What price should you sell grown laying hens for

[rooster 2011]

I have been selling grown laying hens in my area lately and was wondering what price should I sell them for I have been selling them for 10 bucks each and that seems a little low but I don't want to charge to much and people not buy them on average what's a good price to sell laying hens for

 

[ChickNanny13]

Depending on the age, when they started laying & the breed but it's really supply & demand too. Only you know what your bird are worth.

Here on the Big Island (Hawaii) I have bought/sold pullets (Wynadottes, Orpingtons, Ameraucanas, RIR) about 4 - 5 month/not laying yet for $18 - $20 ea. I just sold some pullets that were 5 months & just started laying for $25 per. I enjoy raising chicks but once they get around laying age, I get burned out so I end up selling Starters. I do get ALOT of offers for $10 per but I know what my birds are worth so I hold out. Helps that I have a lady that I buy chicks from, majority of the time she'll buy back the Starters from me.

There's someone (Kona side) that sell the Jubilee Orpington hens for $75, I just learned someone purchased Lavender Orpington hens that just started laying for $50 ea. So it really depends, here it's supply & demand, can't get good stuff cause of shipping cost & red tape with shipping into Hawaii.

Dels/Tractor Supply brings in certain breed chicks for a month, they sell out the day they arrive. Not many hatcheries will ship here (red tape) & those that do have minimums that are more than some of us can handle & shipping is a KILLER!

 

[waddles99]

I sell mine for $10 because thats all I can get for them

. They are well worth at least $30, if you factor in feed, labor, and chick cost. It depends on your market, really. The short answer is it depends how much you can sell them for. Always sell them for as much as possible. Unless you are charging $50-$75 you are not charging too much. Be fair to yourself as well as the buyer.

 

[rooster 2011]

Thanks guys for the suggestions and yea your right most people sell them for $10 dollars and have 30 dollars worth of feed into them

 

[waddles99]

As with many things, it is hard to just break even. When you factor in all the costs, suddenly you are losing money to give someone a laying age bird! If I were you, I would just calculate all your costs out and try and sell the bird for that. Posting a pic of the eggs in the ad really helps for me.
Something like this:

 

[ChickNanny13]

Yup, egg color does help make the sale!

 

[ChickenLegs13]

I had to buy some more hens a while back because I couldn't keep up with customer's orders. First time I ever bought full grown chickens. I had to pay $10 ea for 10 full grown RIR from a backyard egg seller on craiglist. I thought it was highway robbery but I was desperate. The seller might have had $30 worth of feed, labor & cost in them but I bet he had gotten $100 worth of eggs out of them.

 

[waddles99]

I had to buy some more hens a while back because I couldn't keep up with customer's orders. First time I ever bought full grown chickens. I had to pay $10 ea for 10 full grown RIR from a backyard egg seller on craiglist. I thought it was highway robbery but I was desperate. The seller might have had $30 worth of feed, labor & cost in them but I bet he had gotten $100 worth of eggs out of them.

I'm going to try and make this sound nice, since people like you frustrate me beyond belief. The eggs that he got is negligible, since the value of his labor far outweighs the value of eggs. If you care for chickens properly, you will find that the value of your efforts, if being paid minimum wage, is far more than the $ of eggs you get. So lets ignore the eggs and the labor and focus on the feed. A chick costs $3 at a feed store. Factor in the cost of the brooder, feeders, waterers, pine shavings, electric bill, heat lamp, divided by the amount of chickens. We'll say that comes to about $5 per chick. The first 16 weeks of a chickens life they eat about $10 of feed per my estimates. Then they switch to layer. Then to get them to the age of selling, we'll say 1 year, is about $20. Since they're out in the $2000 coop now, we'll just factor in the cost of 8 sq ft per bird in the run and 4 sq ft in the coop and say maybe $10 per bird if you raise 200 birds over the course of the coops lifetime. Lets say that most coops have a lifespan of 20 years, the coop can handle 10 birds, and 10 birds per year, 200 birds is about right. Oops, totally forgot feeders and waterers! Another $5 per bird.

So.....

$3
$5
$10
$20
$10
$5

= $53 dollars.

The fact that you think $10 is "highway robbery" just shows how uneducated the buyers market really is. Feel lucky you got those for $10, they really should cost more.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think that if you can get $10 - 15 for them, you will do fair, because first you have reduced your flock, and secondly, I just take that money to the feed store. No I don't probably make money on my hobby, but it allows me to hatch out, and gives my broodies something to do, and I get first pick of the hens I am keeping for winter.

Mrs K

 

[junebuggena]

I can sell my young pullets for about $10 each at 6 to 8 weeks of age. They no longer need brooding, like day olds do, but they are still young enough to be socialized. Older birds are harder to sell around here.