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

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
In the Napa Valley, I could sell 6-week old pullets for $20 no problem. Here in Chico, not so much.

Peeps are peeps though...$3 where ever you go...and more for the fancy ones.

My whole thing would be tied into the huge homesteading/locavore/slow food/ backyard chicken movement. So many people dont' want to buy 25 peeps shipped from a hatchery, but would pounce on local peeps, especially given that I live on an organic farm.

eta: it costs about $10 for me to raise a pullet organically up to 6-8 weeks. That's not including what a pain in the neck it is to do so.

 

[CityChicker]

Hatcheries are like anything else, they can be profitable or they can go belly up. There are a few serious drawbacks to owning a hatchery. One thing is that it is a huge expenditure on equipment. Another is that to make money, you have to do HUGE volume. If you have your own flocks, you also have a significant expenditure for labor and it is back breaking work at times. As far as buying eggs though rather than or in addition to your own flock, that is standard operating procedure in the industry. More than a few of the big hatcheries do not own their own flocks. With that though, there are a different set of headaches. At any rate, it is not at all a "get rich quick" business, nor is it a good interim career as far as I am concerned. You need to have a love and passion for this and be in it for the long haul. It is too much work to go into it otherwise.

I think you should remain a pool designer though if that is really what you do. I need a new pool! You should pack up and move to Colorado because the one pool store in my neighborhood is always crazy busy. I mean there always seems to be a line out the door.

 

[domino7]

Well, I've been living with negative Nelly for over 20 years. If you want, I could ask my wife for about 200 reasons why it won't work. If there wasn't a profit in it, there wouldn't be so many hatcheries, Tractor Supply wouldn't be selling chicks, blah blah blah. There are obviously profitable hatchery businesses. If someone else can do it, SO CAN YOU!

 

[Penturner]

I actually have some more, less light hearted comment on this. Last thursday i took about 30 seconds and made a post on my penturning group. I then walked away from my computer to get some other stuff done and came back two hours later. I had about 45 minutes of orders to process and payment notices to send out from that one post. When I was done I had actually received $350 in payments in that 45 minute period. now less than 5 days later it has become $550 in payments. this is from one small item that i recognized my friends needed and found it for them. I think I have all of about 2 hours of my time into it. I tend to find a need and fill it rather than the other way around. Now keep in mind everyone around me, My wife, My three kids, Nieces, Nephews and other family members will watch me do this time after time. it has even saved our house during hard times before. and every one of them think that I have something special that they do not. and they are so very wrong. Except maybe pure guts. I believe there is one thing that really is different between me and all the others. and that is when I have an idea i think about the ways to do it, and seldom think about any reason not to. and I bust my butootie to get the things done that will get it done. Right now I am looking for feathers to offer those same friends to make pens with. I can get them here or I can get them some place else. I can even borrow a speck of land from some people I know that live out of town and raise my own.
In the end getting feathers is not that difficult so it will not stop me. getting people to buy them later on will be more work.
I actually tell myself this often when I get discouraged. think about it.
Life is a game, are you playing to win, or playing not to loose? then again, maybe you are just playing. For myself, I play to win. If I cannot sell feathers for a few cents, I will add a lot of work to it and actually make pen blanks and sell those for dollars and if those don't sell I will make pens and sell those for a couple hundred dollars. and I sell those all the time anyway.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
The same thought hit me when the thread first went up...I didn't read the thread to start with because of it. Out of curisosity came back to see what type of bidness this was going to be...
Negative...but true.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Sweetfolly]

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!

Those are all valid points and I thank you.

I have crunched numbers based on an 80% average hatch rate and 50/50 pullets/roos. I live on a farm, so we have no problem dealing with roos.

Be sure to account for the cost of electricity to run the incubators and heat lamps (and any extra water you may be running to clean up) - I purchased a few electricity monitors and crunched the numbers myself, and 1 250-watt heat bulb costs around $10 a month or so to run, and when I had ducklings and was hosing down pens and refilling ponds every day, our water bill went up $30 a month.

Just making sure you take ALL the expenses involved into consideration. I'm losing money hatching ducklings to sell locally this year, but I do it for the love of it!

 

[FlashPointFarm]

Very good angle, since you are on an organic farm. Many people are going green these days and will appreciate your work!

Have you thought about maybe raising some breeds that are listed with ALBC? If you raise concentrate on a couple of breeds, a bigger hatchery may contract you if you are willing to ship chicks. I know Purely Poultry does this.

Quote:
In the Napa Valley, I could sell 6-week old pullets for $20 no problem. Here in Chico, not so much.

Peeps are peeps though...$3 where ever you go...and more for the fancy ones.

My whole thing would be tied into the huge homesteading/locavore/slow food/ backyard chicken movement. So many people dont' want to buy 25 peeps shipped from a hatchery, but would pounce on local peeps, especially given that I live on an organic farm.

eta: it costs about $10 for me to raise a pullet organically up to 6-8 weeks. That's not including what a pain in the neck it is to do so.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I would say just hatch a bunch of baby chicks and find out if you can sell them. The problem I would foresee is what to do with those you can't sell. Is there a nearby auction you could run the extras to?

Doesn't sound like OP wants to start an actual business. Probably more a small reselling operation. I do a similiar thing during the summer, where I buy sexed chicks from the hatchery and sell them here and there for a few dollars more. Puts a little bit of extra money in my pocket, but this is only successful if you can sell them all.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Well I've got BC Marans peeps avail. 3/22 and Muscovy Duck peeps on 4/19. Need more 'bators.

 

[barred-rocks-rock]

If you really want to be popular, especially with just people in your town or customers on BYC, the best thing you can do is offer a Minimum Chick order of about three and sex bantams.