Which Chicken Breeds Sell Best?

[Silexian]

Sounds awesome. Which do you find tou sell more of out the 4 you listed?

I sell more Barnevelders. People buy them in larger quantities to have as layers. Barnevelders are not very common in my area. So I am not competing with the local farm and home stores and hatcheries. Trying to sell the staple backyard breeds. Such as Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds and Buff Orpingtons. I breed my Barnevelders to lay dark terra cotta colored eggs that are uniformly shaded. Mine are a heritage line. That have the proper feather pattern, correct color earlobes, eyes, beak and legs. Possessing the proper size and build for their breed. Which all of my bantams do as well. Quality and uniqueness bring higher prices.

Sounds awesome. Which do you find tou sell more of out the 4 you listed?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thanks for all your help! Anytime you wanna chat chickens or aliens, I'm happy to. Just PM me

Okay, sounds good.

You're welcome.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Oh I see. I really don't think that would sell much in my area, the south. But possibly could. I'm wondering, do you know anything about poultry ordinance? (I suppose that is the correct phrase.) I am at my limit of chickens I can have in my town, at least what I could find. Are able to have more chickens if you own a hatchery?

As far as the rooster goes, that is a possibility! I'll have to see if I have one or two roosters now. I want two. So if I need another, I'll highly consider the Malay. How much and how old?

That’s a red flag for your plans. There is a high likelihood that you will not be able to have a hatchery if you are living somewhere that limits the amount of chickens you can keep. Some areas may even require you to be zoned agriculturally or commercially.

Reading through this thread, my recommendation would be to pick one breed that is your favorite and strive to maintain a flock of that breed to the highest standards. Do that for a couple of years and you can probably build a market around selling your birds on occasion. It won’t be a living, but they’ll pay for themselves and will be a stepping stone if you decide to keep on pursuing establishing a hatchery.

 

[chickmamato7]

Wow, all your alls answers are so informative! I'm swimming with information! So how do y'all go about knowing the sexes if I decided to go with a breed that isn't sex linked?

As far what I'd do with the ones that don't sell, especially the cockerels, I suppose I'll have try to give them away or... ya know, *slides finger across the neck*. Any other options?

A breeder in my area always sells her Silkies in M/F pairs-- she never sells a Silkie pullet without a Silkie roo. I'm guessing she DNA sexes them. I think that's a great way to handle the males and weed out the buyers who are not really committed. Otherwise you could only sell them as straight run or as hatching eggs.

 

[Weeg]

You can always build a rooster pen for the extra roosters if you have the space.
As long as the pen is out of eye sight, even better ear shot, of the hens, you can put as may roosters in there as there is space and they should be fine.

 

[Marandamom]

This is one breed I am highly considering. I absolutely love the eggs, even though I have read they aren't all always super dark. But they are beautiful, and I have read so many wonderful things about them. While I am intrigued by this breed, I NEVER see them for sale at any feed stores or locally. I think they would be perfect to sell because maybe a lot of people want them but no one sells them? You may be on to something

You can find them on line, on Ebay, and McMurry Hatchery has a list you can get on to have chicks in the spring in November. (Not sure about the color of their eggs with the hatchery). Green fire chickens are great with very dark eggs. Mine are reddish brown score of 8. Love that color shell. Have slightly lessened color over the summer but have returned to #8 color now that it's fall.

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

Are you able to keep roosters where you live?

 

[SkiboJeff]

This is one breed I am highly considering. I absolutely love the eggs, even though I have read they aren't all always super dark. But they are beautiful, and I have read so many wonderful things about them. While I am intrigued by this breed, I NEVER see them for sale at any feed stores or locally. I think they would be perfect to sell because maybe a lot of people want them but no one sells them? You may be on to something

This is Shadow. She's 24 weeks and hasn't laid an egg yet. Maybe tomorrow. My local breeder is using the BCM to cross with a CCL to try to create a sex linked green egg layer.

 

[Iheartbirds]

I apologize if this question has been asked before but couldn't find it if it has. I am looking into starting a small local hatchery in Louisville, Kentucky. I just can't stop. I love chickens so much and the love keepa growing! So my question is which breeds would be the best to breed that will sell?

I would think one that is more rare to find and not often available to make the most profit. But I also want one that would be friendly and on the cuddlier side, of course! Any suggestions and ideas are appreciated! Thank you!

I was told by a long time chicken farmer that Buff Orpington is the friendliest and gentlest breed.

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

I personally like Wyandottes- doesn't necessarily mean that they would sell well, just a breed that I like.