What chicken sells best?

[fluffycrow]

The reputation of the seller.

This. No matter what breed you're trying to sell, if your reputation isn't good (or non existent) people will opt for someone else doing the same thing

 

[alwaystj9]

A problem I am noticing is people not wanting straight run chicks, so a sex-link breed is a good idea.

 

[NatJ]

Colored layers always are a hit but make sure they are actual colored layers a blue egg gene x either blue,green,brown or dark brown for olive. So use a true am over breeds not an easter egger as most from hatcheries are not longer blue egg gene carriers

Huh? "Most" easter eggers from hatcheries not having the blue egg gene? That doesn't fit my experience, and it doesn't match most of the threads I've read on here. I would say that "most" do have at least one copy of the blue egg gene, with a few lacking it so they lay brown eggs.

There is a genetic test available now for the blue egg gene.
https://orders.iqbirdtesting.com/product/blue-egg-gene-with-feathers-sample/
So any chicken (rooster or hen) can be tested to see if they have two copies of the blue egg gene. For producing Easter Egger daughters, that is what matters, regardless of whether the rooster is actually an Easter Egger, a true Ameraucana, an Araucana, a Cream Legbar, or any other breed that is supposed to produce colored eggs.

 

[NatJ]

I don't buy from locals anymore. They gave me a disease years ago and we had to cull it all. I only buy from hatcheries now but thanks for the advice.

The suggestion to buy chicks and re-sell them later as older pullets could work with chicks from a hatchery too.

You could watch the hatchery specials, order the "assorted females" at a good price when the time of year is right, then grow them up to sell.

 

[FC16]

Egg laying hybrids sell very well where I’m from, I just raised some White Stars (Leghorn hybrids) and they sold within minutes as I listed them. I’d definitely check local poultry groups on Facebook near to you, see what breeds are going fast and which breeds listing’s tend to just sit there with no interest. If your doing a few breeds it might be fun to have some more Orpington’s or Brahmas too as people seem to always want them

 

[alwaystj9]

The question with pullet sales is finding a management method that keeps the sale price high enough to cover chick raising. I ordered 15 extra chicks this year to get a better deal on pricing and because I think 20-25 chicks ship better than a small group. Now I am trying to figure out how, when and at what price to sell the extras. I did get an assortment but I wish I knew for sure which chicks went to which breeds, about all I can do is tell the yellow ones from the brown ones and from the black ones...there's a lot of brown ones.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Huh? "Most" easter eggers from hatcheries not having the blue egg gene? That doesn't fit my experience, and it doesn't match most of the threads I've read on here. I would say that "most" do have at least one copy of the blue egg gene, with a few lacking it so they lay brown eggs.

There is a genetic test available now for the blue egg gene.
https://orders.iqbirdtesting.com/product/blue-egg-gene-with-feathers-sample/
So any chicken (rooster or hen) can be tested to see if they have two copies of the blue egg gene. For producing Easter Egger daughters, that is what matters, regardless of whether the rooster is actually an Easter Egger, a true Ameraucana, an Araucana, a Cream Legbar, or any other breed that is supposed to produce colored eggs.

If someones looking to breed then using a hatchery ee is not gonna give many colored layers if bred to brown most of those would lay brown and with hatchery ones you dont know if the male has a blue egg gene or green egg gene or brown. Where as a true blue egg gene would garentee green layers over brown etc.

 

[NatJ]

If someones looking to breed then using a hatchery ee is not gonna give many colored layers if bred to brown most of those would lay brown and with hatchery ones you dont know if the male has a blue egg gene or green egg gene or brown. Where as a true blue egg gene would garentee green layers over brown etc.

With the hatchery ones, if you use the DNA test, you DO know whether that male has the blue egg gene, and whether he also has the not-blue gene. That test takes all the guesswork out of it. So yes, you can identify a hatchery EE who has "a true blue egg gene," as you put it.

Some hatcheries are selling EEs from matings of EE to EE, and some of those flocks are pure or nearly pure for the blue egg gene. Some hatcheries are selling EEs that come from a mating of blue egg to brown egg, and one of those roosters would not be a good choice at all. (Sometimes the website description is clear enough to sort out which groups are what, and sometimes it's not. Buying on of the ones that says they breed true for the blue egg gene, then testing to be sure, would be a fairly safe way to go.)

 

[Poultrybonkers]

With the hatchery ones, if you use the DNA test, you DO know whether that male has the blue egg gene, and whether he also has the not-blue gene. That test takes all the guesswork out of it. So yes, you can identify a hatchery EE who has "a true blue egg gene," as you put it.

Some hatcheries are selling EEs from matings of EE to EE, and some of those flocks are pure or nearly pure for the blue egg gene. Some hatcheries are selling EEs that come from a mating of blue egg to brown egg, and one of those roosters would not be a good choice at all. (Sometimes the website description is clear enough to sort out which groups are what, and sometimes it's not. Buying on of the ones that says they breed true for the blue egg gene, then testing to be sure, would be a fairly safe way to go.)

But if you have to buy a dna test your spending more then saving lol. I personally dont breed colored layers I have my one for my own flock I hate dealing with egg colors as had a rooster that was a true am and he didnt have two copysof blue egg gene as one of his offspring laid brown so.

 

[NatJ]

But if you have to buy a dna test your spending more then saving lol. I personally dont breed colored layers I have my one for my own flock I hate dealing with egg colors as had a rooster that was a true am and he didnt have two copysof blue egg gene as one of his offspring laid brown so.

Which one costs more would depend on what the prices are. The DNA test costs about $25. Raising a chick up into a rooster, then raising his daughters, and THEN learning whether he was wrong, can cost a lot more.

Given that your own "True Ameraucana" wasn't pure for the blue egg gene, he's a fine example of why I would test any rooster, no matter what pure breed he supposedly belonged to, if it was really important that he have two copies of the blue egg gene.