DeweysMom
Sub-Adult Member
I’ve been reading up on breeding a little bit here and there because I think it could potentially be something I might want to pursue years down the road when I have the time, room, and money to do it. In all honesty, I don’t think I ever will be ready. I feel I still have a lot to learn about owning a beardie let alone attempt breeding them, but learning is never a bad thing either way right?
I got bored and decided to do a “mock breeding” to try to calculate costs. I know that to breed right, you’re doing it for the love and passion and not to make money so I’m well aware it could end up costing me more than I make. I’m fine with that. I’m just wondering if my numbers below fairly accurate.
Let’s say I bred a pair who produced 7 clutches and all of the babies survived and were able to be sold. I know this is probably a high number, but I also know it’s not unheard of either. This is all hypothetical anyway.
So..
Clutch 1 = 17 babies
Clutch 2 = 20 babies
Clutch 3 = 18 babies
Clutch 4 = 25 babies
Clutch 5 = 19 babies
Clutch 6 = 23 babies
Clutch 7 = 21 babies
This is a total of 143 babies and let’s put a sell price of $85 dollars on them. That comes out to $12,155 in sales. I realize some could go lower and some could go higher, just trying to keep this relatively simple.
Feeding. Each baby will consume anywhere from 30-50 crickets 2-3 times a day, correct? I’m going to pick a number right in between and say they’ll each eat 40 crickets a feeding which comes out to 120 per day. Going further, this comes out to 840 per week per baby.
Clutch 1 = 17 babies will consume 14,280 crix per week. (rounded up to 16,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 2 = 20 babies will consume 16,800 crix per week. (rounded up to 18,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 3 = 18 babies will consume 15,120 crix per week. (rounded up to 16,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 4 = 25 babies will consume 21,000 crix per week. (rounded up to 22,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 5 = 19 babies will consume 15,960 crix per week. (rounded up to 16,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 6 = 23 babies will consume 19,320 crix per week. (rounded up to 20,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 7 = 21 babies will consume 17,640 crix per week. (rounded up to 18,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
That comes out to a total of (126,000) crickets which is 63 cases of (2,000). Just using Ghann’s as a base price, they charge $24.99 per (2,000) crix. That comes out to a grand total of $1,574.37 not including shipping. I know reputable breeders will keep their babies for at least 6-8 weeks so I’m going to the extreme and am figuring for the full 8 weeks (I realize in some cases it’ll be even longer). So, that gives me a total of $12,594.96, again not including shipping.
As I said above, the babies would be sold at a total of $12,155.00 so with the cost of the crickets I’d be out $439.96 not including the cost of shipping the crickets. Not including the costs of the electricity that’ll be used. Not including the cost of the initial set ups (bins, lights, etc). Not including the supplements. Not including the greens. Not including other sources of protein like worms. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing too.
I also realize that some of the cricket costs can be offset by breeding your own or by breeding dubia (which I did for Dewey and I’m going to do even just for my single beardie), but that would raise it’s own set of costs as well because I would certainly need more than one bin and I would have to buy the supplies for that as well.
So, I know this is a bit long, but I wanted to be as clear as possible. Math was never my strong subject so it’s possible I goofed somewhere. If I did, please let me know. I’m just curious to see if this paints a fairly accurate picture of the costs associated with breeding or not. Also, are there costs I’m completely overlooked?
I think these numbers, if accurate, would help those who want to breed beardies get a good, full picture of how costly it really is.
I got bored and decided to do a “mock breeding” to try to calculate costs. I know that to breed right, you’re doing it for the love and passion and not to make money so I’m well aware it could end up costing me more than I make. I’m fine with that. I’m just wondering if my numbers below fairly accurate.
Let’s say I bred a pair who produced 7 clutches and all of the babies survived and were able to be sold. I know this is probably a high number, but I also know it’s not unheard of either. This is all hypothetical anyway.
So..
Clutch 1 = 17 babies
Clutch 2 = 20 babies
Clutch 3 = 18 babies
Clutch 4 = 25 babies
Clutch 5 = 19 babies
Clutch 6 = 23 babies
Clutch 7 = 21 babies
This is a total of 143 babies and let’s put a sell price of $85 dollars on them. That comes out to $12,155 in sales. I realize some could go lower and some could go higher, just trying to keep this relatively simple.
Feeding. Each baby will consume anywhere from 30-50 crickets 2-3 times a day, correct? I’m going to pick a number right in between and say they’ll each eat 40 crickets a feeding which comes out to 120 per day. Going further, this comes out to 840 per week per baby.
Clutch 1 = 17 babies will consume 14,280 crix per week. (rounded up to 16,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 2 = 20 babies will consume 16,800 crix per week. (rounded up to 18,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 3 = 18 babies will consume 15,120 crix per week. (rounded up to 16,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 4 = 25 babies will consume 21,000 crix per week. (rounded up to 22,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 5 = 19 babies will consume 15,960 crix per week. (rounded up to 16,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 6 = 23 babies will consume 19,320 crix per week. (rounded up to 20,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
Clutch 7 = 21 babies will consume 17,640 crix per week. (rounded up to 18,000 to order in qtys of 2,000)
That comes out to a total of (126,000) crickets which is 63 cases of (2,000). Just using Ghann’s as a base price, they charge $24.99 per (2,000) crix. That comes out to a grand total of $1,574.37 not including shipping. I know reputable breeders will keep their babies for at least 6-8 weeks so I’m going to the extreme and am figuring for the full 8 weeks (I realize in some cases it’ll be even longer). So, that gives me a total of $12,594.96, again not including shipping.
As I said above, the babies would be sold at a total of $12,155.00 so with the cost of the crickets I’d be out $439.96 not including the cost of shipping the crickets. Not including the costs of the electricity that’ll be used. Not including the cost of the initial set ups (bins, lights, etc). Not including the supplements. Not including the greens. Not including other sources of protein like worms. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing too.
I also realize that some of the cricket costs can be offset by breeding your own or by breeding dubia (which I did for Dewey and I’m going to do even just for my single beardie), but that would raise it’s own set of costs as well because I would certainly need more than one bin and I would have to buy the supplies for that as well.
So, I know this is a bit long, but I wanted to be as clear as possible. Math was never my strong subject so it’s possible I goofed somewhere. If I did, please let me know. I’m just curious to see if this paints a fairly accurate picture of the costs associated with breeding or not. Also, are there costs I’m completely overlooked?
I think these numbers, if accurate, would help those who want to breed beardies get a good, full picture of how costly it really is.
