That Quail Place Forum
Production and Business => Gamebird Business Aspects => Topic started by: lhamid on October 13, 2005, 01:51:29 PM
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Does anyone have a relatively simple formula to figure out how much it costs to raise coturnix? I have been selling 2 day old chicks for .50 cents each and 1 month old for a dollar. I know I am making money on the 2 day olds, but not sure about the older birds. Also, how much should I charge for 8 week old birds? I want to make a little profit, right now I am not sure if I am covering my costs...
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Ok, here is my experience with feed and coturnix. 100 day old chicks will go through three 50lb bags of game bird starter in a month. So, here, a bag of gamebird starter is between 9 and 10 dollars a bag. Thats 30.00 for the first month. By the time you throw in the cost of lighting, shavings, and equipment cost, You might as well say 40.00. So in other words, to raise 1 chick for a month costs 40 cents. If you sell that chick for a dollar, you're making 60 cents profit. Thats not saying much, but if you do that for 100 chicks, thats 60.00 profit. Now say you raise them to maturity. Thats 2 months, they will probably go through 4 bags of feed, because at this stage, they eat a little bit more. In other words, for raising them to 8 weeks will cost you 90 cents per chick. If you sell them at 8 weeks old, for 2.50 each, you're making 1.60 profit per chick. Or for 100 chicks, 160.00 profit for 2 months work of feeding, cleaning and watering. But if you simply sell them at day old, that is mostly pure profit, minus the electricity and cost of your incubator. They will pay their feedbill, and if you're willing to do it on a large scale, there is money to be made. Prices fluctuate, and you're feeding experience may be different from mine, but it won't vary too much from that. You may also be able to get more than 2.50 for them at maturity. Hope this helps.