Selling 23 week old chickens for profit- is there a market?

[BYCforlife]

I was considering raising chickens and selling them as soon as they start laying eggs. I was wondering how much success other people may have had with this? Also, I couldn't find the proper category for this question, sorry about that.

 

[TattooedChicks]

Just from local advertising, I see a few people in my are selling their started pullets and hens for about $20-35 dollars a piece on common breeds. Just from feed math, say a pound of chick starter a week on average at $.70 per pound (my price around here) is about $16 in feed to get to 23 weeks old. Plus cost of the chick/eggs, water, electricity if brooding/hatching, and your time. Not a huge profit but maybe breaking even.

 

[BYCforlife]

And my chick starter is WAY cheaper! $.30 per pound. I was also thinking of possibly selling coop packages, (coop, feeder, waterer, feed, wood shavings etc.) so maybe that would help me make a little more profit. Thanks for the info!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

35 dollars for point of lay pullet! Holy cow, and here I thought Kansas was an agricultural state?

Prices around my area are now up to $20 but you can still find point of lay for less. And of course the term point of lay is loosely used. Some try to sell 16 week and younger pullets as POL and $20

But if the market can support it who am I to judge. Your feed costs will vary on type of breed, layer or dual purpose, and how much feed is lost to wildlife and rodents and how much forage your birds have access to. 1/4 to 1/3 pound of feed per bird per day at 12 weeks and older and lets say 1/8 pound per day for overestimate from hatch to 12 weeks. To average and overestimate costs another way let's say 24 weeks at a 1/4 pound a day is 1/4*24*4.3 = 25.8 lbs of feed for one bird to 24 weeks of age. A bag of feed is $15 for 50lbs on average so your feed costs alone are only 7.50. If we go large on pine shavings and electric costs to hatch and brood and say a bag of shavings per bird plus 2.50 electric we'd add another 10 dollars. Reality of it is it only costs about 15 dollars maximum to raise a bird to point of lay so if we double that for fair retail (50% mark up retail) $30 per bird is not as ridiculously high as I originally thought. Being in a poverty stricken ag state the last time I purchased point of lay pullets five years ago paid 12.50 per bird which is a more accurate cost to raise them including price of chick.

 

[BYCforlife]

So I might want to sell them sooner, so I can sell them cheaper, therefore selling more, therefore making more money! I will have to see what sells better. Most people look at price more than age when it comes to chickens.
"wow! one dollar!"
"how old?"
"Only 12 years! please, mom?"

 

[waddles99]

Not worth it. People want everything for cheap. I was forced to sell POL pullets for $10 when I needed space. No one wanted them for $20 or even $15. With a $5 chick plus all the feed and work that goes into it, $10 is losing money. I figure a chicken eats around $20 of food before it gets to that age. Plus the labor. And all other costs. Not worth it at all.

 

[BYCforlife]

Okay, then for my second money making scheme: Day olds! lol.

 

[waddles99]

The market is flooded with them. What will make people want to buy your birds when there are hundreds of other options out there, probably for less money?

 

[junebuggena]

I sell my chicks as soon as they are can be reliably sexed, usually at 6 to 8 weeks. That way, customers still get to enjoy them while they are young, but they don't have to worry about brooder setups and raising delicate babies. And I limit how much I have to spend feeding them, maximizing profit.

 

[BYCforlife]

I see. I might be able to buy grain for a very cheap price, would chickens do okay with 1/2 that and 1/2 starter/grower?