Starting a small egg business

[bock]

This Spring I will be getting some chickens to add to my flock of 7. Right now I am getting anywhere from 0-2 eggs a day, from the RIR and Production Red. All the rest are being lazy. Right now, we have to buy sore-bought eggs (

) just for everyone to have breakfast. To feed us next year, I think visiting the feed store and choosing 6 or so chicks from the ''mixed pullets'' bin would be enough. We could have a small, friendly little flock that would be very low-cost. On the other hand, I have long had this fantasy of starting my own little egg business and selling eggs to local neighbors. I could have dark-brown eggs, light brown eggs, green eggs, and maybe white. I think that would be so much fun, but buying from a breeder or a hatchery is very expensive. It would also cost a lot more to feed 25 more birds, not to mention the mess. But I think it would be really fun to sell eggs to the neighbors, that way you could (hopefully) pay for some of the food costs and feel good about supporting free-raged, happy hens. I really am struggling to make up my mind and if I were to go the hatchery route, I would need to order ASAP. Thanks for any advice!

 

[catdaddy66]

I am also trying to get a small egg business going, but small egg sellers usually make enough to get by and no more. As I have it worked out, 10 dozen eggs sold at $3 per will give 30 dollars a week. This would need a flock of 25 or more layers to get consistant numbers. The money that is made would go back into feed and care of the birds and maybe a little more if you are careful. I am not as careful and would probably not see any extra, but a self sufficient operation is appealing, and the work is satisfying. I need to double my flock size for this, though. Good luck and hope you can do what you want to do!

 

[Pequena Bandada]

Good luck whatever you choose. I've read on here that white eggs don't sell very well. For the increased price of home grown eggs, people seem to want very dark brown, light brown, and green or blue. White's too common!

It might be worth buying from a breeder or hatchery so you can be certain of the breeds you're getting... and that you get only pullets. Some breeds produce many more eggs than others. Check out the breed listings on this site to see which might lay enough eggs to cover the cost of feed.

 

[briteday]

This year we increased to 23 egg layers. Fifteen of them are ISA's, 5 RIW's, and australorp, a Jersey Giant, and an EE. Before the winter we were getting 18-20 eggs per day. Now, with added light, we are getting 12-14 eggs per day. We charge $2-3/ dozen and sell about 6 dozen per week. So far this year we have had a profit of $147. And a lot of that profit were chicks that we incubated in the Spring and sold to local ranchers.

Last year we had 14 hens and broke even. And we don't keep hens for a second winter. The older hens do tend to lay larger eggs but not as many. So if you need quantity for your egg customers, and large to XL are good enough, then I sell off my hens when they are 18 months old as the new chicks from that year come into lay.

 

[Yessur Ebob]

Ideal will let you order less than 25 chicks. Their minimum order is $25 whatever that works out to in numbers, and if needed they will send extra roos along to keep your chicks warm during shipping.

 

[mistyfeather]

i get enough to cover feed w/ little extra from 14 layers but plan on expanding and getting more , here my eggs are so popular i always have a huge waiting list and some of my regulars buy up 4 dz. at atime to make sure they have some. the girls cant keep up so i dont take new customers for quite awhile , i always keep aside a dz fore my family to make sure we even get some

who knew so many people like fresh eggs

 

[bock]

Thanks for the relies! This definitely sounds like I could make it work. I was thinking about getting EE's for green eggs (even thought they don't lay that well), speckled sussex, RIR's, Barred Rocks, Black Austrolorps, and *possibly* Black copper Marans, if I can find ones that lay dark enough. I was also going to get one rooster, probably a Barred Rock. I already have a bantam roo and 2 bantam hens, as well as a 'retired' EE, a BO, a RIR, and a Production Red. I also have 9 duck hens as well as a white chinese goose. I do have some competition around here, but I have gotten several rotten eggs from her and she only has brown and green eggs. That's why I thought adding some white and dark brown eggs would make it look more colorful. I filled out an order form from Meyer yesterday, just to get an idea on cost, and it was going to be around $130, if I remember correctly. To get a better idea about expenses, I will have to add on to their coop (they will free range), get more nest boxes, and Layena is $14 for a 50 lb. bag. I also don't have the heard to get rid of the old hens. I have a 7.5 year old EE right now.

If I got serious about this, I suppose I could sell them on BYC. I would probably at least keep them for 2-3 years though.

 

[TomG]

Bock, I fear your heart is too big and your chicken lust is too diverse to be profitable. From what I've read, you might make some profit if you raised red comets or Golden sex links and culled before the second molt.
I still think you should go for it with the birds you listed. It would be fun and rewarding..... but not profitable. Or perhaps I'm wrong and Bock Farms will put Tyson out of business! I'm on your side.

 

[bock]

I fear that too.

I am not in it too make a huge profit though. A $30 profit a year would be just fine by me. As long as I am not losing too much $, then I will be okay. I just love my birds.

I thought selling some eggs would be enjoyable, and give me something extra to do. Is their breeds on that list that I should get rid of. I mean any that really don't lay that well?

 

[TomG]

Quote:
Perhaps if you think about it as minimizing losses on a fun project. I only have four birds so I'm not even close to an expert. I don't sell eggs but I give away most of what I get. It gives me great pleasure to do so. If I had more land I would get 30-50 chickens and sell the eggs. I wouldn't break even dollar wise, but I would have lots of chickens, which is it's own reward. Good luck!