The price of fertile eggs!

[sonew123]

sorry let me clarify. I have never spent 50$ on eggs before...I have spent a pretty penny on hens but I guess its a choice. Trust me I get tempted to drop a ton of $ on eggs but I am not a good incubator to say the least-so I would think long and hard before I dropped that kind of $ on eggs too. Just tonight I looked on ebay and was drooling but I dont trust much on ebay I very much trust BYC-all though I know people have gotten burned here too-so I have resorted to incubating and refining my own birds to get what I want-there arew a few breeders on here that I will buy eggs from-I cant help it only because I want to freshen up my gene pool with their gorgeous birds and yes I would pay for that but its not 50$

 

[Don Jr]

That is how i see it. I just want good layers for the back yard.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
n Me too! I have both-great layers and a few breeds that help me make money to pay for all the feed-thats all that matters to me-Im not out to make a ton of money or a huge profit margin just bird food $$

 

[PaintedPony]

I noticed the eggs on the big hatcheries cost more than the day old chick. I couldn't figure out why either. Maybe they don't like to send eggs so they encourage live chicks? I'm not sure. I do see paying more for eggs from a breeder that has good stock & I'd gladly do that, but I see no reason to buy eggs from a commercial hatchery when I can get chicks for the same price.

 

[greathorse]

Thats the truth. I beleive they are harder to pack and ship than the chicks. I asked Welp once and I didnt get a real good answer. I dont think the person answering the phone really know either.

Yep makes no sense to me to buy eggs from a larger hatchery unless you just want the experience and cant find eggs any other way.

If you think about it the system at the hatchery is designed to hatch and ship chicks, and eggs are out of the norm.

If you are set up to hatch large numbers of chicks I am guessing the actual cost of hatching per chick is quite low. Probably just a few pennies per chick for the acutal hatching process.

 

[Kennyog]

On Craigslist here in Missouri,someone has Black Copper Marans eggs for $75.00 a dozen. That seems high to me.But i'am not really familiar with those birds.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
that is high but maybe not from a reputable breeder with exceptional stock. Like I said there's only 1-2 breeds I want so bad but they are expensive for good reasons-Its just not my time yet to have them... :-(

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
If you are looking at websites of breeders who 'specialize' in a particular breed, high prices for eggs should be expected for many reasons:

1. the breeder has probably put years and years and years worth of time, effort, and energy into developing their birds according to the 'standard.'
2. the quality of the birds/eggs/chicks from that particular breeder is probably utmost, and not going to be found elsewhere.
3. if you are buying from a 'show' breeder, you may be buying that breeders next champion. I wouldn't sell my champion for next to nothing, would you?
4. often a breeders reputation is put on the line by sellling eggs. Too many times, people buy eggs that are perfectly fine from a breeder, take them home and improperly incubate them, and then turn around and bash the breeder incessently for selling them 'bad' eggs that didn't hatch.

If you want cheap 'yard birds' find a farmer in your local area and ask him for a dozen eggs. Or simply ask an "everyday" chicken owner who has no concern for the type and breed of their birds, they just keep them for the enjoyment of having chickens.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
You are perfectly fine wanting good layers in which case RIR's and Golden Comets are a good choice. Personally this is a hobby and I'd like to use it to help preserve "heritage" breeds. I'd like to keep something from extinction. Some of the heritage breeds are good layers too. They also have a benefit after they're spent and that's in the pot. Pot pie, Roasting pot, Stew pot, etc. etc. Not all heritage breeds but some. Also heritage breeds are needed to keep the genetics for the hybrids. Keeps the gene pool deep. Yes I know some heritage breeds are crosses.
I was thinking today, (dangerous I know) but, what do you get when you cross a Golden comet with a Golden comet? Do they breed true?
If variety is the spice of life then there is no better place to enjoy variety than with a backyard full of different breeds of chickens. Just my opinion. And if doing so provides for the preservation of heritage breeds then why not?

As for the sale of eggs it seems to me it's easier to ship eggs than live chicks. At least for the private breeder. That too is just my opinion.

 

[Slywoody]

At $75/doz. You should either have a lot of experience with a GOOD tried and true incubator or some awesome broody hens. No matter how much they are or the best laid plans, it's still a crap shoot and then the roo ratio comes into play after the hatch. Personally, because i have very little experience with a bator i'd go with the chicks and that's still a little risky.