Why are hatching eggs so expensive?

[FridayYet]

Like I said, I was just asking to try to understand. I am not going to tell anyone they shouldn't sell them for that. I was just wondering if there was a reason why.

That makes sense about uncommon quality. But how do you know if an egg is going to possess uncommon qualities so you know whether to pay more for it? By looking at the parents?

Parents, grandparents, etc. Buying eggs is still a gamble though, you could still have chicks with problems such as crooked combs, color leaking in the wrong places, etc., but the best breeders have worked on removing those issues from their lines so your chicks will have a better change of being high quality.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Maybe so, I just don't see how it's a problem. If I want to sell a broken computer for 1000 dollars, am I entitled to that? Yes. Does it make sense? No, but I can do it. People are free to pass on by. I understand complaints about taxes because you have to pay those, but why is it a problem if someone's chickens are over-priced? Why should I care? I don't see how it's worth getting upset about. It's like television. Nowadays what's on television is terrible- do I complain about it? No, I just don't watch it.

A bird that is at or close to the ideal temperament, hardiness, production abilities, etc. It also must be in top health and should be close as possible to a standard, maybe a show standard maybe not, but there should be some ideal the breeder is aiming for. There must be a reason for breeding beyond "cute chickens." The high quality bird is that ideal reached. It's the kind of bird that makes you take a breath and gain new respect for the person that produced it. It's the bird that makes an impression. Some people don't understand- "they're just chickens, they're all the same, a chicken's a chicken" they say, but that could be said about anything. I for one don't really care about music, but I'm not going to just say "music's music, Mozart's no better than our pop stars." I know that's not true.

No one's getting upset, (at least on this thread) a question was asked a discussion ensued. Exactly what threads were made for.

I drove 7 hours each way to get my first Orloffs. But then I'm from CA, used to driving long distances, and a bit crazy. (LOL) Any excuse for a road trip!

7 Hours! I can't stand being in the car more 1....lol

 

[LBKS]

I am curious what is the point of raising birds that you don't intend to eat the eggs or meat? Is it for pets? Just for the enjoyment of them?

Not sure if you meant to ask me this specifically (you quoted me just before this so I assume so) as I actually do raise them for meat and eggs, but it's a secondary benefit to raising them to improve the project birds. Other secondary benefits include controlling ticks, consuming bugs, producing manure, and yes, enjoyment.

If you want meat and eggs, I figure you may as well actively try to improve your flock when the side effect of your efforts will be meat and eggs anyway. I don't want to hatch every egg (poor color, size, etc) and I don't want to breed every bird (health issues, poor conformation to standards, bad attitude, etc). But to get a good selection I need to raise lots of birds, which means I will either have to eat them, sell them, or be buried under a pile of eggs.

And this is also why, back to the topic, I will sell eggs that would be more valuable as hatching eggs (even with poor quality) as cheap table eggs. I cook with them too, you can bet that frozen custard I made with 12 Silkied Ameraucana Project eggs would have been expensive indeed by hatching egg prices. That was also one expensive crockpot chicken the dog ate as a treat on her food last week, going by the price if I had sold the rooster as a live bird for project purposes. But...

I don't want those eggs to be hatched, or those birds bred from, as they would produce substandard birds that would not contribute positively to the project and would not enhance anyone's flock. That's why it's actually worth the loss of potential profit to sell them as table eggs or eat them for dinner. So in essence it's not that them being hatching eggs makes them somehow more valuable, it's that the table eggs are less valuable because of the reasons they were disqualified from being hatching eggs for.

 

[ChickzNSilkiez]

I know it is much more difficult to get a quality rare breed bird than it is to go to Tractor Supply Company and buy the "rare" breeds they have for $4+ per chick. (which are fun to buy and grow) This directly affects hatching egg prices. Buying eggs from breeders that are 20 generations into their breeding program that produces show quality, almost perfect birds, should carry a premium. Time and effort are spent to ensure a high quality flock. The actual "work" of gathering eggs, can be no comparison as to the price of eggs. That is the very end result of much effort, often years. The parent stock cost, directly reflects hatching egg prices as well. I really wish hatching eggs were cheaper but it is what it is and I fully understand. My two cents.

 

[Proverb31mama]

Not sure if you meant to ask me this specifically (you quoted me just before this so I assume so) as I actually do raise them for meat and eggs, but it's a secondary benefit to raising them to improve the project birds.  Other secondary benefits include controlling ticks, consuming bugs, producing manure, and yes, enjoyment. 

If you want meat and eggs, I figure you may as well actively try to improve your flock when the side effect of your efforts will be meat and eggs anyway.  I don't want to hatch every egg (poor color, size, etc) and I don't want to breed every bird (health issues, poor conformation to standards, bad attitude, etc).  But to get a good selection I need to raise lots of birds, which means I will either have to eat them, sell them, or be buried under a pile of eggs.

And this is also why, back to the topic, I will sell eggs that would be more valuable as hatching eggs (even with poor quality) as cheap table eggs.  I cook with them too, you can bet that frozen custard I made with 12 Silkied Ameraucana Project eggs would have been expensive indeed by hatching egg prices.  That was also one expensive crockpot chicken the dog ate as a treat on her food last week, going by the price if I had sold the rooster as a live bird for project purposes. But...

I don't want those eggs to be hatched, or those birds bred from, as they would produce substandard birds that would not contribute positively to the project and would not enhance anyone's flock.  That's why it's actually worth the loss of potential profit to sell them as table eggs or eat them for dinner.  So in essence it's not that them being hatching eggs makes them somehow more valuable, it's that the table eggs are less valuable because of the reasons they were disqualified from being hatching eggs for.

That's an interesting way to look at it, thanks for sharing. I don't have the time or ability to do that right now but it's cool that you do. I didn't know that ameraucanas were good for meat.