Pricing of chooks

Hens and Hobbits · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:14 pm

CJ wrote:

Ok let me set the record straight, the reason I am asking, is because I don't want to rip people off. I just thought that someone might be able to help me out, seeing as this is my first time selling araucanas. And yes we are a business, and at the moment our chickens are costing a fair amount to feed and we won't be able to afford to keep them if we can't cover the cost of their food. I love my chooks and if I could keep every single one that hatched I would.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone, but this is just what we have to do and I want to make sure that I am doing right.

I do think that experienced breeders will genuinely help you if you ask for their advice in regards to pricing your Araucana's, and also assist you determine if they show, or breeding quality or bargain reduced to sell culls. Do a Google Search for Araucana's for sale in your state and compare the asking prices. Contact the breeders via preferred method ie email or sms, most are quite happy to help.

CountryRoads · **Joined:** Sun Nov 06, 2011 10:13 am **Posts:** 1

Would a pricing system work for chicks say 1-7 days old and have show quality and pet quality as 2 different prices?

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

CJ = have you worked out how much it costs you from incubating the egg to feeding the hatchling including vaccinations if you do this to an age when the birds can be verified as quality say 8-9months old? (most only want quality birds for obvious reasons)

A few years ago I broke down the cost of incubating to PER EGG vaccinating (as I vaccinate) feed per chick (I did this by seperating out ONE hatchling and fed it exclusively from a 20kg bag of Starter weighing the bag before starting to feed chick then re-weighing bag when it was changed to Grower - then same for Grower) etc etc etc

I got a nasty shock when I discovered it cost me then (4yrs ago) $75 per bird to get them to 9 months old when I could confirm quality and health ready for re-housing
todays prices it is $80

bear in mind I have Orpingtons and they are not small birds and very slow to grow out

ALSO - to help cover some of the feed etc costs you will have to sell large quantities of fertile eggs - ensuring that your birds are good quality and fed well so that the fertility is good - making sure you pack and send the eggs to give the highest viability possible

selling chooks (of any breed other than the commercial ones as meat) is difficult and rarely turns a profit - at best you will break even = as the 'buyer' is fussy about what they pay for and there will be ocassions when you will have to replace a bird or eggs for what ever reason - cutting into the 'profit'

I am not having a go - just being realisitic - been breeding Orps for 60+yrs and to date I have not turned a profit and never expect to, and quite happy with that

I cant offer adivse re pricing but I say go for it and see how you go = looking forward to hearing updates :-D

farmmanager · **Joined:** Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:25 pm **Posts:** 5

The only way to turn a profit of any substance is on a commercial level hatching large volumes and selling from 1 day to 8 weeks then it is viable to expect a profit. No home breeding operation will make any substantial profits

Hens and Hobbits · **Posted:** Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:20 am

Most breeders I have met are genuinely extremely passionate about their birds, they don't breed for profit but to preserve their breeds, they are always willing to give up their time and help those interested.

If you factor all the costs it is staggering, and is it possible to put a true sale $ value, as you also have to take into consideration the time and dedication involved. If I sat down and calculated everything, I have spent so far...but it has given our family so much pleasure...And you can't put a price on that.

stencorp69 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:21 am

soozorps wrote:

CJ = have you worked out how much it costs you from incubating the egg to feeding the hatchling including vaccinations if you do this to an age when the birds can be verified as quality say 8-9months old? (most only want quality birds for obvious reasons)

........

I cant offer adivse re pricing but I say go for it and see how you go = looking forward to hearing updates :-D

This is the best advice - If you know what your costs are you can set a price. If your chooks are any good people will buy them at that price plus a % for profit. If they don't sell you will have to reduce your overheads &/or improve your quality. Working on these principals you won't be ripping anyone off.

Just for the record there is nothing wrong with being in poultry for the money - their original commercial value it is actually the reason most of the heritage breeds are in existence today, but I do take my hat off to anyone who can achieve a commerical profit with any of the heritage breeds as it seems they are more a labour of love than a commerical reality.

farmmanager · **Joined:** Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:25 pm **Posts:** 5

In order for that to work and to get a 'true' cost you need to take into account all incidental costs for example water, any purchased green foods, straw, ect..... its not viable for the backyard breeder to do this in reality so you are best to stay with your largest outlays such as food and any vaccines and work on that cost per fowl but like I wrote earlier no home breeding operation will make any substantial profits and I know first hand as a farm manager I know the scale in order to make it viable and your domestic flock will never cut it on a similar scale.

Karen_H · **Posted:** Thu Dec 01, 2011 2:43 pm

If it helps at all I bought some black araucana hens (and a rooster) a few months ago. Obviously there will always be variables but to give you an idea:

The chooks were approximately ten weeks old, sexed and vaccinated (can I add the lady did a brilliant job of sexing - we asked for two roosters and 11 hens and that is what we got)
They were located in an out of the way place (Lithgow side of Mudgee NSW on a property - it was about a 2 hour drive each way for us - rural area not near any cities)
They came from a 'backyard breeder', not a registered breeder (got their details from Andy Vardy's Poultry Page from memory)
We paid $10 each for them
They were well looked after and all have remained healthy, no deformities apparent etc
The lady was only beginning to breed - it was the first time she was selling this breed

Hope this helps a little

CREEKBED · **Joined:** Thu Dec 01, 2011 1:57 pm **Posts:** 1

I have paid up to $20 per chick for araucana hens at 6 weeks old and $8 for a rooster. When I need to sell some in the future I will ask $15 for chicks up to 8 weeks as I think that is a fair price

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