[lokismum]

just after some advise
facts and figures really

how many pol's you sell a year?
from how many birds?
price you charge?
what breeds you find best for egg hens and table cockerels

and anything else you think helpfull

[Victorian Farmer]

YOU NEED TO GET POL for £10 pounds and sell for £15 get 100 a month .you could sell in sales etc it is naw imposabul to grow for that price always sell the best these are with out dout    the best                                          http://www.johnstonspoultry.com/sussex.html

[Bodger]

I sold about 15 to 20 surplus LS POL pullets this year for £15.00 each. I didn't like charging that much but I think I under priced them. I could have sold many more than I had available. If you think that there are people out there selling Warrens for that much and I can get them at POL for about a third of that.

[lokismum]

OK not as bad as i thought
would like to breed a few birds and sell as pol's
just toying with it at the mo wondered if it was worth my while doing it
£15 return for an intersting few weeks isn't bad
what sort of hatch rate do you get male to female I'm working on 50/50
have 2 x 48 egg incubators

[Victorian Farmer]

not a chance less using old birds hatch rate 500 chicks 320 cocks januarey  march 280 the problem using young stock . joys

[hughesy]

I don't hatch on a massive scale but I do keep records. Over three years the male/female ratio has come out at almost exactly 50/50/. One thing I do know is that if you're doing it small scale it's a lot of work for not much return. I don't think you'll find it financially worth it unless you up the ante a bit. Say you set 96 eggs in your two incubators. Say you get 85% fertility, (could be worse), which leaves you with 81 viable eggs. 80% hatch rate would be good, which drops your number down to 64(if you can achieve 80%, you might well not). 32 will be cockerels which you'll have to cull as soon as you can sex them or you'll have a feed bill like a small country. Leaves you with 32 if they all survive which you've got to feed and house for several months. It's going to cost 8 or 10 quid a bird in feed to rear them  So just in feed they're going to have cost you 300 quid plus other costs plus a lot of time. You sell them(if you can, might take a while), for 15 quid each giving you 480 quid. Deduct your costs. Is it worth it?

[lokismum]

ummm i see
they don't need to make a massive proffit as long as they brake even at least (just a little side line interest for me ) a little proffit would be nice
i could also buy in birds from a breeder at £10 each and sell on at £15 (i do have this option)
so maybe 50/50 split between the 2

[Backinwellies]

Arrr  now I get it .....   p.o.l is point of lay .......  was rather confused by tread title

[hughesy]

lokismum if you're doing it on a hobby basis none of what I wrote earlier matters. Breeding chooks is great fun and very rewarding. You can probably make a few quid at it to pay for the feed and just enjoy it. I always look at my livestock with a business head on because I have to. I certainly don't mean to discourage anyone I was just pointing out the  way the numbers add up.

[Bodger]

I'm with Hughsey on that one. If I was after profit, I wouldn't touch POL producing with a barge pole. There's a saying that shows my age, its one of my mums.

[lokismum]

 trying hard to use my business head i know i must have one somewhere
we are very close to our tiny farm we have dreamed of
pigs ducks chickens and kids lol
but the harsh reality of it is we need to make a living
sooo  was thinking that if birds could hold their own eggs would be a draw for the pork sales
 the chicken and duck meat birds and the pol's would be a little extra to offer
every pound helps right!!!!

[hughesy]

It all helps. Any profit you can make will find a willing home in your overdraft! And it's a very nice feeling when someone puts some cash in your hand,

[lokismum]

think it will be some time before anyone is putting cash in my hand
they are all to good at taking it out at the mo
never mind we will get there one day

[Bodger]

Dependant on the sort of area that you live in, there's ceratinly money in selling pet rabbits and guinea pigs. Its something that i've thought of in the past.

[Marches Farmer]

You could maybe try doing something a bit different - ducks, guinea fowl, ornamental pheasants, partridge, quail, turkeys, geese.  Become a specialist in one type or go for rare breed hens and sell at a specialist sale.  If fertility and breeding stock are good sell hatching eggs on eBay.   Find your niche.