She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[FridayYet]

I didn't realize you could get it from eggs. I guess it makes sense. Yikes!

Is that common with CL's?

Not sure. I've only had these two and they have always been bossy.

I wouldn't use them just because of the auto sexing. It's hard enough to sell chicks straight run. I would hate to be stuck with 20 roosters from day 1
I am struggling with this one. I want purebred chickens, but purebred and SQ are 2 different things. I don't want to breed bad birds and propagate faults, further diluting what is available, but at the same time I have been following that thread for 6 months and have only seen one bird that anyone recommended keeping. For my own satisfaction, I would like knowing I had the best birds around, but my customers don't care. They want dark eggs, and when you breed towards dark eggs you breed away from SOP. Conversely, if you breed to SOP, you lose egg color. When you start culling for SOP and egg color, you will probably be left with 1% of your birds

Autosexing was perfect for me since I lived in the suburbs at the time and could only have hens. Actually, I couldn't legally have any, but that's another story. No one knew we had them due to our lot location.

She charged by the pair, and would keep the roosters if you didn't want them. I think she had a "rooster guy" that would take them.

I want to have birds that are recognizable as the breed they are supposed to be. Decent specimens, always moving toward SOP - but I'm never going to get to "show birds" because I'm too small scale. My little BCM will eventually be an OE mom if I get a nice Ameraucana rooster out of these chicks.

 

[scflock]

I was thinking about that with autosexing, but if I get a little more land next year I wouldn't mind keeping the roos in a pen and feeding them 24% feed and then......


I hear you on the SOP and egg color. I'm not going to shows and I guess I'm not really trying to, so I will focus on customers and try to get as close to the SOP as I can. I do like the SOP I just think it's a bit strange in some ways. I'm also not trying to make a million bucks, I just have a goal to have my eggs and hobby pay for itself.

I saw someone say that keeping chickens for show and keeping them for utility is COMPLETELY different. And that honestly makes me a little sad. That's what makes chickens awesome! Otherwise I would keep peafowl or parrots for heck sakes!

I feel the same way about utility and show. 99% of my customers just want chickens. They don't know about wrong colored feathers, carnation combs, missing toes, etc... They just want healthy chickens that lay pretty eggs, and that's what I have. I still advertise them as pet quality, because I don't want the chance of selling to that 1% person that wants to show, and gets disqualified with one of my birds. With social media like it is, your reputation could be ruined in a heartbeat. As far as profits, your goal is very reasonable. This is the first year that I have ever "broke even", and that is a win. I would be keeping chickens anyway, so having a hobby that can actually fund itself is great

 

[scflock]

Not sure. I've only had these two and they have always been bossy.


Autosexing was perfect for me since I lived in the suburbs at the time and could only have hens. Actually, I couldn't legally have any, but that's another story. No one knew we had them due to our lot location.

She charged by the pair, and would keep the roosters if you didn't want them. I think she had a "rooster guy" that would take them.

I want to have birds that are recognizable as the breed they are supposed to be. Decent specimens, always moving toward SOP - but I'm never going to get to "show birds" because I'm too small scale. My little BCM will eventually be an OE mom if I get a nice Ameraucana rooster out of these chicks.

So far I have been able to sell off all my extra roosters to people that will eat them. I just processed my first couple myself a couple of weeks ago, and it's something I can do, but I will still sell them if I can just to keep from feeding them. It costs me more to raise one to butcher weight than it does to buy one from the store. I will butcher them if they happen to stick around that long, but I don't think I would raise a whole flock of them just for my personal consumption. The other problem I have is that my customers that will eat them don't want them until they are butcher weight, and the most I have ever gotten for grown roosters is $7.50 each. Most white people won't even buy them to kill. Mexicans and Asians love them, but the need to be ready to hit the block when they get home

 

[RubyNala97]

This person needs help URGENTLY
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/990599/destruction-and-disposal-orders-help#post_15400727

This is terrible! Don't know what I would!! The whole bird flu thing is horrible all the way around!

 

[scflock]

All started in 1955.

How did I miss this one? I said mid-fifties. I googled it too, but if I had said 55-56, everyone would have known that I had to look it up. Now you've made me out myself, all because you had to be right

 

[scflock]

The whole bird flu thing is horrible all the way around!

That one is a mixed bag for me. I worry about my birds, but my eggs are selling faster than I can box them

 

[chicapee]

So far I have been able to sell off all my extra roosters to people that will eat them. I just processed my first couple myself a couple of weeks ago, and it's something I can do, but I will still sell them if I can just to keep from feeding them. It costs me more to raise one to butcher weight than it does to buy one from the store. I will butcher them if they happen to stick around that long, but I don't think I would raise a whole flock of them just for my personal consumption. The other problem I have is that my customers that will eat them don't want them until they are butcher weight, and the most I have ever gotten for grown roosters is $7.50 each. Most white people won't even buy them to kill. Mexicans and Asians love them, but the need to be ready to hit the block when they get home

we figured that those meaties cost us $1.95 to buy each bird. There were 5. We also have 3 other chicks. All 8 birds plus the 5 in the brooder consumed less than 2 bags of feed at $11.00 each. We worked out that cost about $5.00 or so each to raise over 8 weeks. I have seen organic processed fresh chicken selling for around $20.00 each. Our smallest was 6.5lbs and the largest 7.8 lbs.

 

[sideWing]

So far I have been able to sell off all my extra roosters to people that will eat them. I just processed my first couple myself a couple of weeks ago, and it's something I can do, but I will still sell them if I can just to keep from feeding them. It costs me more to raise one to butcher weight than it does to buy one from the store. I will butcher them if they happen to stick around that long, but I don't think I would raise a whole flock of them just for my personal consumption. The other problem I have is that my customers that will eat them don't want them until they are butcher weight, and the most I have ever gotten for grown roosters is $7.50 each. Most white people won't even buy them to kill. Mexicans and Asians love them, but the need to be ready to hit the block when they get home

I have had a lot of good luck selling roosters and I have noticed the same pattern except mine have all been under 2lbs. Maybe because I'm in a city more folks are willing to get a juvy? My daughter often makes the exchange for me if I'm gone and she has noticed the same pattern of customers. I don't care what they do with them, but many of them have wanted them for breeding. Well I mostly don't care. I would not sell a cockerel to someone if I knew they were using it for dog training. That's too much for this kid.

 

[scflock]

we figured that those meaties cost us $1.95 to buy each bird. There were 5. We also have 3 other chicks. All 8 birds plus the 5 in the brooder consumed less than 2 bags of feed at $11.00 each. We worked out that cost about $5.00 or so each to raise over 8 weeks. I have seen organic processed fresh chicken selling for around $20.00 each. Our smallest was 6.5lbs and the largest 7.8 lbs.

My problem is I don't raise crosses. I'm raising hybrids and heritage breeds, so butcher weight for me is 17-22 weeks. 10 ten week old cuckoo marans roosters will eat a 50lb bag of food/week. I sold them for $2 each just to keep from feeding them

 

[chicapee]

My problem is I don't raise crosses. I'm raising hybrids and heritage breeds, so butcher weight for me is 17-22 weeks. 10 ten week old cuckoo marans roosters will eat a 50lb bag of food/week. I sold them for $2 each just to keep from feeding them

maybe you can get a few for the freezer. It is well worth it I roasted up a 7 pounder on Monday it fed 4 of us 3 of which are big men. I made a stew out of the rest and had that Tuesday and Wednesday. It was the best chicken I have eaten since leaving England.