# ?? Selling two years old Hens



## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

How much do you all sell 2 year old hens for? 

Believe it or not, had a lady come today and got 4 4-months old hens. She brought a friend who fell in love with the friendliness of my black australorps and barred rocks. I explained that they were two years old and were on the down-hill slide of egg production and that she wouldn't get more than one every other day from them if even that. She didn't care and said they were to be pets. I sold them to her for $10 each. Is that what they were worth? I'm thinking that this was a fluke and it doesn't happen alot, or do alot of people buy older chickens? 

Today's chicken profits- $90. Woooohoooooo!!! :banana02:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I dont know, chicks are expensive too. 
Almost $3 for a newborn at Orscheln's. 
Those birds aren't completely spent @ 2 years.
Plus, $10 is not a lot of money for a 'pet'.

I wouldn't pay it myself, but I understand the instant gratification factor. 

Sweet deal for you.

Oh, what did you charge for the 4 mo olds?


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

Congrats on the profits, that's great! 

Are they worth that much to ME? Heck no! I keep chickens for their production -- either meat or eggs, or both! -- but for someone who wants chickens for a pet and the eggs are just a bonus? $10 is an awfully inexpensive pet -- especially for one where you don't have to worry about the high-maintenance baby stage.


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## red hott farmer (Nov 13, 2006)

I sell my 18 month hens for 20 dollars each and sold all 70 this year. TIME< FEED, and dollars add up to big cost.

do not cut your self short. , pens, wire , wood, loss, Time, it is a wiy of life for me. I make my living from farming. so breaking even does not put food on the table. Profit.
Jacque


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## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

Around here, no way I'd pay that for a 2yo hen. Usually they are really cheap (under $5) or free. I understand trying to recoup costs, but in reality you've had 1 1/2-2 years of eggs from these girls, so you've already done that.

Now, I can get $10 for point-of-lay pullets, which I would also pay that much for.


I agree though- depends on what they are worth to the person buying. For me, I love friendly birds but at the end of the day I have chickens for eggs. I wouldn't want to invest the amount I have in them if they didn't give me eggs. 

I've also given p-o-l and grown hens away free to someone I liked. She deserved it, and I knew they would have a great home


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

I agree that I've gotten what I've spent on them out of them. I didn't really want to sell them cuz they were some of my first chickens that I had gotten. Which is why I said $10 each and explained that she probably wouldn't get more than an egg every other day out of them. Granted I have almost all of the 20 I bought 2 years ago still..... I am swimming in eggs and am waiting on cuckoo marans chicks and other hatching eggs and still have'nt ordered the meat chicks yet, etc. I know that I do need to pair down quite a bit. Was still hard. 

I sold the 3-4 month old dual purpose mutts for $6 each and could have sold them 5 times over as mutts. Father was either RSL or Cuckoo Marans. Mom's were either Black Australorp, RSL, Barred Rock, Cuckoo Marans, Welsummer Red. Next year I'm selling 3-4 month old purebreds for $10 each. I'm hoping to hatch enough to sell 500 hens. Then I could also sell the (butchered) roos for rawfeeding for pets. That's the plan for now at least. Definitely going to start looking for plans for a MUCH larger incubator.

Oh, these girls are probably still laying almost an egg a day, but will be slowing down soon. Rather have a customer surprised in a happy way rather than an unhappy way.


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## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

Honestly, if you were upfront with her, and she knew she was buying 'older' hens, then I think it's all a-ok


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## bigmudder77 (Jun 9, 2008)

dang i see people posting them for $10-20 but when i can make a drive to meyers and get 17 week olds for $6.90 each i dont have much luck selling them for any thing over $8 here 

but i did sell 100 year olds for $5 each if you think about all the feed they ate and the eggs were paying for that i made $500 or more profit in a year just off selling eating eggs for $2 a dozen (didnt sell hatching eggs at that time) that was also 4 years ago now 

but this year i sold some year olds for $6 each and i have 60 of them they were all sold with in the week


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## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

I don't think 10$ is too much at all. It seems fair. I would pay $20, if I could find a true blue Ameraucana hen, that was tame and laying blue eggs, twice a week... My grandson loved the one I had --It was his chicken--and she died.. So, pets are worth more!!  

As someone mentions.. Barred Rocks should lay well into their 3yr. Some people have them that are laying when they are 6-7 yrs old..


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

My grandma had a BR that layed an egg everyother day until she died at 12 years old. 

She was the only bird left in the yard and laid her eggs in the catfood bowl.


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

Sold another two today. People who wanted really nice chickens and instant gratification of eggs. For some reason people are really loving my black australorps. Also sold 4 two week olds and 2 four month olds. All to the same couple. Really nice people. They had chickens and then got out of it for awhile and now wanted more. I am very up front about the age and that the chickens are laying well now, but it is going to start dropping off soon. No one seems to care.


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## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

I just sold all pure breeds, 2 yr olds, for $15 ea.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

I just paid $10 for a 17 week old EE. I wanted to try them. I keep Buff O's right now. I could have gotten the Meyer chickens ($6.90), but they only offer 3 production breeds, so...


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

DH just picked up a free buff orpington roo yesterday to go with my two buff orpington hens. He is a GORGEOUS 1 yr old. hopefully he was just upset yesterday and I won't have to butcher him. Next year I *should* be able to sell purebreeds from them. 

Got a link on a couple show quality mille de fleur de uccle bantam hens and hopefully will be able to get them for not too awful much and will have that trio done. 

Getting another batch of white leghorns from the school this year. Last year I sold all of them within a week. This year I'm gonna keep some for breeding.

It just floors me that everyone wants the black australorps even though they are two years old. I do have to admit- they are rather gorgeous.


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## bigmudder77 (Jun 9, 2008)

ya it kinda sucks meyers only has 2 breeds but they make there money off the hatching eggs and little chicks and OMG there feed is like $60 for a 50lb bag and when i was in there some one dropped $480 JUST on feed thats my feed bill for like the whole year or 3/4th of the year 

id much rather sell the chicks that ways less feed and i can get any where from $1-6 a chick depending on breed every one likes to have a couple rare breeds in there flock they dont lay very well but i guess people like the colors 

dont get me wrong i like the rare ones but just for pets there isnt much meat on most the breeds i want and they suck at laying 

all the ones i get are BR, RIR, golden buffs and white leghorns thoes are the ones i like for eggs and the black stars or some black breed i got this time seems to lay pretty good im about to order 100 more chicks from meyers this next week im getting 25 RIR 25 BR and 25 white leghorns still trying to find out what other 25 i want im thinking easter eggers since mine are starting to lay better i only have 5 or 6 and yesterday i got 4 green eggs and today the first egg before 8am was a green one so maybe there just warm weather layers but i can sell the eggs for more cause people like the color i guess

i just sold a dozen to some one and told here that there are white brown and green eggs in there and she looked at me funny and said green eggs? did they go bad or some thing lol so i had to tell her about the easter eggers and now she wants 2 more dozen of the green ones and i told here there $4 a dozen and would take a week or 2 and she said it was fine and gave me her number so i guess we will see if she comes back when i get 2 dozen green eggs 

my prices for eggs are $2 a dozen for medium mixed color eggs (brown white and green) $1 for the medium brown or white eggs only $3 for medium green eggs and $3 a dozen for mixed large eggs $2 a dozen for white or brown large eggs and $4 a dozen for green eggs 

and most of the large are really EX large eggs and some you cant really close the lids on and i guess the medium eggs are large but there in EX large egg cartons and they move around but every one has been happy so far this year and i also run sales when i start to fill up the fridge which dont take long when i have the 100 hens and there all laying also green eggs bring about $1.50 to 2.70 a dozen at auction when white or brown are .50 to $1.10 a dozen


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

good to know. cackle hatcheries cuckoo marans are on strike and I guess I'm not getting the cuckoo marans I ordered. Maybe I'll get easter eggers instead. I really want blue and green eggs.


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## Gercarson (Nov 2, 2003)

2 year old hens should be in full production - I could never understand why a flock is changed every year, it's just not cost effective unless you're a big commercial produce company. Bigger, better eggs for a few more years!!


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

I know!! I didn't post any of my 2 year olds for sale cuz I don't really want to sell them. I've sold all of the chicks I will be selling this year (unless broodies actually hatch some out) so I shouldn't be asked to sell anymore of my 1 1/2- 2 year olds. 

The eggs I'm getting barely fit into the XL egg cartons. They can't be closed.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

I just gave away my last couple of 2 year old ameraucana hens along with a 10 month old cockeral that I should have butchered a long time ago. One of the hens was a constant whiner and the other chickens allways picked on her so I was glad to get her and her whining gone...lol. 
Anyway this couple with 2 young girls drove over an hour to get them and they ended up leaving with more. They ended up buying five 17 day old marans and marans x ameraucana crosses for $8.00 each. 
My day old chick prices start at $6.50 and $7.50 and they go up a dollar at 2 weeks old and then another dollar every month. I sell my pol pullets and 1 yr old hens for $15.00 to $20.00 depending on the breed. 
The silkies are the best sellers but all 4 breeds I have are great because of the colored eggs. My black australorps sell because they lay a pink egg and people are amazed at their size.


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## bja105 (Aug 25, 2009)

There is certainly a market for mature bird this time of year. I just sold 14, some of them two year olds, most 9 months old, for $10 each. I wish I had more to sell. The buyers were more concerned with getting eggs now than with high production. 

This September I will get 50 more layer chicks for sale next spring.

Yesterday I bought 40 chicks, leghorns and Barred rocks. Its too many, so I may sell a few when I can sex them.

We're not the only ones with chickens on the brain.


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## Julie Yu (Aug 5, 2020)

laughaha said:


> How much do you all sell 2 year old hens for?
> 
> Believe it or not, had a lady come today and got 4 4-months old hens. She brought a friend who fell in love with the friendliness of my black australorps and barred rocks. I explained that they were two years old and were on the down-hill slide of egg production and that she wouldn't get more than one every other day from them if even that. She didn't care and said they were to be pets. I sold them to her for $10 each. Is that what they were worth? I'm thinking that this was a fluke and it doesn't happen alot, or do alot of people buy older chickens?
> 
> Today's chicken profits- $90. Woooohoooooo!!! :banana02:


 Hello dear, I like to buy a few those hens from you too. Please let me know how I can do it. Many thanks. Julie


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## Julie Yu (Aug 5, 2020)

Hello dear I like to buy a few of your older hens at $10 each. Please let me know how I can do it. Many thanks. I like in northern Virginia and I can pick them up if you are not too far away.
Julie


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

You replied to a VERY OLD post.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Those hens would be 12 years old now, if they were still alive.

The op hasn't been here for 8 years.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

I let the Auction bidders determine how much they are worth. Its according to the season---spring they go higher than in the summer. I might get $20/22 for a 2 year old in the spring and $10 in the summer for the same---so I try to not sell in the summer--LOL. Grown Roosters are up and down too according to the demand and time---I usually get $12 to $20 but have sold some for $26/$28. In the worst time I have sold grown roosters for $12/14 and laying hens for $8 same day.
.


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## New to the Game (Jan 5, 2021)

red hott farmer said:


> I sell my 18 month hens for 20 dollars each and sold all 70 this year. TIME< FEED, and dollars add up to big cost.
> 
> do not cut your self short. , pens, wire , wood, loss, Time, it is a wiy of life for me. I make my living from farming. so breaking even does not put food on the table. Profit.
> Jacque


Congratulations, that is great. If I may ask, for 2 y/o chickens where is the market? My young son is wanting to start an egg business but the business side of me wants to know who to sell the chickens to when the egg production slows around that age.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

New to the Game said:


> Congratulations, that is great. If I may ask, for 2 y/o chickens where is the market? My young son is wanting to start an egg business but the business side of me wants to know who to sell the chickens to when the egg production slows around that age.


You could try selling older hens. Local farm stores, swap meets, auctions or even a sign near your road frontage will get them sold.

Another option is to raise a dual purpose breed and make soup with the older hens.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

New to the Game said:


> Congratulations, that is great. If I may ask, for 2 y/o chickens where is the market?


I'd like to know too......looks like that member is long gone tho.


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