I must be out of touch with reality. I am finally at a point in my life where I can have a few chickens an Guinea hens again. I started looking on-line at ordering some (just window shopping for now) and they are like $6-7 each for day old chicks. Guineas were about the same. OK, I still have my incubators so I will just order some fertilized eggs. They were like $4 each. I just I won't be having a flock of tick eaters this summer.

Call or go to the hatcheries on shipping day and offer to buy their over hatch. Hatcheries typically hatch many more chicks than they need to fill their orders. They sell the extra chicks very cheaply, because otherwise they go into the trash or get ground up for feed, if the hatchery is lucky enough to have that demand nearby.

Keith

I don't know of any hatcheries that are relatively close and I am only looking for a handful of chicks and keats, probably 10-15 of each. I am not even picky about the breeds but I won't pay $6 each to feed the coon, fox and coyotes all summer.

Find a local person that sells eggs. Most likely they have a rooster and the eggs are fertilized. You can probably get them for 3-4 bucks a dozen.

Rob,
L & M Supply always sell chicks in the spring at least in Cloquet, so I'm sure Grand Rapids and Hibbing sell them also. I have no idea of price or anything else about them.
Gary J

As said above, just buy eggs of a local person if they have a rooster …… heck if you were close to my neck of the woods, I would give you a couple of dozen for you to sit on

Yep just buy "eating" eggs from someone local. When you call/stop to buy the eggs, ask if they have a rooster in with their girls. If they do, viola, you now have hatching eggs.

Also, I don't know about in your neck of the woods, but around here, local places like TSC have been selling chicks for about $3-something.

Just ordered 16 birds...138.00 ..got a few fancy ones

With the avian flu hitting a lot of chicken operations it sounds like there may be a shortage of chicks this spring. A lot of the big operators who had to kill flocks off are working to restock their egg laying facilities and meat operations. It may be more difficult to find chicks, or at least price will be higher on what u do find.

Rob...
My hens are real Layers 12 for 12 eggs per day even now in winter.

I'll sell you some Hatching Eggs for less than half that.


$1.25 per egg. I usually collect for hatching in April- may because of stable temps

But ill get yours when you want.

Just an offer.



Summer picture

Nice 330

Winner Winner. We sell eggs and keep roosters with the girls. So if ours eggs are put in an incubator they will hatch som crossed up chick's. We did this several years back for a few years and had some cool colors and patterns.

Edit to add I plan on buying a nice incubator this year since our cheap one well I want a nicer one and I want it so it will hatch chicken, quail and can have egg turners removed so snakes can be hatched in it also. I want one thet regulates humidity as well if they make them.

330 do you normally get $15 a dozen for eggs you sell? Is a hatch egg harder to handle?

Snake eggs, depending just a little on species, almost all hatch best at 78F to 84F. They will hatch a lot better in a modified cooler than a standard cabinet style incubator. They don't need the flow from the forced air fan and are easy to dry out and ruin.

Keith

Keith my daughter us moving into breading ball pythons. I figured if I spent the cash on a nice incubator she could utilize it also. But the snakes are her thing. Well reptiles she has quite a few varieties of todes,, frogs, and is down to ball pythons on snakes now, plus she raises all the various insects mice and rats to feed them.

Snake eggs as with many reptile eggs have to remain up right , or they die in the egg.
Whatever position you find them , they have to stay in that position.
Not sure about crocidiles , or gators..

How about this? Pick up a few laying hens and add your own rooster. No need to grow out for months for that first egg.
2 yr ols laying hens

2 years is when I consider starting culling.

So do most. That's why they are cheap, still laying, an excellent value for a few eggs and starting a new flock.

amish in my area have laying hens they replace them every year i talked to one replacing his in 2 weeks he has 6500 all the old birds are spoken for and theres 3 more like him in the same area replacing theirs at the same time and their all spoken for to

I've sold them for Hatching before - and-yes I only collected them when it was about 70° outside. I bring t hem inside without rolling them and store them 3 days on the top basement step (for temp reasons) until I had enough for a batch.
Not like collecting daily for baking.

I might go overboard but running a batch takes time so I want them to start out good.

Here's you some chicks that are $3.50.

https://www.welphatchery.com/early-bird-sale/

Near me the Amish and other "free range" brown egg farms are mostly contracted to sell all their old layers for 25 cents each. I buy them from the next guy up the chain, who sells them for $1.00 to $3.00 each, delivered here. He buys about 15,000 a week, 52 weeks a year.

I usually only buy 220 old layers at a time. Most are still laying well. It's easy to tell if they are still laying. Older hens that are laying, will be in less than perfect feather and have very wide, moist, pink vents. Older chickens with really good feathers are putting their energy into feathers instead of eggs. Older hens with narrow or wrinkled vents are no longer laying. Older hens with little color at the vent, with a still wide vent, are only occasionally laying. Really heavy hens are almost never laying still.

Keith

Geesh, If you have the same feed costs, the same stewing hen after 3 years and you get 400 eggs out of an $8 chick and 400 out of a $4 chick you spent a penny and egg over 3 years. I would worry more about other issues where I could save more money.

Bryce

Hey Rob, look into Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam, WI. Jane buys close to 1000 birds a year there and is always happy with them. She did say the prices are up this year

Bryce, you know full well trappers are wound tight and spend accordingly

with the birds going like hot cakes means more people with birds means more flocks to spread bird flu in a couple months from out of control wild birds migrating i wouldnt want to be a owner of a large poultry set up iowa shut the sale of birds at auctions and bird shows twice last year more protecting of wild birds and animals by the goverment land owners not allowing hunting a lot less use of wild meat and furs mean a lot more problems in the future

Bettah order them soon...or yah going to be left holding yah Johnson

Domestic birds are an insignificant vector for spreading bird flu. Wild, migratory waterfowl are the main source of Avian Influenza.

Keith

McMurray and Hoover hatcheries (iowa) ships for free (in many cases). Still Close to $5 per chick, though.

Most feed places that sell chicken feed carry chicks in the spring. Generally they have an order form at the front desk come spring. Tractor Supply usually has them on hand in store as well. My local feed store gets them from Hoovers. Order a couple weeks in advance and they deliver them to the stores every 2 weeks or so, kinda thing.

the way i understand it the wild birds are the ones that start it but once they get it they can spread it from one flock to another thats the reason more than one farm will have it with in a few miles and why delivery trucks have to wash coming and going from one farm to another

Back away from the chickens, you don't want eggs. I saw today that scientists are claiming there is a lot of people dying of heart attacks and strokes and it could be from eggs. It could be.

Its those "WILD" chicks that'll kill ya!

Shipped eggs are a toss up. Ive had mixed results but i have some really nice laying hens and I would be happy to ship you some fertized eggs for free. We've got about 20 guineas running around but we usually let them raise there own. If you want to try to hatch some let me know and I'll ship some out when you are ready

We sell fertilized eggs, chicks, started pullets, and 2.5yo hens. Many folks buy "farm fresh" eggs and attempt to incubate them because they are cheaper than buying fertilized eggs for incubation. You get what you pay for.

OK, I like numbers, so, let's just toss a couple out there.

6:

• a nice round number
• a half dozen
• easily manageable number for a personal backyard flock.

20:

• typical cost of prime but declining laying hen
• conservative price for layer feed

5:

• approximate cost for dozen eggs.
• number of eggs per week per hen.
• cost of rooster.

ASSUMPTIONS

• Hens produce 5 eggs each per week.
• One $20 bag of feed is about right for 6 layers for a month.

In one month you get 10 dozen eggs worth $50. Feed costs you $20, leaving you with a $30 value. Your hens had cost you $120.

Therefore, your investment has paid for itself in 4 months. Toss in a $5 rooster and your investment is self sustaining, and somewhat protected.

Add in the entertainment value too. My birds have always free ranged and the Guineas are tick and snake eating little buggers and that is why I want them again. Thanks all and I got everything I need.

I just saw this. Who knows if it is true. Would the powers to be sterilize peoples chickens?

Online claims have emerged, corroborated by others, that the popular “Producer’s Pride” chicken feed sold by the Tractor Supply chain has been recently altered and that its new formulation is causing chickens to stop laying eggs. Some suggest a deliberate reduction in the amount of protein in the feed may be causing the reduction in egg production.

Hatch the eggs and sell the chicks and you do even better still. That's what I do.

Keith