ENTREPRENEURIAL YEAR 7 STUDENT SETS UP CHICKEN BREEDING BUSINESS!
Mrs Potter, Headteacher, told us that she had recently had a conversation with Tallulah Whent, Year 7 student at Richmond School, who told her about the flock of chickens that she manages and the business she has set up selling eggs and chicks to people in the local community.
This sounded fascinating, so we caught up with Tallulah to find out a bit more…
RS: So, Tallulah, not many Year 7 students I know have their own business! How did it start and how did you first get interested in breeding chickens?
T: Well, it started with ducks about six years ago. We had a Mallard nest near our pond and our dog chased the ducks away. They didn’t come back so we collected the eggs and put them in an incubator we had. About 14 ducklings hatched. They grew up quite tame and used to come back to the pond after they grew up. I loved incubating the eggs, watching them hatch and seeing them grow. Eventually we ended up with none left, though – the fox got most of them, unfortunately!
After that we got some other ducks – Cayugas and Appleyards. We had 21 at one point. They don’t fly so they had to go inside at night to protect them from the fox. The fox did get some again, though, and we gave some away to a special needs school for the children to look after as they were so tame.
RS: Ok, so what about the chickens – it’s all been ducks so far!?
T: We started off with a few Silkies – a friend gave us some eggs which we hatched. We built pens and houses for them and now our laying flock consists of two males and 20 females. I used to sell eggs to the parents at primary school, but now we just deliver to about 11 families in the local area – that keeps us busy enough – we don’t really want to get any bigger!
RS: I can imagine! But it’s not just about eggs and the laying flock, is it? You’ve also got some breeding birds – tell us about them.
T: Yes – first I chose the breeds I wanted – Barnevelders, Marans, Pekins, Silkies and Milkies (a Maran crossed with a Silkie). I started off with just a few, but now I’ve got a cockerel and three hens of each breed. They are all kept separately and I collect the eggs to incubate. I’m on the sixth hatch of the season now.
RS: Ok, so you don’t sell the eggs from these birds, you sell the chicks? And how do you go about doing that?
T: So, I advertise when I’ve got chicks ready on my Instagram page. People see the advert then message me to say they would like some – I recently sold eight fully feathered chicks, another four to someone in Newcastle and six day old chicks.
RS: How much do you sell chicks for and how do you decide how much to charge people?
T: A day old chick is £8.50. Fully feathered – they’re six to eight weeks old – £18.50. A laying hen is £40 and a cockerel £15. We set the prices based on the breeder I got my original breeding birds from.
RS: So, eight fully feathered chicks – that’s £148! But you really have to earn that money by looking after them and making sure you’re selling good quality birds. What does looking after them involve – it must be quite hard as a busy Year 7 student!
T: I set my alarm for 6.15, then go and let them out and feed them. That takes about half an hour. In the evening, I fill their waters up and clean them out. I count them to make sure they’re all there and put them back into their houses. I also collect the eggs and mark and rotate them three times a day. I look after the incubator and chicks if we have any about to hatch or just hatched. I also need to check and make sure all the birds are healthy.
RS: It sounds as though they keep you busy! What about the future – what are your plans for your chickens and what do you want to do in the future?
T: Well I’m happy with the chickens at the moment. I wouldn’t really have time if I had lots more, so the numbers I’ve got are about right at the moment. I also love riding my two ponies Phoebe and Lily and my horse Zeuss – I need time to ride them and take them to competitions. In terms of later on – I’ve done a bit of research into becoming a vet, but I’m not really sure at the moment.
RS: There’s plenty of time to make that decision! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us and tell us about you chickens, Tallulah – all the best with your business and we look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Tallaula’s Instagram page is at the link below – Boos Birds!