[moonpig]

I would like to start a small poultry business from home, selling hybrid POL pullets and chicks. I would love some advice on where to source a reliable breeder / supplier. Can I get the hens at trade price for a large order? or is it better to buy in chicks and rear them until POL?
Any advice much appreciated!

[Elcie]

Hi Moonpig, welcome to the forum.  I can't help you I'm afraid but I am sure someone will come along shortly who can.  I only have a couple of hens in the backgarden and wouldn't know where to start with what you are asking!  I am assuming that you are already an experienced chicken keeper?

[poppies]

Hi you can source your birds from day old chicks through to pol from various places try looking at the adverts at the back of the practicle poultry and smallholding magazines, if you have'nt had much experience rearing poultry  I would suggest that you buy birds that are just coming up to pol, when you gain  more experience go on to buying day olds - starting with small numbers at first you will  probably have to buy a minimum of 25

If you are thinking of doing this in a residential area you may have to get permission from the council /planning, also have you researched into if there is a market for these birds in your area,

We started breeding purebreed poultry a few years ago and it takes a while to build up a business.

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Moonpig, welcome to the madhouse!

Have a read of my blog which is part of my signature.  It tells all of my adventures into poultry farming on a small scale from when I started in September 2007.

Hubby and I have kept chooks on and off for 14 years now and hubby when he was younger.  He said he wanted to be a poultry farmer, but I don't think his heart is in it, he just wants to make money!

Saying that, on a small scale, you will never make a living at it, but you can get a lot of enjoyment out of keeping, rearing and or breeding your own chooks.  We started selling a few eggs from our ex battery hens in 2005, then in 2006-07 we decided that we needed to get POL's if we wanted a reliable supply of eggs, so from an advert in the local paper, we picked up 12 POL pullets.  6 Bovans Goldlines and 6 White Amberlinks.

We'd never seen Amberlinks before, and I was really taken with them.  I thought they made a change from just the usual brown hen.  so I trawled the internet until I found that the hatchery that does the day olds was only 30 miles away from us.  So back on teh internet. learned as much as I could about rearing chicks.  We converted one of my garden sheds to a brooder, bought little feeders, drinkers, heat lamp, all from solway Feeders up in Scotland who I also found on the internet. 

Now hubby wants to expand to 24ish acres, but we are getting older now and I don't want a fully fledged business at my age.  I am happy making the most of our half an acre.  We are quite popular as I don't charge the earth for my birds and my customers know my birds are well looked after.  we've got a few pure breeds to breed from now too, and last summer we bought an incubator from china and have started using that too.

Whereabouts are you based?  and what sort of set up do you have?  Only you'd be surprised how much space chickens can take up at times! What sort of numbers were you thinking of?  the hatchery we use will sell to people small numbers of day olds,but you have to collect them.  they only deliver in the 1000's

Apart from things like housing, feeding, watering, and mud, if you do this is any sort of numbers, you have to know where you a going to dispose of all that poop and bedding.  It can be a nightmare.

[BillyMc]

  Hi Moonpig
I started last Sept and bought allsorts with ambition and exciting prospects from a local poultry market and fell "fowl" for buying unwanted Cockerels, sick birds and all sorts of problems that has caused me grieve however this led me to this site where I have gained fair knowledge on my mistakes.  Sound advice from experience members.
Unless you are sure of what your buying , Don't go there!
Good luck with your new business venture