So I've been thinking about actually starting a hatchery bidness...

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

buy eggs from people, start small with the 'bators I have, offer cool stuff locally...see what happens...

what else has the world's greatest swimming pool designer got to do in an economy like this?

So, I totally miss my ex-girlfriend's constant and relentless negativity...could all y'all please list the reasons why this would fail?

Even if you have to strain yourself to make up some negative stuff to say like she did, that's cool.

 

[greathorse]

You will not (depending on the breeds) be able to sex your chicks. Many back yard folk find that very important. It is difficult to sell enough volume to have it make even a little bit of money. Folks want you to sell local chicks for the same or less than feed store chicks.


On the other hand I hatch a few dozen every year and sell a few on craigslist. It helps with the feed bill a bit I suppose, and it is rewarding. I hope to get enough real solid breeds to be able to garner a bit of a demand because my birds distinguish themselves from some of the others. I have repeat customers from last year, so the chickens must be ok.

Oh and brooding them is a bit of a pain for me. I like to hatch some in late winter to get an early start and it can be pricey and a pain to keep a bunch of brooders going. It is for me at least. I imagine many enjoy fussing with the brooding. I like other aspects better.

 

[Southernbelle]

Negativity doesn't come easy for me, so I'll just tell you what works for me. I love fancy chickens but the good ol' boy rednecks round here aren't interested in "dem fancy chickins" so I'm going to sell some sex-links. If you get yourself some Barred Rock and/or White Rock hens over a red rooster you can sex the babies at hatch and charge a premium price for the female chicks and give away the boy chicks to someone who wants to raise them out for meat. The biggest cost for me is feeding them out and by raising sex-links you can avoid feeding out the cockrels.

By the way, I always enjoy reading your posts.

 

[PeepsInc]

Carpentry in NY hasn't been much better. My friend & I are going to market some of the exotic animals we raise. We've always done it for self satisfaction, but with the stock we've acquired over the past 30 years I think we can do alright. Like you say, It's not like there's an abundance of work out there anyways. We'll be selling about 30 different breeds of chickens, 6 breeds of ducks(mandarins, calls) 4 breeds of geese, 4 breeds of pheasant, guinea,quail,doves,pigeons, guiny pigs,rabbits,goats, Gerbils,parakeets,African spiny mice,chinchilla,hooded rats,naked rats,hissing cockroaches(make great cage cleaners) a few species of lizards, every color corn snake there is, And many more.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Sorry, but not a good idea at all.

1. It is very expensive to start up a hatchery.
2. You will not be able to compete with hatcheries who have set up representatives, resources and already have a reputation.
3. You will not be able to offer the same "deals" since you will not have a LARGE output of chicks which will invariably cost you more money than income.

You can try, but do not be expecting to make alot of money if any at all.

 

[tnchickenut]

My biggest problem when I hatch to sell... is that people locally will almost always want certain sexes. You either have to house them until you can sex them... or take you chances of not selling them all.

I hatched a clutch last JUNE... I still have three. I have room for them, and I breed so it isn't a problem... but if you don't have the room, money, time, energy... I wouldn't. You may end up stuck with a bunch of chicks that turn into full grown chickens.

 

[Opa]

Sorry you requested that we respond with negativity to remind you of an old girl friend so here's my contribution.

How can you expect to succeed when you can't even spell business.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
Agreed. You don't make the money you would need to take care of your expense. People want a deal. I only do it once and awhile... my own stock... to test fertility... take my "pickings" out of the clutch... ect.

I shutter at the thought of hatching others eggs to sell chicks. I would be stuck with all sorts of roos!

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
You never cease to entertain.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
I have a vent-sex0r on call and willing to teach. I think vent-sexing is probably not as big a deal as "chicken people" have been led to believe all along.