Stuff I Should know before I get into breeding chickens and selling

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

What Stuff I Should know before I get into breeding chickens and selling eggs? Well I have three different areas for my chickens. I have the big coop, where the random breeds of chickens go (not selling offspring from them ) next is the little coop. Just has some chicks in it right now, but I am going to have purbred buff polish in there soon. I ordered hatching eggs, and hope to breed healthy purbred fowl. next is the serama cages, I have a serama rooster and hen. Soon I am going to buy 12 or more serama eggs to hatch and hopefully if things go well breed seramas for good purbred fowl. I don't want to breed show quality, I would like to breed healthy purbred fowl. Any thoughts, ideas?
They are going to free range everyother day to prevent cross breeding.

for the seramas cages I am going to build insalated huts with a roost before I buy more seramas.

 

[emys]

Read every post on this site and call me in the morning.

 

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Lol

 

[emys]

What areas are you most concerned about? Marketing/selling your birds, selecting good breeding candidates, basic space requirements?

 

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Quote:
space, how much I should sell for.

 

[emys]

I am not a breeder, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Sounds like you will be setting up breeding pens with one rooster to many hens? In that case just follow the usual birds per square foot rule. If you get down to specific pair breeding or trio breeding then you may want to allow a little more than the usual space per bird and/or limit the time the birds are in such close small areas.

You may want to post more specific questions of this nature by themselves as there are sure to be many opinions/methods on this.

As for price, much of that depends on your market or region, and what you have to offer. Start reading your local ads to see what others are asking.

Good Luck with your birds!

 

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Thanks. I am going to have cages for the seramas about 2-3 hens to 1 rooster. and have one little hut in each cage. and have 2 breeding cages. The polish are going t be 5-10 hens to 1 rooster, in a little coop, with a run they can easily get out of it they want to free range. Though in winter I'll have to put the polish in the big coop and divid the coop in half with my big black netting and put the serama cages on a shelf in the big coop since In Wi we have harsh winters

 

[FireTigeris]

1) make sure you can get the best stock possible, make a friend of an expert if possible

2) make sure there is a demand for the birds you want to breed

3) Make sure you know the SOP by heart, can tell a SQ bird, from a 'typey' bird, from a PQ bird, from a cull.

4) Have something to -do- with the culls you get or hatch, not every bird is worth breeding...

5) Have a budget, then double it for what you expect to spend on this, then divide that by 1/2 how many birds you expect to hatch, remember a good breeder won't sell obvious culls... that's about how much you'll have to charge to break even... (this one is kinda a joke)

6) Know your local laws upside down and inside out, also state and national if you are going to ship.

7) Expect the cost of everything (feed. lumber, bedding) to go up, expect people to be willing to pay -less- for your birds because of it.

8) Expect to be treated like the new kid in town by the established breeder for several generations, when you have birds that win shows that have chicks that also win shows then you on the right track.

9) Take all of the above, especially #5 with a large salt lick, one as large as my head.

10) Always plan things out thoroughly double the expense expected, the time expected to start up, and the chance for catastrophic events... triple the time for expected payoff.

 

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Quote:
WOW thanks! do I show birds through 4h? Oh and How Do I know my breed is show quality, for a example serama what features should jump out and say " HEY! Im worth a try!" ???

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
WOW thanks! do I show birds through 4h? Oh and How Do I know my breed is show quality, for a example serama what features should jump out and say " HEY! Im worth a try!" ???

Really, you'll need to get a copy of the standard of perfection. For the Breed you want to work with.

There are shows and fairs all over most places even Jacksonville (FL) has shows within 4 hours not counting the fairs.-

I don't breed a particular breed myself at the moment (wasn't that smart), if I were doing it all over again I'd have only one breed on my place, the one I wanted to get close to the SOP (standard of perfection) mutt chickens are hard to sell in my area, roosters of course are even harder!!

Many chicken breeds have clubs you can find out by going to those pages who the best and nicest breeders are and if there is one in your area that will want to mentor you.

I started just for eggs, but my love of chickens grew to were I set up (having breed broodiness into four of my mixes) for being able to sell chickes or started birds- it didn't work out becase I became attached and also nobody wants mixes here.

now remember to reread rule #9 (twice) -