what animals do you/can be breed for a "profit"

[Fancie]

looking for a hobby pet, one that will take care of alot of it's own needs with the money produced off of it's offspring. Not looking for a true profit, or income.

I rember a friend of my mom while growing up sold rodents to pet stores and it was something I wanted to do. so I was thinking mice and rats? Ferrets would be neat but they are costly to set up... can't be rabbits (allergic) or farm animals (pigs, goats, etc.) and not cats and dogs (to many on the planet already)

Do you breed anything for sale to pet stores? Or do you breed another animal that makes 75% or more of their cost back?? share your story.

now I will hide for fear of the flames

 

[Becky_H]

I don't think you'll be flamed here. You should check out the pet store you sell to *very* *very* well as some of them are pretty abhorrant and others only buy from 'commercial' breeders, or the equivilant of bird/rodent mills.

That said -- The only animal I've ever had that pays (mostly) for itself is chickens.

 

[newchickenfamily]

I'm not sure that I have an answer to your question, but you said you were waiting for flames, so I thought I'd oblige.

I know there is a local parakeet/budgie breeder that sells to our local pet shops. I suppose that would be a bit costly to start up though.

 

[bheila]

Ummmm, what's wrong with chickens? Out of my 50 or so chickens they lay about 3 dozen eggs a day. I sell all of the eggs for $3 a dozen, they more then pay for their own feed. Not to mention when they become broody and hatch their own chicks. That's not even including the ducks. I realized the more chickens I had the more they paid for themselves. 50 isn't any more to take care of then when I had 20.

 

[mwdh1]

Mice and rats would be the easiest with the fastest turn around, and not that expensive to set up if you craigslist and freecycle for used tanks.

May also consider quail and start promoting a "raw food" pet diet for dogs and cats.

 

[Stina]

anything *can* be bred for "profit"....but that doesn't necessarily mean they should be. I breed mice myself, and soon will rats as well...but when bred as they really should be for their welfare you should only get 2-4 litters out any given female... Mice should not be bred until after at least 2 months of age, 3 is better; they should never be bred back to back (males should be removed before females give birth; you should wait at least 6 weeks after a litter is born to rebreed a female. Breeding takes a major toll on a mouse's health....and while its possible to breed them back to back over and over you drastically reduce their lifespan and overall health....same with rats (rats have different time-scales though). With what you are considering you also would not be able to get mice from reputable breeders (they won't sell to anyone who plans on selling to a petstore), so you will almost definitely end up with animals that are prone to cancer.....the stores won't really care, b/c they'll sell them young...but if it was me I would certainly care if I knew I was selling animals I was almost sure were going to develop cancer at a relatively young age. You also have to be careful with male mice...they are highly territorial towards other males and at least 90% of the time, even when littermates that were raised together, males will end up kiling one-another, or at the very least making eachother miserable by chasing and nipping tails and butts (I've seen males with ripped open testicles from fighting....). Infanticide is something else to be aware of...males that are kept with multiple females will almost always become infanticidal b/c of the way their hormones work....I can explain that if you'd like me to (don't feel like getting all sciencey if I don't know its wanted).

A good option for breeding for pet stores would be more along the lines of reptiles......much easier to breed and care for properly without overbreeding and sacrificing health. Leopard geckos are great...very easy to care for and eggs are very easy to hatch. You probably wouldn't be able to make much profit once you factor in feeding, upkeep, and health care.....but you may be able to (and that's kind of how it is with anything). Reptiles tend to be an easier thing to find stores looking for local breeders of as well.

 

[andorraclaim]

I lol'd when I saw the thread title, I mean no offense, it's just a funny statement.

Alpaca's are serious investments and choice stock can double the ROI. Check out http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20010905a.asp or just google Alpaca and Profit.

But chicken's are pretty fun too.

 

[AkTomboy]

I agree with andorraclaim. Both my mom and I have alpacas that we make a profit from along with our chickens and other critters

 

[shelleyd2008]

Coturnix quail can at least be raised free of charge. I sell my quails eggs at around $5 for a dozen, and I get at least a dozen eggs a day. A 50# bag of feed for them costs about $16, and it lasts 2 months. So even if you count in the mealworms that you'd spoil them with, the water that they drink, the oyster shell or cuttle bone that they'll need, and the sand for them to dust bathe, you are still breaking even at least, if not getting ahead.

Plus, the jumbo brown, normal brown, and golden variations can be sexed as early as 3 weeks, all of the variations are sexually mature and laying eggs between 4 and 10 weeks, and they are full grown at 12 weeks. So if you hatch some, and don't want to keep males, or only so many of one, and so many of the other, you don't have to keep them (browns and goldens) for months to figure out what they are.

The other colors can be sexed early as well, but they need to be either crowing or laying eggs, as vent sexing them is the only way to do it. But it is very easy to do.

I vote for coturnix quail. I have over 60 quail, between the coturnix and buttons, and a 50# bag of feed lasts me at least 2 months

ETA: The only down side to quail is that they are seasonal layers, unless they have at least 14 hours of light. So in the winter months you would need to supplement their light source. This causes them to degenerate, I guess, quicker, so you would need to replenish your stock sooner. But an old quail tastes just as good as a new quail

Another couple of pluses, coturnix only need 1 sq. ft. of space per bird, so they won't take up everything, and you can raise your own mealworms, then those will be free as well. Plus, you could sell the extra mealworms for an even better profit

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I breed and sell parrots. Parrots can run anywhere from $100. to $15,000 depending on what you breed. Right now I'm breeding various mutations of green cheek conures. They can run anywhere from $175 to $350. a piece.

My baby macaws can sell up to $1000. Red Bellies can run around $400 to $500.

There's alot that goes into bird breeding and its not for the faint of heart or if you want to get rich because I'm definitely not that! LOL

Laurie