Rental plucker business

[possumblossum]

Quote:
1) Northwest
2) Not sure why that matters, although I have a flock of about 20
3) Not many. However, I intend to use Craigslist, other online forums and the local contacts I do have.

Also - my intention is not to make a killing by any means. Really, my intent is to

1) teach my children about running a business, dealing with people and money
2) help other people like myself who want to process their own, and
3) maybe make a little money along the way

Yes, I have looked into insurance.

By the way, not that this really matters but it might stave off some of the more basic business thoughts, I am a CPA and a business guy. I have owned and consulted on many different businesses. I just know that more people are getting back into processing their own food and thought this might be a good time.

Thanks for all the help and thoughts. I really appreciate it.

I'd go to the "Where I am, Where are you" thread and the "Chickenstock" page to make at least a couple dozen contacts within reasonable driving distance. There may already be a BYCer with a similar operation already going. Are there any butchering operations in your general area? We have a couple of small, family-run operations that basically service the local Co-op members. Folks like this may be interested in partnering with you for a once-a-month poultry processing Saturday. You pluck, they chop, split the difference.

The reason I asked how many chicken you had was that I have received alot of interest from folks looking to buy farm-raised meat. (I'll be expanding into meat birds throughout the summer) If there is enough general interest (I'd place a flyer on the bulletin board of a local fresh market), you may be able to justify the cost by doing a little plucking and a little processing.

Just some thougths

Justin

 

[averytds]

I would think about renting, but if you offered reasonably priced, small flock processing, I'd jump on it. I could see a lot of backyard flock people interested even if just to handle the inevitable un-allowed roo here and there. Even if you had set dates, like one day a month or one weekend every 2-3 months. I'm not in your area though.

I know one of our local grocery stores is advertising for locally produced foods and someone told me they had been approached by (restaurant or store, I don't remember) about whether or not they could produce/provide 20 birds a month.