Charging for egg incubation..

Seems like I'm seeking all kinds of advice these days from everyone. Here's the latest:

What are people charging others to hatch their eggs for them? I'm not talking for friends but folks who call you up that you haven't met who have heard that it's an option and asking you to do it for them.

I'm thinking hydro bill and cleaning time afterwards, which is fairly time consuming

Going from what I've read other people charge; $1.00 each egg going in and $1.50 each chick coming out.

eta: That's for chickens. Waterfowl may be alittle more?

So you're saying $2.50 if they go home with their chick?

Yes. So if someone wanted 2 dozen eggs incubated, they'd pay $24 upfront and then $1.50 per chick they take home. And if you had to brood the chicks, that'd be extra.

Does that seem fair?

Well I think so but I'm the 'seller' so to speak - lol. It is hard to determine and would be interesting to have a clearer idea of how much it cost to run a cabinet incubator for 21-23 days, holding a temperature of 100 degrees for the duration.

I know it takes about an hour minimum to clean it afterwards - disinfecting shelves, trays, etc. and wear and tear on the incubator itself. I don't know. I don't want to make money but I sure want my costs and time covered. And it is kind of like shopping with a girlfriend who has the money to buy clothes and you don't (in this case no more room for chicks). I can live vicariously through the people who's chicks I'm hatching! I love little chickies and love to hatch them but am also at a point where I'm happy to hand them over.

Chicory I agree with Flicker Chick. I have even seen $1 going in and $2 coming out.
I did an energy rating on my sportsman and it worked out to $7 in electricity to run it for 21 days. Then you take into consideration the time you put into cleaning, candling, checking, hatching, water for humidity, controlling humidity, backup power source in case of outages, etc.
I think $2-$3 is a fair price for sure.
Put it like this. If you spend 2 hours total taking care of the eggs, cleaning, etc. Plus the cost of power, and did 24 eggs you would be looking at about $2 per egg in costs ($20/hr for labor).
The idea of so much going in is for your time, the cost of so much coming out means you are putting in an effort to hatch these chicks for someone, shows them you are dedicated to give them a product so you can get paid.
If it happens that the eggs going in are infertile you should know by day 7 for sure and end the incubation. On the other hand if 2 of the 24 are good you still have to run your bator for those 2 and then you will not make any money in the end. Definately a risk.
Also make sure you tell them FRESH and CLEAN.

Good post! Thanks Hidden. And thanks for your point about requesting fresh and clean. That can also be time consuming and not good biosecurity if you have to deal with dirty eggs.

(BTW, just read your email. Will get back to you this AM)

Hidden River wrote:Chicory I agree with Flicker Chick. I have even seen $1 going in and $2 coming out.
I did an energy rating on my sportsman and it worked out to $7 in electricity to run it for 21 days. Then you take into consideration the time you put into cleaning, candling, checking, hatching, water for humidity, controlling humidity, backup power source in case of outages, etc.
I think $2-$3 is a fair price for sure.
Put it like this. If you spend 2 hours total taking care of the eggs, cleaning, etc. Plus the cost of power, and did 24 eggs you would be looking at about $2 per egg in costs ($20/hr for labor).
The idea of so much going in is for your time, the cost of so much coming out means you are putting in an effort to hatch these chicks for someone, shows them you are dedicated to give them a product so you can get paid.
If it happens that the eggs going in are infertile you should know by day 7 for sure and end the incubation. On the other hand if 2 of the 24 are good you still have to run your bator for those 2 and then you will not make any money in the end. Definately a risk.
Also make sure you tell them FRESH and CLEAN.