keep them somewhat up off the ground but they still get dirty pretty quick. Changing out frozen water a couple times a day just dont get it eh!

No, it just made the OCD easier to cope with. For 1.5-2 hrs every other day, before or after work, I was hauling three gallon waterers in and out of the pens to clean and refresh. I graduated from there to gravity fed, but still traditional waterers. I could refill from outside the pens, but still had to clean every other day. I tried the nipples this year. Game changer. We very rarely get below freezing at night, and never for more than a few days at a time. Then it's back to the manual hauling. I have 5 gallon buckets with PVC piping in each pen. My next project is going to be the gravity fed 6inch feeders that I can fill from the outside. I really enjoy it, more than I ever thought I would when I first bought those first 4 pullets. It's a lot of work, but it's rewarding, and my backyard looks like a carnival now with all of the different coops. One customer last weekend said "It looks like Miami Beach". A lot of pastels

I'm in charge of location and building, but my wife has the artistic design

I will never, ever, turn a profit, but at least selling the chicks offsets the day to day costs

 

[Bama1]

The Maline and Biellefleders sounds interesting I think they are beauties! And of course Orps are so nice. I also sell a lot of eggs here on the 24 hour auction thread and the Just In Time auction thead as well as on some facebook groups and locally from my own Facebook page. In the summer when hatching eggs sales drop off because of the heat index I usually sell them as eating eggs at the farmers market.

Bama1, we raise Belgium malines, Bielefelders, Blue orpingtons, And maybe some English crele orpingtons this year. I have a few Golden cuckoo hens also in the mix. All are good dual purpose meat birds. Some crossbreeding projects slated for 2016. 2 Coops and its going to get a little crazy before it gets better!

 

[suebgbr]

Here Silkies are sought after for meat. The chinese love the black skin and dark meat. It is very much like duck

 

[scflock]

Here Silkies are sought after for meat. The chinese love the black skin and dark meat. It is very much like duck

I had read that they were extremely popular in Asia. I have a Mexican friend who will dispose of any excess silkie roos for me

. He says the same thing about meat quality.
I just can't do it. Seems like it would be like plucking a kitten