some help with chicken values if you would

[CatDaddyAlbert]

I contacted one of the admins today and she said to put this in Managing You Flock, so I hope this is the right place.

I am in the business of hatching and selling Guinea keets. My chickens I consider my pets for my enjoyment. i do not sell chickens but enjoy hatching them.

i was contacted yesterday by a family that lost their mother. She had a fairly large number of birds and I went to look at them at her farm tonight. When I asked them what they wanted for the birds they kind of put me on the spot. Most of my chickens have either been hatched from hatching eggs or bought as bitties from the auction. I have no concept of the value of grown birds and would really like to be fair with these folks with a price.

This is some of what they have. If anyone could give me a idea of what I should pay for these to be fair to these folks I would appreciate your opinions:

All these birds are housed separately.

Silver Sebright: They have 1 Roo and 3 hens and the hens are laying.
Golden Sebright: They have 1 Roo and 2 hens and they are laying.
New Hampshire Reds: They have 4 Hens and 1 Rooster
Lakenvelder: They have 2. I know not about these but I think they are both hens.
Blue Orpington: They have 2 hens
Wyandotte: They have 1 Roo and 3 hens

I have told them I will try and take them all and home them. I surely have the coop and run space but I really had other plans, but then "the best laid plans of mice and men" as the saying goes. If nothing else I can find good homes for them. The daughter does not want these birds eaten as they were her mothers pets.

If any of you could look throught the list and give me your price opinion it would be very much appreciated.

I will Thank all of you now for your help.

Albert
NoFeathersRuffled Farm
Gumboro, Delaware

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
Albert-they are worth as much as YOU want to pay for them. SInce they have no clue what to charge and you have no clue what their worth try and meet somewhere in middle-what would you pay for other breeds? Are the birds looking healthy and not beat up or neglected? If allowed please check the birds for lice and mites so you know right off if they need treatment-that is an easy fix but takes work and dediction for a few weeks to make sure you got it all-that right there costs money to do. Are they hatchery or breeder quality? I listed prices above for what I would expect people to charge for breeders-now if they are hatchery and older birds 1 1/2 -2 yrs old I'd go down in price...This is just all my opinions but baased on prices I have seen on here for what people are selling them for.. so AROUND 250$ all together or if your taking them all offer 200$ or less-they get money out of them-you get a bunch of breeds of hopefully healthy young chickens and all the birds are gone all at once-saves a big headache for them

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Unless I know the quality and age of them I consider them to be up to $5-10 max per each bird. And unless you are going to breed them the roosters may have no value. Many people can't have a rooster at all and most can't have many. I consider them to be worth considerably less than the previous poster. Unless you are familiar with the breed, know your market for them, and have a need for them they have little value. I understand wanting to help the family but unless you want and or need them they have no value to you. Since they are grown birds from unknown backgrounds and unknown ages I would explain to the family that is why I would offer so little. Then if they want they list them on craiglist for what they think they are worth. They are only worth what the local market will pay because we can't ship birds for months due to the weather/postal live ship rules.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
I understand where your coming from but my opinions were based soley on breeder quality..healthy..young birds...for a person who can have and wants roos for breeding..I did say the price drops with age...quality etc...

 

[teach1rusl]

I agree that they're worth whatever they're worth to YOU. Age would matter to me. Since mine are just pets, I really don't care about the quality as long as they're healthy. I've paid $30 for a pet quality pullet before - nobody else would've paid that much, but I wanted her. I've paid $10 for a pet quality pullet. And I wouldn't want all of those roosters (since I don't breed)...many people will give away roosters for free just to find them a good home. I've paid $50 to have a "free" roo shipped to me, and I've been given a rooster for free.
From what I see here on BYC, on CL, as well as auctions, $10 for YOUNG hens (not show/breeder qual.) seems to be the going rate in this area...
That's my two cents on pet quality birds' values.

 

[Mamma_Duck04]

Around here, the going rates for adults seems to be about $8-10/ea. & roosters are sorta up for grabs, some of the specialty breeds go for $15 for the roosters & $25-30 for the hens, but those seem to be pretty rare from what I've seen in passing.

I'd probably offer them $10/ea ($200) if they all look generally in good health. If they're still raw over the loss of the mother, they really don't KNOW what to ask & you're truly doing a great thing for coming up with an answer for them- I applaud you for trying to be fair too & not using it as an opportunity. In times like this, it's something that was attached to that person & your brain literally goes blank when you're asked what you want for it.

 

[KDailey]

I'm no expert but I would think that if your planning on rehomeing them or reselling them that you shouldn't give any more than what you think you could sell them for or for however much you're willing to lose if giving them away.

Unless the roosters are from a breeder and are really good quality then I wouldn't give but a couple dollars for them and that's really only because I'd want to help the family out. The hens on the other hand, if they're of a decent age, then I'd go with $10-15 if they're laying and in good shape.

 

[ChicKat]

Prices around here match Mama Duck's area

$8-10 per hen and $15 if the bird is exceptional, for some reason or rare.

They must care for and feed the chickens, and you are doing them a favor by taking the whole lot off their hands and assuring that they will have good care and go to good homes. The longer time goes past, the more work on their part to take care of the chickens, and the cost of feed etc.

I think that you would be fair with a low-ish price if they are not special breeding stock, and you are partially doing them a favor because you are not picking them up for breeding purposes.

Of course as folks point out-- the price is what the market will bear. You may have a lot of chicken-mouth to feed if it takes awhile to rehome. That is something to consider too.
Good luck.