More of a pain then it's worth...

Trying to sell chickens this time of year!

No show's, lookey loo's, low offers. Aiy karamba.

I quit. I'll eat my extra breeding stock roosters and sell the hens in spring!

This is a pet peeve of mine, people not wanting to pay what a hen is worth. People seem to think poultry rank one step above disposable paper plates on the evolutionary scale. Has anyone pencilled out what a producing hen lays in eggs over (let's say) a 4 year life span of reasonalbe production?

I could say I've pencilled it out, but I haven't, and I'd just be making up numbers. But for the sake of argument let's say a hen produces $50 of eggs a year (this is a guess) and she is worth MORE than SIX LOUSY DOLLARS! That will buy you what, 2 dozen limp, insipid grocery store eggs or a dozen organic eggs. But for anyone to think they should walk away with any chicken capable of producing an egg regardless of breed, for less than $20 is an insult! So insulting infact that I will chop and toss in the bush and let an appreciative mother coyote or hawk feed her hungry babies before I will go to the auction and donate my birds to people who should be smacked on the knuckles for not knowing their true value! YOu have my sympathy, Briarwood.

Lol.. amen!

I just sold 5 hens (3 were just POL and laying pullet eggs, the others were 18 months and still laying buff orps) for $50. Really? $50?! If my mom hadn't said "yeah sure fifty sounds great" .. I'd still have my POINT OF LAY HENS! Jeez. Granted, they were "measley easter eggers", but still!!!! When I was on holidays and I had to gag down nasty store bought eggs I sure appreciated my hens, never realized how spoiled I was at home.

*sigh*

I'm pretty sure most hens, if you buy them for $20 each, repay their cost within a couple months, providing they don't get eaten by a dog, swept away by a tsunami, sent to the center of the earth in an earthquake, etc.

Spring is the time to sell point of lay hens. Why can't Easter and Thanksgiving trade places? I have been growing out chicks all summer!

I completely agree with you. I have had lots of interest but as soon as I name my price (which is low compared to Spring) I never hear from them again...

I agree with you guys. I'm picky who I sell to no matter what time of year. I have no problem with my price. I think it helps weed out those who don't "get it" and you're right- they are actually worth far more than $20. Luckily, I can always use my eggs for egg customers, but the roos do present a problem. I haven't had luck with a rooster pen so this year, I will let them enjoy summer for as long as possible and then humanely butcher them. Its tough, but I'd rather that than not know what their future holds for them.

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Susan wrote:I agree with you guys. I'm picky who I sell to no matter what time of year. I have no problem with my price. I think it helps weed out those who don't "get it" and you're right- they are actually worth far more than $20. Luckily, I can always use my eggs for egg customers, but the roos do present a problem. I haven't had luck with a rooster pen so this year, I will let them enjoy summer for as long as possible and then humanely butcher them. Its tough, but I'd rather that than not now what their future holds for them.

Precisely, me too. I always put my price on my ads with all the info they need to know, breed age, source, breed qualities etc, so they know before they email me! With lots of Pics, info they know I am serious, know my birds and their value and never have much trouble selling. If they think my price is too high, they wont even email and I wont even have to reply! Win-win.

Interstingly, I found a guy on an English bird trading site stole a pic I have of 2 SGD hens and said they were the birds he was selling, what a cheek, (I am flatted but still) he`s taken them down now....

I completely agree with you all!!!
Since coming back to Canada I have been surprised how cheap the hens are here. I am surprised that people don't value them more. I would expect $20 from a healthy, POL pullet that is a heritage breed, actually I used to get closer to $50 for them in Aus. People don't understand when they buy those wasted, commercial layers in their second season that they are getting something that is already worn out and that is why they are so cheap. It is all about the consumer becoming more educated.

I’ve not had much luck selling (EE) chickens this year either.

I try and include all relevant info (maybe too much info?) and pictures so people can see what I’m offering. I know my prices are on the low side, but even that isn’t helping – in fact it may be a hindrance by making it seem my birds aren’t worth very much. And now I’m getting pressure from hubby to move some birds already…if only it was that easy. I’m going to have to rethink this issue before starting any heavy breeding projects...and probably invest in a chicken plucker. Sigh...

I agree, something has got to change.

For some reason people have this belief that agricultural products don't cost anything to raise or make. We as a group need to all work together to educate the public of the costs we encour on raising our stock.

This is no small task. I have also noticed that birds at sales or show event seem to sell better and people then to be less likely to try to barter on prices.

Hopefully over the next few years I can concentrate on just a few breeds and work on improving the breeds to quality they used to be at.

C'mon you guys, what do you expect when people turn up their nose at my $3 eggs because they can buy them for $1.87 in Walmart?

I actually saw an ad on Kijiji that went something like this:

"Looking for farm raised eggs, meat and vegetables. Must be priced comparatively to store-bought food, otherwise, what is the point?"

What is the point?!!! He misses it entirely!

Sue

A couple of weeks ago ,on the way to Sanich on Hemleck Rd just on the edge of Victoria, the market had a sign offering Free Range Eggs at $3.00 a dozen

The race to the bottom of the barrel continues.

I agree a chicken should have the same value it has in the summer as it dose in the winter.

Thanks for the support.

I should post information on my website about the cost of raising chickens compared to the hatcheries..

It's just amazing that you can have POL girls at this time - still summer - and you can't sell them at all, let alone for enough to just recover the cost to raise them!

Coopslave - very interesting about how much hens sell for in Australia...

There are cheaper ones there too, but nothing less than $20-25 for a nice crossbred POL pullet. Good quality breeds, not show quality, would sell up to $50. SQ ones were much dearer of course!

Do you think it is worse in the late summer? I know I try to get down to bare bones over the winter, then ramp up quickly in the springtime. I just don't have the capacity to keep large numbers happy in the winter, while in warmer weather I can handle almost 4 times as many....

I hear you about purebreds though. No comprehension. But you know it is the same with cattle, sheep, pigs. Hard to break even.

Well after attending a part of the Saanich Fair 4H auction, I guess it's not just chickens going cheap this year.

Sadly, we watched beef sell for $2.15-$3.30/lb and pork ranging from the low $2's to high $2's while we were there. It was sad, I really felt for the kids!

Well, I started 2011 thinking I would hatch lots of chicks in order to have lots to choose from and keep the best for myself. Then I kept lots of roos thinking I'd grow them out and have lots to choose from and keep the best for myself. So now that I've chosen the few hens and roos I'd like to keep I'm seriously overstocked, winter is coming and no one is doing much buying right now. I'll be doing some butchering this fall but seriously, how much chicken can one family use?

I'm making some changes next hatching season. Careful, very selective breeding including some one-on-one. I'm definitely going for quality instead of quantity, and I won't be filling the incubator just for the sheer joy of hatching. As much as I love those little fuzzy butts, I think I need to keep in mind that I have only so much room, and can only afford so much feed. And when the fall season comes along, there are only so many buyers out there to help me reduce my flock.

It is very sad that the price is too low for birds so here is what I'm going to do. Right after I sell some of you people my 3 1/2 month old Polish cross pullets for $ 10.00 each, I will make sure to raise the price for next year! Have we got a deal?!?!

thats why i dont like to hatch past june, people want hens that will lay the same year any babies now wont be laying for a long time...i dont wana be stuck with a bunch of birds over winter sadly spring is the time to sell..

It's hard too, for people to get into birds, my feed went up $1/bag I mean come on!
Good quality birds vs crap, I think the average person can see the quality, they just can't afford it...

KathyS wrote:Well, I started 2011 thinking I would hatch lots of chicks in order to have lots to choose from and keep the best for myself. Then I kept lots of roos thinking I'd grow them out and have lots to choose from and keep the best for myself. So now that I've chosen the few hens and roos I'd like to keep I'm seriously overstocked, winter is coming and no one is doing much buying right now. I'll be doing some butchering this fall but seriously, how much chicken can one family use?

I'm making some changes next hatching season. Careful, very selective breeding including some one-on-one. I'm definitely going for quality instead of quantity, and I won't be filling the incubator just for the sheer joy of hatching. As much as I love those little fuzzy butts, I think I need to keep in mind that I have only so much room, and can only afford so much feed. And when the fall season comes along, there are only so many buyers out there to help me reduce my flock.

^ I plan to do the same thing Kathy, for the exact same reasons.

triplejfarms wrote:thats why i dont like to hatch past june, people want hens that will lay the same year any babies now wont be laying for a long time...i dont wana be stuck with a bunch of birds over winter sadly spring is the time to sell..

I totally agree, spring is the time to sell. These are hens hatched from Feb to June and selling them for 10 each while they are laying is nuts!

I also agree with careful breeding but you still need to hatch a lot of chicks to get quality. Even with careful selection of breeding stock you will have utility quality chicks. I don't think there is a simple answer!!!

Sorry, I'm not trying to be a mood killer, just frustrated. I'll live.

Briarwood, I do agree with you that we still need to hatch a good quantity to make sure to get a few of the best. But speaking only of my own hatching habbits...there is room for improvement. I have actually been quite lucky to find so many good homes for chicks this year, but it was an eye opener when I did a poultry count earlier in the summer! My new incubator made it too easy, and hatching got a bit out of hand!
I don't want to resort to boxing up chicks and taking them to the auction...then you don't know what you'll end up getting for them, and you have no control about what kind of home they will be going to.
I'm preparing to winter over some extra pullets and try for spring sales instead.