Selling Adult Birds

[MissMonty]

I wouldn't worry too much about the tire kickers. You'll get them all over the place. Remember most of us got chickens for cheap eggs....what a joke in the long run! Most people do not see the value in the adult hens.

This is a really bad time of year to sell. Around here people are lucky to get about $10 a hen. I mean heck I got some really nice polish hens for $5 each locally recently. Its a hard time of year to sell. I've found summer to be the best time to sell chickens to get a good price.

Normally around me laying hens sell for $10-20 each. If you're trying to keep a flock of that size together you're going to be looking for a needle in a haystack person to have that kind of space and want that many so you'd probably need to cut a good deal for them.

If they're offering too low just say no thank you and move on

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I’m not blocking them but $5 for a good laying hen is way too cheap for a NJG.
Some people just want something for nothing.
I think I’ll dig out the incubator and hatch out some NJG chicks and grow the flock to about 50 or so.

Oh, okay. Must have read it wrong. I do agree 5 is too low for an active laying hen personally

 

[Coops Dad]

I just sold 4 12-week old barnyard mix pullets for $15 each. The guy wanted young POL birds and someone gave him my number; I don't have any that old so he asked about ones that might be a little younger. He got stung a while back by someone who sold him a bunch of worn out production hens as new layers, and buying young birds was his way of making sure he got birds coming in to lay rather than going out.

 

[3KillerBs]

He got stung a while back by someone who sold him a bunch of worn out production hens as new layers, and buying young birds was his way of making sure he got birds coming in to lay rather than going out.

I would have to think that most people are going to want POL pullets rather than birds that will molt and lose productivity within a few months.

 

[poultryprofessor]

I just want a different breed to lay larger eggs.

What size eggs are you getting from your current flock? Jersey Giants should be laying large or XL eggs. You aren't going to find a chicken breed that lays bigger eggs than that.

If you’ve ever sold an entire flock, how did you get a satisfactory and mutually agreeable price?

Selling birds is an art. I've had decent luck with local chicken-related Facebook groups. I always include a picture and basic information (age, breed, production status, etc) to minimize questions. I generally ask $15-20/pullet for point of lay pullets up to about a year of age. I ask $10-15/hen after that. Roosters will be anywhere from free to $10. Spring and summer are definitely easier times to sell, but I've moved birds over winter as well. There will always be people who ask about your bottom dollar or make low ball offers. It's part of selling things in general. You can always say no and you don't owe anyone an explanation.

The largest flock i sold at once was 17 hens. Most people in suburban areas will pay a bit more, but only want between 4 and 10. So, you may need to think about that.

 

[TARDIS37379]

What size eggs are you getting from your current flock? Jersey Giants should be laying large or XL eggs. You aren't going to find a chicken breed that lays bigger eggs than that.

I’ve got a flock of Minorcans that should yield larger eggs. The young New Hampshire Reds are producing eggs as large or larger than the NJG.
I want to try a flock of Lohmann Browns. I just can’t find any chicks

 

[poultryprofessor]

I’ve got a flock of Minorcans that should yield larger eggs. The young New Hampshire Reds are producing eggs as large or larger than the NJG.
I want to try a flock of Lohmann Browns. I just can’t find any chicks

Hmm. That seems unusual. I get almost exclusively XL eggs from my Jersey Giants at that age with some large and some jumbo.

No personal experience with Minorcas, but standards suggest a large egg from them. Same with New Hampshire Reds.

What size eggs are you getting from your Jersey Giants?

 

[TARDIS37379]

The NJG lay mostly large eggs and an occasional XL. The only jumbos they’re have every provided were double yolks when they began laying.
I’ve decided to keep them, they are producing and I’m not going to sell them off cheap.

 

[BDutch]

Sometimes you just aren't lucky the first time. You can leave it on hold now and try again in the spring. It can help to post pictures and more information about your 'giant chickens'. There must be people who especially like the biggest chickens and don’t mind a reasonable price. Write that the price is not be negotiated if you don’t like to. And, of course, there are more ways to sell than through the Craigs list.

Splitting up gives you more chance on a good price. Like selling 2 flocks with 1 rooster and 8 -10 hens. And sell the hens without rooster later. (only hens in small groups is always easier).