Pricing your birds

[Preston Cummings]

I'm looking at selling some birds later this spring but don't know how I should price them...
The birds I'm selling are not ameraucanas but I figured that I would ask people who have bred and sold their birds for some time. Can y'all tell me a good price for eggs, chicks,  and started birds?

The first breed is the belgian d'Anvers. I've won 2 junior grand champions and 1 reserve junior grand champion with my stock. Some of what I am selling is coming directly from those birds.

The second breed is the campine. I have won 2 res. champion LF.

Remember that I am only a junior!

Thanks, Preston

[Lee G]

Hi Preston,
I think pricing depends a bit on supply and demand in your area, as well as the quality of the birds.

I know around here hatching eggs start at $2.50 per egg and up...some go way up past feasible to downright ridiculous imo. Day old chicks average $8 to $10 a piece, with the price often increasing by a dollar for every week they're brooded. POL pullets fetch the best prices at $20-$25, and good quality breeding pairs/trios go for anywhere from $75 to $100+

Hopefully someone in your area will have better insight as to what your market is like. Good luck. 

[Mike Gilbert]

I sell my LF Ameraucana eggs for 10$-12$ bucks an egg if that helps you any. 

That is just deplorable.   This club was started in 1978 with the idea of fanciers helping other fanciers to promote the breed and develop it.  The last thing we had in mind was to cash in on the blue egg craze, although many older poultry people thought that was what we were up to.  We proved them wrong back then.   I can't begin to count the number of times I and others gave good birds away, or sold show winners for $ 5 or $10 apiece.   There is not a chicken egg in the world that is worth $10, but there are apparently plenty of ignorant people willing to pay it.   They usually don't stick around for long. 

[Sharon Yorks]

Cool your jets, Mike. It may be worth noting that we have new members (some are juniors) that are just starting out and are learning the ropes. Gentle guidance would go much farther than criticism.   

[John]

There is not a chicken egg in the world that is worth $10

It depends on the what a buyer is willing to pay.  I'll go with a free marketplace over fixed prices. 
Some say that professional athletes aren't worth millions of dollars a year, but as long as spectators are willing to pay and it doesn't affect me it doesn't matter to me.

[Beth C]

Price really varies a lot by location. I'm in a military town and most of the people looking for birds around here are looking for short-term layers and are not interested in breeding.

A good starting point is the local classifieds to get a feel for the range they are selling in (around here a mutt hen currently laying will bring between $10-15, but a decent breeder bird won't bring much more). If you have a local poultry club, talk to some of the members, particularly ones who raise the same breed(s). Most will be more than willing to give advice, and some may want to trade stock. Also, if there are shows close enough to attend, there will almost always be people tailgating outside. This is not only a good place to sell your birds but you can quickly get a feel for what similar birds are bringing (just make sure you have your green card if you take birds to sell).

Personally, I try to keep my prices low because I want to promote the breed. But I think most people are willing to pay a little more to help out our youth members. My guy is constantly looking for ways to earn money to support his habit, er, hobby, and there aren't too many ways for an 8 yr old to generate income.

[Mike Gilbert]

My degree is in business, and I have always been for free markets.   One of the first things I was taught is that value is determined by what a willing buyer and a willing seller agree upon, BOTH HAVING A REASONABLE KNOWLEDGE OF THE APPROPRIATE FACTS.    The facts are that there is no shortage of almost all varieties of Ameraucana of good breeding quality.   Therefore, there is no reason for anyone here to be gouging anyone else to the tune of $10-$12 per egg.  That, my friend, is preying on the unknowing and it is a prime example of what gives business a bad name.   And, in the end, the seller's reputation suffers.  I am extremely pro-business and pro free market, but it is the opportunists and outright cheats that have driven this country to the brink of socialism.   
   

[Beth C]

This is a kid who is just getting started, I don't think it is her intention to cheat or gouge anyone, she is just excited about her birds. If anything, she may have been misled by some of the prices she has seen some adults charging, but that is not her fault. And I suspect the people buying her eggs at that price are well aware of what they are worth. I know whenever I do business with a young person I tend to buy high and sell low. Maybe that's wrong, maybe I'm giving them a false sense of what things are worth, but I want to do all I can to encourage them. One thing I've noticed at poultry shows is that, at 46, I'm usually one of the youngest (adults) in the room. There seems to be at least 2 (sometimes 3) full generations between the people running the shows/clubs and the enthusiastic kids I see out here competing. If we run them off, this hobby just might not survive long enough for another generation to come along and take it over...

[Mike Gilbert]

Money is not going to keep anyone's loyalty for long.   The kids will soon find out there is no big money to be made in the hobby.   I think it is more important they know the truth from the get-go, and if they truly like this hobby they will be around for awhile.   When I first developed a love for breeding chickens, I did not even know there was such a thing as a chicken show, or an organization to promote the fancy.   Here I am, 60 years later, still doing what I love to do.   Beth, you should see the makeup of our local poultry club.  We have as many teens and younger as we do adults, and those teenage boys and girls do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to setting up and tearing down a show.   Nobody pays them to do it - except with words of encouragement and thanks.   And maybe a few free birds from time to time.  This hobby is not about the money.

[Beth C]

Our local clubs have a fair number of really active youth and they are passionate about it (I have an 8 year old who literally carries his standard everywhere he goes, there is never a day he doesn't read it). But there is a big age gap between the youth and the adults. We have a lot of youth, but not so many young adults, and a handful of us in the middle (mostly parents of youth exhibitors), with the majority being 60+. We need to hang onto these kids and keep that passion alive, and, while I agree that money won't do that, the words of encouragement and thanks should be abundant and criticism should be GENTLE...

[Sharon Yorks]

I think it is more important they know the truth from the get-go, and if they truly like this hobby they will be around for awhile. 

This is true, but using words like deplorable, ignorant, and being accused of preying on the unknowing, all to a new member, (especially a junior) who has "just started" to get to know members (we all aren't like that) and hasn't posted more than a handful of times, may just decide to enjoy this chicken hobby elsewhere.

Watch!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I71cY9Ysy5U   

[Mike Gilbert]

Websters Dictionary:    Ignorant = not knowing

Sharon, are you saying she does these things with full knowledge of the facts?   I prefer to think better of her.    I think that whoever her mentors have been they have led her down the wrong path.   At this point she needs the truth, not affirmation.    And I did not accuse her of preying on others - I think perhaps she is the victim in fact.    I was making a general statement about what has gone wrong with the free market system.  And yes, this whole situation is deplorable.     

[Sharon Yorks]

Websters Dictionary:    Ignorant = not knowing

I think that whoever her mentors have been they have led her down the wrong path.   

OUCH!!! ... Am I the only one who felt that? Touchy little feller isn't he...

[DeWayne Edgin]

I am not siding with anyone, but the place that misleads alot of people is ebay. I have seen an auction for 6 eggs priced at 60 some bucks and up. They even had pictures of birds that they claimed was show quality. Well they looked like easter eggers more than a true Ameraucana. I think this is were alot of new members get mislead. Some people see these pictures and think they have better birds so they should get more money for them.  I agree with Mike that our birds should not be priced high. The more people that starts raising these birds, the better off the breed will be. If people think they cost to much, then they may say forget it and not get birds. I would have never learned about this club and all the knowledge that is here if another member wouldn`t have told me about it. I think ebay is the main cause for misleading people that are just learning about the breed and i wish there was a way to let these people aware of our club so they understand better.

[Max]

Perhaps the club could post an ad on Ebay directing potential buyers to the club website and breeders directory... Maybe use John's article about Ameraucanas and the difference between them and easter eggers? And put a "buy it now" feature for a club membership. Just a thought... Opinions? What say you John??