Why are hatching eggs so expensive?

[Young MacDonald]

It seems like the hatcheries charge more for hatching eggs than they do for the live baby chick. This doesn't make sense.

Anyone know why they do it that way?

 

[DANNY]

First of all i wouldn't buy anything at a hatchery. You wind up paying more for poor quality birds. There are a few exeptions like meat birds. You need to find a backyard farmer and try and get some. The reason eggs are so high is because of how much it costs to feed a flock.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Demand is less. That means special handling for a smaller quantity of product and voila! higher prices.

 

[bargain]

Don't buy hatchery eggs for 2 reasons please. Please support your smaller breeder who is so involved with their hens and poultry and I believe has a higher quality bird. Several hatcheries just indiscriminately buy eyes that may have the "appearances" of a certain bird but are not purebred. This has happened to me in the past with Easter Eggers from McM.Hatchery and another one.

We do have a wide variety of hatching eggs we sell from our chemical free farm. The list is here:

I'll custom mix them for you at your request as well.

I wrap well with bubble wrap, newspaper and more and have a good review as you can see from customer feedback located under hatching eggs.

I'll also help you thru the incubating. So please let me know if ever you want some eggs. I'll be delighted to help you.

ALSO,,,bubble wrap and packing of eggs is VERY labor intensive. It takes me about 1 hour to wrap and pack eggs and another 20 minutes to and from po. I don't charge you minimum labor, but if I did my eggs, would need to go up about 15 over their current price per dozen.

Hope we will be blessed to serve you.

 

[hippichick]

Quote:
I recently hatched 11 of 13 RIR eggs that I got from Bargain. This lady know what she's doing! Thanks, Bargain!

And, I totally agree. Get your eggs from a breeder, not a hatchery, if at all possible. Many breeders here on BYC offer many different breeds for different prices. Do your research, though. Check out the new feedback thread before buying.

Good luck!

Paula

 

[WalkingWolf]

I am very happy with the baby chicks I received from Ideal, have NEVER been burned. I believe their prices for hatching eggs is less than most who are operating. BUT there are no guarantees with hatching eggs, and more care in packing than shipping so more labor. Why buy hatching eggs when you can have the chicks and they are guaranteed. The only advantage to hatching eggs from a hatchery, is they get a 2 day bump on food and water. Which will also bump the growth.

No offense to anyone but I have a hard time with a Toyota dealer telling what a piece of junk a Nissan is. And essential when a breeder is giving advice on a hatchery that advice has to be taken for the atmosphere it is in.

And I have only been burned twice buying hatching eggs, one breeder on here sent me poorly packaged eggs that arrived totally scrambled. Another sent me supposed 'Show Quality RIR'. My RIR from ideal are closer to standard than the 'Show Quality' which are clearly production red. I steer clear of any seller advertising 'Show Quality'.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I've been giving eggs away- a dozen at a time. We are so rural and most people areound here have a few hens- but no roosters. If anybody were to stop and ask I'd load up a basket for them. I'm about to try shipping for the first time- we'll see how that goes.

I don't see how they can be so expensive either- except for shipping, and if you have a rare breed or something. No matter who you get them from- it's always a gamble. I won't be paying for any shipped eggs- I'll do a swap for the fun of it though.

 

[Young MacDonald]

Thanks for all the input.

I'm not at this point yet, but I'm thinking that when one my hens goes broody, that I'd like her to raise some chicks.

I've been looking on eggbid.com at the prices. I would really prefer to find a local farmer with some interesting varieties of hatching eggs so I'll keep looking on Craig's List. I've seen some for $4 a dozen whereas the hatcheries sell for $3 an egg! The difference is the selection, of course.

So, what do you all think about meat birds? Has anyone put hatching eggs of a meat variety under a broody?

 

[Trenary Duck Farm]

Quote:
Don't you supplement your chicken's diet with the chemical dihydrogen monoxide, or DHMO for short?

 

[halo]

I am sure she gives her birds dihydrogen monoxide, or water for short.