jas humbert - Do you know what the cost of the equipment was when your husband looked into it? I have wondered if there might be enough of a local demand to offer sexing services (might need to find a better way to advertise that, lol) in order to cover the costs but start up is always the hardest part, waiting for a return on an investment. I know commercial hatcheries would be far too overwhelmed with genetic testing on huge volumes of birds that need to be shipped out as day olds but someone who does enough hatching on a smaller scale for a local market might eventually get a return on the investment if it is not too expensive. I always have more time than money to invest.
He hasn't looked into it recently, he just made an off-the-cuff remark probably trying to encourage me not to spend more money on chickens. He hasn't been in that field in several years and a lot has changed. I did a little looking up on electophoresis equipment and all. Prices have come down in the last few years and it is getting easier to use without being a professional. But still looks like a minimum of $600+ even with the cheapest less automated slower mini machines. Speed is a big factor in price- 30 minutes vs under a minute. . I would also have to consider the cost of running each test. Gel is not cheap. Probably not something that makes sense for me unless I was breeding on a much larger scale than I ever envision doing.
