Tracking Costs

[Mylied]

How much can you get for a laying hen? Pullet? Or rooster? We are beyond rural and everyone has some type of animal they raise. So there isn't much of a local market unless we sold in town (farmer's market). I saw roosters on a local farm exchange site for $25 and hens for $10-30. Is that a good price? We hatch our own and our first ones were given to us, so i have never bought a chicken before.
Are snowfall has really gone down. but once in awhile we get a foot or two. You just never know. But i have 6ac of pasture that has been left to secession that i wa t to clear back off for horses in a few yrs. So enter the goat!

No one would pay $25 for a rooster here. Most I get is $5. They go in the freezer or to the pigs if they don't sell. $20 for a young layer. I just sold 4 for $15 each but that's because I wanted to sell them fast. I love goats. We used to breed them but I had a bad year were I lost a few babies and I sold all but 2 pet goats.

 

[Mylied]

I have goats..they are wonderful!! Best animals on my farm!! We have 3 types of pigs too...many more animals. You should consider rabbits...they are easy, good food, easy to sell and make great compost. We have a very large garden and we have a vegetable stand at the end of our drive way...honor system. This year we are planting 1 acre of pumpkins and 1 acre of sunflowers...great feed for animals, natural dewormer, and everyone buts pumpkins! We made a ton of pumpkins last year! My brother has always done the spreadsheet for his family. I’m more of a notebook girl, even though I have a computer degree. Ugh. It’s outdated. Have you seen the thread on here, ‘are ducks ever NOT hungry?’ I started that one. I used have 51. I now have 17. They eat too much and now I prefer my livestock. We buy our feed by the 1/2 ton. We get a great deal at our local feed store that way. Saves us a ton of money that way. Not sure if you have the room, but it might be something you could consider? Once you get your goats...do the same thing with hay. We buy 10-20 bales at a time and get a big discount that way too. Also, you can buy hay at livestock auctions often times. Our farm is simply a hobby. We have 35 rental units so it affords us the time to work a farm. It’s very addictive.

I only have 4 ducks so they don't cost too much to keep. I'm trying to keep track of the costs to raise these 6 new duckkings to butchering age. We'll see if it's worth it. My husband loves duck meat. I'm planning on getting rabbits soon. I had them a few years ago but I kept them on the ground and they kept escaping. So I guess I'll do the hanging cages.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I only have 4 ducks so they don't cost too much to keep. I'm trying to keep track of the costs to raise these 6 new duckkings to butchering age. We'll see if it's worth it. My husband loves duck meat. I'm planning on getting rabbits soon. I had them a few years ago but I kept them on the ground and they kept escaping. So I guess I'll do the hanging cages.

We have rabbit tractors For the summer to let them eat some grass too. Less feed. They are movable cages with tires on one side. Surprisingly, the rabbits stay far away from the side you’re picking up. Then, they eat down that grass, fertiliz it, and I move them into a new spot the next afternoon. They love it. We only ate about 10 rabbits. I’ve been selling them. I’m not a very good farmer....too sentimental.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

No one would pay $25 for a rooster here. Most I get is $5. They go in the freezer or to the pigs if they don't sell. $20 for a young layer. I just sold 4 for $15 each but that's because I wanted to sell them fast. I love goats. We used to breed them but I had a bad year were I lost a few babies and I sold all but 2 pet goats.

I totally agree with all of that. A lot let go roosters for free. I’m sorry you had bad luck with the goats. Perhaps soon you can try again! My herd just tripled in size and it’s a blast! We are not selling any of our kids this year, but next year we will. This was our first kidding.

 

[Mtnboomer]

No one would pay $25 for a rooster here. Most I get is $5. They go in the freezer or to the pigs if they don't sell. $20 for a young layer. I just sold 4 for $15 each but that's because I wanted to sell them fast. I love goats. We used to breed them but I had a bad year were I lost a few babies and I sold all but 2 pet goats.

I thought that sounded weird for roosters since our last hatch was 50% roosters. My freezer will soon be full of roosters!

 

[Molpet]

Roosters people can't give them away unless they are something special.
Pullets 10 to 15

 

[Mylied]

I totally agree with all of that. A lot let go roosters for free. I’m sorry you had bad luck with the goats. Perhaps soon you can try again! My herd just tripled in size and it’s a blast! We are not selling any of our kids this year, but next year we will. This was our first kidding.

I had goats 5 or 6 years and went through several kiddings. It usually went well. We had a super rough year our first year with goats. I had 2 females. One kidded twins. I loved them. One kid got out and hit by a car. A couple weeks later a dog got in and killed the mother and other kid. Badly damaged my other female. She had to get a leg amputated. I almost gave up. We built sturdier fences. I got more goats. Bred a few years. Then had the pull a stillborn kid, another kid died of an illness, and a third got his head caught in the fence and died. That's when I sold all but my 3 legged goat and her buddy. I really love goats but that all hurt too much.

 

[Mylied]

I thought that sounded weird for roosters since our last hatch was 50% roosters. My freezer will soon be full of roosters!

I had better luck selling them at the auction. For some reason people will pay a few bucks there.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I had goats 5 or 6 years and went through several kiddings. It usually went well. We had a super rough year our first year with goats. I had 2 females. One kidded twins. I loved them. One kid got out and hit by a car. A couple weeks later a dog got in and killed the mother and other kid. Badly damaged my other female. She had to get a leg amputated. I almost gave up. We built sturdier fences. I got more goats. Bred a few years. Then had the pull a stillborn kid, another kid died of an illness, and a third got his head caught in the fence and died. That's when I sold all but my 3 legged goat and her buddy. I really love goats but that all hurt too much.

Oh my gosh...what a string of bad luck!! That would break my heart!! I love these guys sooo much! We got all the kids disbudded and we are going to use my castrator bands to dehorn safely my only two that have horns. The one got her head stuck in the fencing last year and we went around and put wood posts next to the posts where she was getting stuck. but, I got horned in the eye 3 weeks ago, and not to mention the countless bruises! But, honestly, now that I have goats, I don’t think I could ever live without them. They are like a dog to me.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Roosters people can't give them away unless they are something special.
Pullets 10 to 15

Ok, can I ask...why raise chicks, all the way to pullet age, and then sell? Is it at all profitable? We’ve bought sooo many pullets from people that ordered them from hatchery, still had their leg bands. And then we swooped in and bought them for $10. Seems like they did all the work and we got the deal. We were glad, but confused