Find out how to make money with chickens as soon as possible if you want to homestead and earn money.
When you begin raising chickens, it’s normal to consider how you can bring in cash with chickens. Because you spend a lot of time building their home and taking care of them, why can’t they help you out financially?
The truth is that raising chickens on your homestead is not the most profitable option. However, they are the most easily accessible livestock, and if you have a strong business plan, you can profit from them.
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There are lot of different ways to make money with our backyard flock, and I’d like to show you some of them.
If you take the time to run the numbers and develop a genuine business plan, any of these can and do result in income.
10 Easy Ways To Make Money With Chickens:
1. Sell Eggs
Selling your excess eggs is the most obvious way to make money with chickens. Fresh chicken eggs cost between $3.50 and $5 per dozen, depending on where you live; You have to get back the money you spent taking care of and maintaining your flock.
Selling eggs really isn’t hard when your production is high. Some of my friends have had success by simply erecting a table and a “Fresh Eggs” sign at the end of their driveway. Others sell posts they make on social media to friends and family.
Pricing fresh eggs can be difficult, but keep in mind that you are not competing with the prices offered by grocery stores. Set your prices higher because your product is unique and healthier. Consider how much it costs to feed and care for the flock. I would recommend no less than $3.50, but a good dozen eggs will cost between $4 and $5 in my area.
When selling chicken eggs is part of your business plan, there are some things to think about.
First, chickens slow down or stop laying eggs during the winter. Therefore, account for that loss of revenue.
Next, find out how much eggs typically cost in your area. Think about how you’ll sell your eggs. Are they laid in open fields? These are frequently purchased at a higher price, but you must consider their cost and whether you will make a profit.
Also, consider how big a backyard flock you need to make a real profit. That amounts to approximately ten laying hens if you spend $15 per week on feed. You will receive less than six dozen eggs per week at the peak of the season, or approximately 70 eggs. You will need to keep some for consumption; will you generate a profit?
2. Sell Fertile To Hatch
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If you have a rooster in your flock, you will have fertile eggs that you can sell for hatching. However, in general, these will only make you more money than fresh eggs if you have a popular, high-quality chicken breed.
Remember: In order to produce fertilized eggs, you must have a rooster!
Popular chicken breeds can be purchased for as much as $50 per dozen! A dozen eggs of rare breeds can be had for $100, so choosing different breeds could be very profitable. Keep in mind that you can sell these eggs as eating eggs as long as you have the right breeds.
However, because there is a smaller market for fertile hatching eggs, you may need to become certified before shipping the eggs. That requires additional paperwork and costs you more!
I believe this is the way to go if you really want to make money from your backyard chicken flock, but you need to keep at least two interesting breeds in separate pens. Yes, you must ensure that only the rooster and particular hen breeds are in the pens together. Your clients are not purchasing backyard breeds.
3. Sell Hatched Chicks
Selling day-old baby chicks to local chicken lovers is another option. Depending on their breed, the chicks may cost anywhere from $5 to $15. Costs will be higher for rarer or higher-quality breeds than for standard chicken breeds.
Although selling and purchasing baby chicks is most popular in the spring, you can still succeed at other times. Since people are looking at their summer bird losses and preparing for the spring egg season, the fall is often a good time to sell baby chicks.
If the chicks are straight run and of a common breed, which indicates that they have not been sexed, you can sell them for a few dollars each. You can sell for more if you know how to sex your birds, but you need to know how to do it right.
However, you will end up with a surplus of roosters if you sell sexed.
If you plan to sell day-old chicks, you’ll need a reliable incubator that prepares the eggs for hatching automatically.
4. Raise & Sell Pullets
Sell mature chickens and pullets to take things to the next level. However, roosters typically rank much lower on the list of things to have; You should concentrate on selling hens.
Selling mature hens or pullets to novice flock keepers is ideal. Contrary to popular belief, starting with pullets rather than trying to raise chicks is much simpler.
Selling started pullets rather than day-old chicks has the advantage of allowing you to sell each bird for $15 to $35. Even if you have to buy bird food, that is a bigger profit.
Once more, the price of your started pullets will be affected by the breed of chickens you have. If people really want the breed you have, they will pay more for adult chickens.
5. Sell Stew Hens
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I’ve seen organic farms sell stew hens and make a decent profit, believe it or not.
After three to four years, chickens reach their peak egg production. After this point, they produce significantly less, and you end up with a nursing home full of old hens who do nothing for you.
The good news is that older hens can be sold for stew. Because they are older, these birds’ meat is not as tender as it would be in a young bird. Because of this, they make excellent stew hens; They will serve you delicious soup and excellent broth.
A stew hen typically costs between $5 and $10 to buy. Even though this isn’t much, you’ll save money because you won’t have to feed her anymore. Keep in mind your state’s laws; Without proper inspections, it may not be legal to sell meat from your homestead.
Instead of selling them ready-to-go, there are a few other options. Try selling stew hens whole and letting your customers butcher them. Selling the hen alive and butchering it with the buyer as a “training” class for dispatching chickens is another option.
6. Sell Meat Birds
The best kind of chicken meat you can buy is pasture-raised chicken, and if you have customers who want to eat the best meat, you can make money selling broilers.
The best part is that you can expect a quick profit. It takes between eight and ten weeks for Cornish Cross chickens to reach butchering weight. Therefore, you will be able to sell several rounds of meat birds before winter arrives in your area if you make the right plans.
Since regulations for selling meat vary by region, you should be aware of them. Find out if home-butchered meat birds can be sold by conducting research. Sending them to a butcher for professional processing is another option, but this will cost your customers more.
Similar to stew hens, this loophole can be circumvented by selling live birds that buyers can process at home. Also, keep in mind that the average price per pound is between $2 and $3, but you can sell your meat birds for more if they eat organic food and live on pasture.
7. Sell Show Birds at Farm Auctions
Show birds are not the typical breeds of chicken that can be purchased at your neighborhood farm and fleet store. There is money to be made raising show birds and attending local auctions. However, if you want to maximize your earnings from show birds, I recommend selling each bird on its own; This is the most effective strategy for maximizing your budget.
8. Sell Chicken Feathers
Feathers have always been used as accessories since they come in a large array of colors, shapes, and patterns. Some breeds have gorgeous tail feathers! Consider selling feathers to artisans who want feathers for their accessories that they sell as well.
If you’re a crafty type person, you may want to try making jewelry or accessories yourself from the feathers. Many local shops will sell your items, featuring local artists.
9. Sell Chicken Manure
Chicken manure is like gold for gardeners, and it comes free simply by raising your chickens. It’s a natural by-product of having a flock, so why not take advantage of it?
Gather the waste under your chicken roosts; it contains a high nitrogen content that will encourage plant growth. Chicken manure is great for soil amendment, but it has to be composted ahead of time. If you try to apply it directly onto your garden, you risk burning your plants.
10. Sell Homemade Chicken Feed
Commercial chicken feed costs a lot right now, and the quality might not be as good as you expect. Consider starting a business around your favorite homemade chicken feed recipe and selling it packaged to other people.
You could go even further and offer chicken treats for sale. Treating one’s flock is a favorite pastime, but shopping bags are expensive. You can make your own protein snacks by purchasing a bag of bulk mealworms.
11. Write about Chickens on Websites
Commercial chicken feed costs a lot right now, and the quality might not be as good as you expect. Consider starting a business around your favorite homemade chicken feed recipe and selling it packaged to other people.
You could go even further and offer chicken treats for sale. Treating one’s flock is a favorite pastime, but shopping bags are expensive. You can make your own protein snacks by purchasing a bag of bulk mealworms.
12. Build Chicken Coops
Do you like to build and are handy? Building chicken coops is another great way to make money with chickens.
Many people want chicken coops, but they know that the ones you can buy in stores aren’t ideal, especially if you want a large flock. For your fellow chicken coops, you might want to think about offering custom-built coops with various options. Many people will adore this service and pay a lot to have it done for them instead of having to build their own chicken coops, which can cost hundreds of dollars each.
Now that you know how to make money with chickens in a variety of ways, you need to figure out how and where to sell them. This is simple for some, but many people aren’t natural sellers or don’t know where to start.
You need to be a responsible seller in order to succeed. Concentrate on fresh, reasonably priced, and appropriately packaged goods. One of the best ways to make money with chickens is through word of mouth.
Farmer’s Market The farmer’s market is one of the best places to make money with chickens because they always want people to sell their fresh products. To ensure that you can legally sell chicken products without an inspection, double-check your state’s laws.
This has one drawback: many farmers markets charge a table fee, so if you only sell eggs, you might not make much money here.
Farm Stands A farm stand is one option I’m thinking about in the future. The honor system is used when these are frequently positioned at the bottom of your driveway. People can leave cash or send Venmo to you, and you can place your eggs and anything else you may have available for purchase that day.
This is the least involved method!
Social Media Sell your eggs by making posts on your social media accounts. You might get a great response because people love fresh eggs or other products.
Online Groups I guarantee that there are online groups where you can sell fertile hatching eggs or feathers to artisans. If you want to sell day-old chicks, pullets, or even homemade chicken feed, look into state homesteading groups.
Restaurants This is yet another way to sell your goods and make money with chickens, but check the laws in your state once more. It’s not always easy in states.
Because the quality of local eggs is so much better than that of store-bought eggs, many restaurants choose to use them. There may be a better market for your products at local restaurants if you raise other animals like ducks or quail.
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