small time breeder - worth the effort?

[hlf1996]

It depends on how much you sell the eggs for. I think that there would be a market for them if they were cheaper obviously than SQ eggs but also than hatchery eggs bought directly from hatcheries. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Quote:
First, as initially stated, I do not offer hatching eggs now and the point of this thread was that I'm considering building breeding pens in spring. I have ways to separate out a few of the breeds now but they are NOT ideal and I don't often fuss with it, to be honest, unless I want to hatch out some for my own use. Ideally I'd like individual large pens for all my roosters, then when I wanted hatching eggs I would separate out some hens with the rooster of choice. Since no roosters would free range with the hens during the hatching egg season, I would start collecting eggs for hatching within 3 days or so of separation. In the winter I'd let the roosters all back out with the flock, but I don't plan on selling hatching eggs during the winter, either.

I do understand that most people could just buy chicks from the hatcheries - and in fact, that's why I don't buy hatching eggs myself. But it seems to me like many people list hatchery stock hatching eggs and if I could have another outlet to sell eggs, then it may be worthwhile to us, esp. if buyer pays shipping costs and the drive to the post office is just a couple miles. I understand show breeders would avoid me - but in turn I avoid show breeder stock because while I understand breeding for show/conformation in many other species, it just doesn't make sense to me in poultry. I do like Sand Hill preservation's ideas that often include selecting for type/color and productivity, and have long considered getting stock from them, too. Maybe if this turns out to be worthwhile, I could eventually move toward higher quality birds that would be for hatching egg sales only and not bred into hatchery stock. That's a big maybe and they'd have to more than pay for themselves to be reasonable IMO.

ANYWHO, I do have a very large incubator as well and could probably do local sales of chicks out of my birds. Possibly if listed hatching eggs go unsold I could just pop 'em in my 'bator and go from there. I often hatch out Welsh Harlequins by putting clutches of eggs under Muscovy hens, too, which keeps me from being overloaded with Muscovies every year.

Getting some great info/advice from this thread, thanks for the info!

 

[RAREROO]

That sounds like a good idea to try to sell them as hatching eggs first and then incubate the unsold eggs. And yes you will see some hatchery quality eggs listed but they usually don't sell for much, but like I said, I've made enough money to pay for feed just off of selling eatting eggs at $1.50 -$2.00 a dozen and that's if you are only feeding just the laying flock, so if you can sell hatching eggs for just a little more or double what you charge for eatting eggs, then that may be worth it too. It just depends on what your personal goals and expectations are.

 

[danischi24]

I've seen lots of mutts, EE eggs etc selling on here & people buy them so why not? Many BYCers would like to try their incubating skills or are scared of introducing disease into their flocks by buying chicks/adults, so they buy eggs when they would like to try a new breed. Many hobby people can't afford the high prices of hatching eggs from the SQ breeders when the results can be so dismal. I would not label your birds as hatchery stock or exhibition quality, but as bred for high egg yield as you have a blend of both stocks & breed for laying qualities. You should make a point of mentioning that you breed these birds for their egg laying. Many people prize this & keep their birds for this reason. I would post pictures of your breeding stock & if people like how they look & that they lay well, you will sell.
For info on egg packaging, look around on here.

 

[hdowden]

if your roosters are with your hens now then you could sell the eggs as mystery eggs but for pure breeds you will have to seprate them for at least a month as the eggs produced from time of seperation to a month will all still be furtile, me i would wait at least 1.5-2 months before selling eggs and i also before selling eggs as pure would hatch some to be postive that there is no other rooster babies besides the one i want to breed.

1st. build breeding pens
2nd seperate by breeds
3rd wait 1-2 months after seperated (with breeder rooster already in pen)
4th after that incubate at least a dozen eggs
5th wait till babies are old enough to tell if they are pure or not
6th finally offer pure hatching eggs with pics included

just what i will be doing in the spring as i am expanding my flock

 

[Caprice_Acres]

In the past I've had great sucess getting purebreds by using eggs exposed to the rooster of choice for 2 weeks. I hatched quite a lot the year before this one (2010), and that's all that I did. They were for my own use so it wouldn't be HORRID if I hatched mutts at that point, but everybody was pure. This year I hatched some mutts purposely (which I sold the pullets and the roosters got butchered today) and it was really easy to tell what crosses where what.

 

[Toxic Chicken]

$2 a dozen for farm fresh eggs !!!!
Oh wow my farm co-op charges $5
Which is why I'm getting my own chicks
this spring, not to sell eggs but so I
don't get ripped off anymore lol.
I hate where I live, I want to move
to the country and then I can get a
Cow too so I won't have to buy milk.
Sorry for the rant, I just can't believe
the price difference.

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Most of these are 'hatchery' stock - though I bought the SL wyandottes, RIR, and some of the white leghorns as eggs from a local breeder who supplies many 4-H'ers and keeps what he claims are 'exhibition' quality. All I know is that they lay well, which is my main concern. I do not show, nor do I know anything about showing nor do I care to. I think productive animals are far more important than 'pretty' animals, and from what I understand, show chickens lines are often much less productive than egg laying strains... which IMO is silly. smile


You mock what you don't understand. You seem to like the birds from a breeder of exhibition quality birds. What you have described is not a good business plan. I can buy hatchery chicks for less than your shipping cost for 6 eggs let alone your cost of producing these eggs.

 

[Oregon Blues]

[[[[......I would start collecting eggs for hatching within 3 days or so of separation.....]]]]

And yet again, you tell me you will not be selling purebred eggs. Be honest and when you advertise them for sale, do not lie and represent them as purebreds.

 

[Criskin]

Quote:
It was my understanding that the OP would keep her hens seperate from her roosters except for specific matings. It looks like the only risk would be infertile eggs, not mutts.