Website or no Website?

My husband and I have had chickens for just under a year. We worked hard to learn about the different breeds and choose from the best stock we could. We are really enjoying having these hens and roos in our life. We are ready to do our very first pairings and then the test hatches and then we'll be ready to advertise fertile eggs and chicks. Or should we? Should we focus on just breeding and keeping the best to standard for the future? We don't want to be a big operation, just keep a few of our favourite breeds and work on breeding them as close to standard as possible. Should we just sell the extra chicks and let people know if we think they are pet or show quality?

I have A LOT of questions. I guess I've just asked two! I've noticed that some of you have very nice websites with lovely photos of your stock and their eggs and chicks. Should we start a website? Should we wait until we have more experience under our belts? Do you pay for a website or use one of the free ones?

Can our love of our chickens become a viable small business?

Thanks for your help and advice!

I think nobody has answered you on this because there are so many different thoughts about it.

If you want to have a business selling chicks and eggs you can, many do. You just have to decide if that is what you want.

You will not be able to sell the chicks as pet or show quality unless they are crossbreds to start with. To know the real quality of a chicken you have to grow it out. So when you sell chicks you may be selling the BEST birds you will ever produce, to someone else. That is why many breeders do not sell chicks or eggs, but offer point of lay pullets.

The POL is a huge market in Australia, I find not as many interested here. I have to admit I only try to sell through the forums, I don't do it publicly. Buying mature birds is the best way to improve your line of birds quickly as you can see what you have already, no guessing what the chicks are going to grow out like.

I am not sure if it can be a viable business. It is a hobby for me. Talk to someone that has it for a business and see if you like the direction they have gone. Personally I don't want to pump out eggs and chicks, but that is my choice. I like to hatch 50-100 chicks in each of the breeds I have chosen. Grow out and pick the 5 or so pullets and 5 or so cockerels that I am going to use in the breeding program and sell the rest. I am trying to improve the ones I have chosen to breed to be as close to the Standard as possible and be vital and productive. I try to sell the very nice quality ones to people serious about breeding that breed, the others go for backyard layers. Usually friends and family replacing layers.

Some people sell eggs for eating and hatching and do well. Again, not for me personally. I don't want the stress when my hens go off the lay for whatever reason. I would feel bad if I could not get eggs to the people that depend on me. Right now I barter for stuff when I have extra eggs, which isn't very often cause I give most of them away to family.

So as you can see, I am not productive at all with my birds. I have to say I enjoy them immensly though. Because I don't feel they HAVE to make me money, I can do what I like with them. Experiment a bit, give eggs away if I like, sit and enjoy them for what they are and how they taste.

That is what is so great about chickens. There are MANY different ways to have them and my way may not be yours or anybody elses, but it works for me. You just have to find what YOUR way is going to be.

coopslave wrote:
You will not be able to sell the chicks as pet or show quality unless they are crossbreds to start with.

Huh? Did you mean purebreeds??? Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

No CynthiaM, I ment if they were crossbreds you would know for sure that they where 'pet' quality.

Ah, yes, deep subject. I just wanted to make a couple of comments. And this is mostly, go with your heart. I think that a wise thing would be to get some good numbers and grow them out. That way you can choose the best to keep for yourself. Your aspirations to improve on breeds is a good thing.

This is how I feel. I will sell eggs, hatching eggs, chicks, point of lay pullets. I like to do this. The reason I like to do this is because I TOTALLY enjoy raising little chicks. I think the incubation process is so much fun and watching little ones grow is amazing too.

I also don't think there are enough people that are selling nice birds in our area. I am sure there are some people selling chicks and older birds, but really? I really think that more people SHOULD be selling chicks. I think there is a demand for this. If there were more people that are working to improve on breeds, then the breeds will get improved on. The more people doing this, then the chances of higher numbers of good quality birds will be seen in areas. I see nothing wrong with growing out chicks and selling them. So I do. People can buy from hatcheries, and that is good too, but sometimes the waiting list is so long to get hatchery birds. And honestly, I see nothing wrong with hatchery birds. Not everyone wants birds for exhibition purposes. Backyard chickens, that are just used for meat and egg laying, there are lots of people like that. Just want a simple chicken to make their farm happy. That is a good thing. I think that there are few and far between that really want to get into showing their poultry, and those people will need to breed up their birds to get them nice, or rely on proven breeders that have nice stock to get stock from. That is a wonderful thing too. So many sides to this coin.

I like, and I really like, that I feel my chickens help to support my hobby. I like that I can make some money to regain the money that I have spent to build, to buy things to make my life easier to look after them, and the money spent on feeding my joys. This to me is a good thing. If I were a rich man....then I would not give a hoot nor a hollar if my birds helped to bring in a little extra income to help pay for what I have paid out. But such is not the case.

It brings me great pleasure when someone comes to our farm and they see my birds and they take home some chicks, or an older fowl. The joy that I know that I am going to bring to someone, as they grow these on, is wonderful. It makes me feel so good inside.

Like the fellow that took my two old barred rock gals. He knew they were old and that their laying days were diminishing. He did not care. I had made him fully aware that they were aging and that the eggs may be few and far between. He loved the breed and just wanted some pretty hens to go with his other hens that he had. He was as happy as could be. One of the hens did lay an egg the day after going to his house. Both hens were laying eggs, not regularly, but they still had it in them. They would be four years old next month. He was so thrilled to have these two girls that it just made my day.

I don't know if this has helped you with what you want to know. But I have borne my soul, how I feel, and this is just how I am. Have a most awesome day, CynthiaM.

I think I started out with one question and ended up sharing all my chicken questions! Sorry about that!

I have horses, three dogs and my house cats. I say that so that you understand that I am use to my pets costing lots but not financially profiting us. My pets have always been my only kids. I love them for their quirky personalities, cuddliness and love.

My hubby was a dairy farmer for the first 25 years of his life. Any animals on his farm were there because they had a job and contributed to the profit of the farm.

I explain this so you can understand the questions I asked. My husband has been incredibly supportive in my chicken venture. We both enjoy watching chicks hatch. The growing chicks are so sweet and cuddly and we love watching them grow up.

We have our cockerals seperate from the pullets. I happily give away the eggs to family. I find sitting in their coops peaceful. I enjoy spending time learning about them, learning from them...

You get the idea

I have a project I am working on that Coopslave has helped me and it will be fun.

I would like to know that I can contribute to the quality of the breeds we have chosen to raise.

I am so greatful for my husband's support. He doesn't have work right now. That is why it would be great if our chickens could at least cover there expenses.

Does all that make sense?

Wow! That was more than I meant to share!

So...website or no website?

A website can be fun if that is something you enjoy doing. It can also be a frustrating headache if you don't enjoy it!
I was a website designer for a few years but now I only do web design as a volunteer for Prairie Ornamental Avicultural Assoc., my husbands' business and my own Hawthorn poultry site. I do it because it is something I love to do (in small doses).
Some people like to keep a blog of their farming and family activities as a way for their friends and relatives to keep up with what is going on in their life.
As far as using a website to promote your chicks/hatching eggs, what I have learned is that you need to be very careful that you are not accidently misrepresenting anything. I also started out with some nice stock purchased from other breeders. But I later learned there can be a very, very big difference between what would be considered nice quality and what people would expect to buy as "exhibition or show quality". I don't believe chicks or hatching eggs can be sold as show quality because no matter how nice their parents may be you can't predict which chick will be the outstanding one until it is getting close to being fully mature.

Also, if you do go this route I think it is important to find a niche. There are lots of people selling hatching eggs, and they will ship them long distances. they may already have established a clientele. So you might want to try to work with a different breed than what is already being offered by others, or find a way to offer something a bit different.
The main thing is that you love what you do, because as already mentioned there is not a lot of money to be made. It truly has to be a labor of love.

I just visited your website. It is really well made! The layout is easy to follow and each page isn't too busy but has just the right amount of information.

I like what you wrote about reducing the amount of time the hens are with the roo. Contradictorily, I sure wish you had Blue Cochin eggs you'd ship, they lool very lovely. We haven't put any together yet but I was planning to use saddles to protect the girls. How long would you advise we keep the hens with the roos?

I appreaciate all the helpful, kind advice that all of you on this site have given me!

Ahh yes. Website or no website that tis the question.

I agree with Kathy that if you like webdesign/dev. go ahead. I love web devlopment (in fact right now working on a poultry management software). But i suck at design. I just do. So i bought a template that is clean. Than i add the content my self (this is going to be for my personal poultry website). And i have decided that i will sell chicks,eggs, and started birds this year. Only locally though. I was the one who brought these birds across country. And i think every one should have access with out having to pay as much as i did.

There are some programs like http://www.serif.com/webplus/ that can help you make a website visually (drag & drop)

Micah and Kiah wrote:I just visited your website. It is really well made! The layout is easy to follow and each page isn't too busy but has just the right amount of information.

I like what you wrote about reducing the amount of time the hens are with the roo. Contradictorily, I sure wish you had Blue Cochin eggs you'd ship, they lool very lovely. We haven't put any together yet but I was planning to use saddles to protect the girls. How long would you advise we keep the hens with the roos?

I appreaciate all the helpful, kind advice that all of you on this site have given me!

Thank you for the nice comments.
Many people keep the roosters and hens together all the time and have little problem with feather loss on the hens backs. The saddles will help alot. It also depends on the ratio of hens to rooster, the breeds etc. Some roosters are just much more active than others.
I have several reasons why I choose not to sell fertile eggs, the main one being that I like to be the one to have first pick of the chicks I produce. I'm also working on a couple of projects and need to have a good handle on what is being produced before feeling ready to hand those eggs over to others.
I do appreciate those who do sell eggs, and I have bought my share over the past few years. It is an important service and a great way to spread your quality genetics to others. And as Call Ducks mentioned, a much more affordable option for people than paying for and transporting adult birds. But I am not interested in spending the time packing up eggs, shipping them all over the country and then dealing with unhappy customers who recieved scrambled eggs through no fault of mine.

KathyS wrote:

Micah and Kiah wrote:I just visited your website. It is really well made! The layout is easy to follow and each page isn't too busy but has just the right amount of information.

I like what you wrote about reducing the amount of time the hens are with the roo. Contradictorily, I sure wish you had Blue Cochin eggs you'd ship, they lool very lovely. We haven't put any together yet but I was planning to use saddles to protect the girls. How long would you advise we keep the hens with the roos?

I appreaciate all the helpful, kind advice that all of you on this site have given me!

Thank you for the nice comments.
Many people keep the roosters and hens together all the time and have little problem with feather loss on the hens backs. The saddles will help alot. It also depends on the ratio of hens to rooster, the breeds etc. Some roosters are just much more active than others.
I have several reasons why I choose not to sell fertile eggs, the main one being that I like to be the one to have first pick of the chicks I produce. I'm also working on a couple of projects and need to have a good handle on what is being produced before feeling ready to hand those eggs over to others.
I do appreciate those who do sell eggs, and I have bought my share over the past few years. It is an important service and a great way to spread your quality genetics to others. And as Call Ducks mentioned, a much more affordable option for people than paying for and transporting adult birds. But I am not interested in spending the time packing up eggs, shipping them all over the country and then dealing with unhappy customers who recieved scrambled eggs through no fault of mine.

I have chosen only to sell egg's in province. For those who are just a tad far way to come pick up chicks. So i hope them not having to be loaded and unloaded a lot will help out with loss

Micah and Kiah wrote:How long would you advise we keep the hens with the roos?

I don't want this to sound offensive or harsh, but might I suggest that if you're still in the stage when you're asking basic questions about the breeding cycle because you haven't done any breeding yet, it might be a good idea to take your time before going all out breeding business. I say this because I have a habit of jumping too far in and have learned to ease off a bit from the mistakes that get made. I know I would have sold some low quality eggs and chicks if I had jumped right on in to that side of poultry.

Maybe start out planning to start your own breeding projects for a year or two, hatch as many out as you can handle, make your selections in the fall and sell hens that won't make good breeding as pet point of lays at first. I think it is very difficult to do a good job breeding when you're selling day old chicks at the same time.

Mind you, I sell food products not breeding stock. Eggs for us is where the chickens make money, and we sell butchered cockerels to make back some of the cost of growing out and selecting our male breeders. Once our numbers start approaching provincial quota we will probably start selling some of our extra pullets as pets as well...

Hatching egg business looks good on paper since you sell them for 4-8x the price of eating eggs, but I don't know that it would work out more lucrative after you factor in the additional cost and infrastructure. If your husband has been in diary, I'm sure you and he have a good handle on how farm business works.

A website is brilliant, I would never go without one. Be warned if you look at mine that it's a bit messy because it's in the middle of a heavy redesigning since our business has taken a couple of different turns from where we began. For almost everybody under 30, and still a really good chunk of those older will probably look for a website if they want to buy your product.