Where’s the money!? Chicks? Eggs? Pullets?

[aart]

In Sweden, from what I've managed to glean, Ayam Cemani seem to sell for orders of magnitude more than other breeds.

They do here too....new fad in the last few years.
Marketing matched with human folly and foibles.
They are cool looking, but other than that I don't really see the point.

 

[Kusanar]

They do here too....new fad in the last few years.
Marketing matched with human folly and foibles.
They are cool looking, but other than that I don't really see the point.

I want to create one similar, but a blue egger. Start with black Old English Games, then mix with Cream Legbar for blue eggs, then bring in a cull Cemani cock from someone's breeding program to darken the skin.

 

[BluRoo Farm OH]

I think you will find selling extra eggs at market value, a bit underwhelming.

My flock is strictly a hobby. I don't sell anything.

That said, my research leads me to believe the best way to make money with my hobby would be to have a flock of decisively desirable, and or rare, unusual birds.

My suggestion… Ayam Cemani.

Selling fertile eggs to other hobbyists at $50 per dozen…

Breeding pairs could bring in thousands, even culls will fetch around $100…

If you have an ordinary backyard flock, be thankful if you can beat your hard expenses, not including all your time.

Ron,
You offer some great Solutions/Tips. Thank you.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

How long do you fellows reckon the Ayam Cemani craze will last? I did some very crude math in my head today, and it seems to me one could make major dough from them.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

See a few ppl on ebay UK selling the things for as little as £12 for 6 hatching eggs (or about $16.98) or 12 hatching eggs for £46.98 or about ($66.42). I don't see the draw to them they weigh in at 2-3kg or roughly 4.4lbs-6.6lbs and lay around 80 eggs a year that from what I have read are whiteish pink.

Rather save my money and breed my Brahma crosses which i ended up selling all i had yesterday to one guy and now I have a waiting list with 3 ppl on it. Here in the UK good layers seem to be a good draw.

 

[Killer Tomato]

I sell the eggs from my six hens for $3/dozen, and that's about standard for our little rural town. It pays for their feed, plus a bottle of wine for me! I just got 4 more chicks, as I have a waiting list for eggs these days. I'm an hour away from a hipster town, and "organic free-range eggs" at the health food store sell for $7-9 a dozen!! The $9/dozen are BCM eggs. The $7 are "regular" brown layers.

Chickens are really hip in "town" now, and I know I could make some money selling certain breeds of the fashionable chicks like:
Black Copper Marans (they rarely have them at the feed stores, or fancy hipster feed stores)
Crested Cream Legbars
Olive Eggers

These chicks sell like hotcakes, and even the hatching or eating eggs at the farmers market in town are pricey (but cheaper than the health food store).

I could do ok, but it seems like a lot of work. Right now, my way is pretty chill. Maybe when I have more land....

 

[Killer Tomato]

How long do you fellows reckon the Ayam Cemani craze will last? I did some very crude math in my head today, and it seems to me one could make major dough from them.

They seem to be fading out here in Oregon. Icelandics are the new craze, or even "Icebars".

Olive Eggers are still huge here. $15 per chick, at least! And the feed stores rarely get French Black Copper Marans, only Cuckoo Marans, so anyone with FBCM chicks does pretty well selling those.

 

[tigger19687]

AC's are not worth it. If I am reading it correctly there are many breeding issues and many culls.

edit to add, And they don't even lay that many eggs.

Edit to change CA to AC

 

[Henrik Petersson]

CA's are not worth it. If I am reading it correctly there are many breeding issues and many culls.

edit to add, And they don't even lay that many eggs.

What's a CA?

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

I'm pretty sure they are refering to Ayam Cemani.