Raising while also Profiting from Chickens??

[Our Roost]

Absolutely! But newbies need to know up front what to expect. It can come as quite shock if your not filled in.

 

[RezChamp]

Wow. lotsa goooodd ideas here.
My 2cents... I didn't get into chickens ot make money. I love the diversity of the bird(chicken). Actually I like all sorts of birds.
Anyway, where I live makes it illogical to "make" $$ from a small flock. It's too time consuming and costly to actually make $$. I do however generate a few dollars from >eggs for eating, a few chicks, >a few broilers(or soup or...or...or...), >a few ready to lay hens,
>the odd rooster(some pll want them because it reminds them of when they were a kid)... but just enough that buying feed does'nt send me to the poor house.
I just enjoy having birds around my home because of soup, roast, fried, boiled chicken meat, roosters crowing in the morn($4AM in summer), fresh eggs, flock dynamics, all the colors and other characteristics, ....
...and it reminds me of when I was a kid on my grandparents' farms.

I wish you(all ppl) good luck and good cheer with their flocks. I'm really looking forward to spring and hatching.
I have BuffOrp, RIR, PartridgeRock, LtBrahma, DarkBrahma and I kept some hens from the Grazers(FreedomRanger type).
I also kept 3 trios of Pekin ducks, a trio of bronze turkey and a pr of geese.

 

[salmonfood]

Tax deductions and grants

 

[Toots Birds]

I have only sold my eating eggs. I sell them for $2.50 a dozen (I have to keep my customers somehow). That seems to take care of their $18.42 50 lb. bag of laying feed. I haven't thought about selling chicks maybe I'll have to look in to that. I have been looking into expanding the flock (with hens; not roosters). Any ideas on how to advertise chicks for sale?

 

[sarahandbray]

The only way I've needed to advertise for hatching eggs and chicks has been through my local Craigslist and local Facebook Swap sites (homestead folks, poultry folks, small farm animal, etc.)
I think I've posted on an average of 4 Facebook pages and Craigslist.
100% sold of what I wanted to sell. Here in suburban upstate, NY, I seem to be getting between $2.00-2.50 each chick for straight-run, barnyard mixes out of my incubator. Hatching around 30 chicks each time = about $70ish per hatch.
Barbyard mix eggs I'm selling for $8/dozen and haven't had a problem selling out each week. Purebred eggs around here are $20-40, so for people who just want chickens for laying purposes and don't care about the breed, this has been ideal.
I mostly do pick-up for eggs and chicks, but have tacked on reasonable delivery/meet-up fees to cover my gas and time.
So far so good! Chickens are NOT a big money-maker (we make WAY MORE off of our fresh veggies and fresh flower arrangements we sell in the summer months) but it makes it worth having them.

 

[Our Roost]

Eating eggs? Ha, yes thats what we do mostly with them dont we? I can only offer some suggestions based on my own personal experiences. Word of mouth to locals and friends and relatives along with neighbors are your key sorces. Food chains, restaurants and such have too much health inspection involvement to take on your product. A sign out front and some free poster board advertizements can help also. Start out selling eggs at a price they cant resist! You are actually competing with the on sale price at the grocery store and other farmers. Keep it simple and dangle the bait!Give some freebies away to first time customers and temp them to come back.
Places like TSC sell heritage breed chicks for their spring chick sale. Raise a breed they dont carry or offer and that can be your best bet for selling chicks if need be. Put a posting on their board or stand outside the door waving a flag! ha ha. Good luck.

 

[aoxa]

Your best advertisement is photos... If you can take wonderful photos of your birds, you will have no problem making money. I can't keep up. I have orders right up to June this year.

I have a website, facebook farm page and am a moderator of a very frequented chicken group on FB within my general vicinity - the Maritimes.

Facebook has been my #1 method of sales.

 

[Our Roost]

I have to thank you for that one! Photos is an excellent idea!

 

[dsfrango]

Buy a yearly calendar, it definitely helps with organization and not keeping. It can pretty much be the entire log. I log costs and profits. I log ship dates of hatching eggs etc and list the profit. I usually make 30-35$+ I've made up to 70$ on 1 shipment of 8-10 eggs from my purebred Sumatras and D'uccles before. I potentially sell 4 batches a week of on average! So minus the shipping and that's the profit. I get all my packing materials(newspapers and egg cartons for free). If you do it right you can make a little extra side cash but not a full time job salary unless your hatchery volume status. Eating eggs just aren't profitabje unless you have a hundred hens and a very good market.

 

[suebgbr]

I know it is different here in England but the fundamentals are the same.
1. Don't waste feed - make sure they can't scratch it all over and trample it in.
2. Keep them mite free -ivermectin or permethryn to keep them happy and laying well.
3. Invest in broodies such as silkies -a 'free' incubator and brooder.
4. Advertise fertile eggs on ebay - I've sent mine as far as Greece and Malta
5. If you can afford a few 'champion bloodlines' go for it - it increases the value of your fertile eggs and chicks.
6. Buy feed in bulk -see if anyone near you has chickens as well. The more you buy, the cheaper it is
7. Plan ahead - put eggs in to incubate to hatch on certain dates such as Easter, Spring Break or Showing season when you know demand will be high for chicks

Also, if I have any spare eggs I make cakes and sell them too