is it really cost effective...

[lorihadams]

To raise your own meat birds? I just ordered 30 for 36.90 and between the cost of feed and time is it really worth it? We have most of the materials to build a tractor for them for free but we will have to buy something, I'm sure.

I want to know how they are raised and treated and what they eat and all but is it really cost effective? Could I buy organic, free range chicken for less by the time it is all said and done?

 

[me&thegals]

We raised 100 birds. We figured out that if we sold half of them, averaging 5 lb each, for $2.50/lb, their sale would pay for all the other birds.

I would like a chance to do it again and more cost effectively. I would personally look for formulas on meat bird feed, since we have corn, soybeans and a food mill here we could use.

I would also do it a time of year where ice is not necessary, as we had $40 in ice alone!!!! Then, my in-laws picked up a pile of food to feed all our helpers (we already had food arranged), and we felt we should reimburse them, so I believe we really could have cut a lot in costs. Still, half the birds sold paid for all the rest so we can eat free

 

[freemotion]

You could not buy the equivilent of what you are raising if you tractor them on grass. What is labelled as "free-range" in the stores is not really outside on grass, that would be called "pastured" and you just don't see that label in the stores. Free-range and cage-free are very deceptive words used to promote products, but have no real meaning, imo.

So you are doing the right thing, the nutrient profile is so far beyond what you can buy that it doesn't even resemble the store-bought version. And the cruelty-free part.....you can't put a pricetag on that, IMO. Also the lessons your children will learn as to where food comes from and why this way is better is also without a price tag.

You go, girl!

Oh, and there is not really much you have to buy. You can get really creative in making your own equipment. It is worth it to get the cheap feeders and waterers that are made for really small chicks, but after that, you can improvise quite nicely. There are plenty of people here with ideas to share. I make the second feeder out of plastic containers, zip-tied to a brick to stabilize them. Works great. I use a flat rubber pan with a brick in it (in case someone falls in) for the second waterer. I use a two-gallon bucket once they are big enough to get out if they get into it, and scatter whole grains on the ground. But I wouldn't scatter mash on the ground if you choose to feed that.

 

[miss_thenorth]

This was my expense last year on my first batch. I did it again this year, prices went up some. I raised 80 this year and sold 30 at $2.50/lb. it will give you an idea.

http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=285

And the birds I raised are still better than the best at the grocery store.

 

[patandchickens]

If you would be buying organic premium chicken, and if you don't have to put much money into housing and aren't going to price out your labor, it is usually going to be cheaper (sometimes much cheaper) to raise your own.

If you would build them a palatial barn, or if you are a lawyer making $150/hr and will be "billing" that to the cost of the chickens (i.e put a high dollar value on the time you spend), maybe not.

And if you would be buying super-cheapie discount chicken, then maybe not either.

FWIW, when I've done CornishX and red broilers for home consumption, using existing facilities and thus counting only the cost of electricity, a bit of bedding, and feed (plus chick purchase of course), it came out cheaper than the cheapest chicken I can buy up here. (I processed them myself; if I'd paid for that, it would have been equal to the cheapest commercial price) BUT, chicken is more expensive in Canada than in the US, and my costs would not have competed with the cheapest chicken available in the US.

I have calculated that, with local prices, if I bought organic feed I would still probably pay less than if I bought organic chickens; and if you raise a breed/strain that can get a reasonable part of its diet from foraging (although this may not give you a supermarket type carcass) it would presumably be cheaper still.

I'd suggest trying it, on a small run like 10-20 birds, and see whatcha think.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[punkin]

I hope you keep up with the cost in your journal, Lori cause I wondered the same thing a couple of months back. I had really considered raising meat birds, but didn't know exactly how much feed is needed.

I have a tractor that I can use, but it is only an 8x4. I could only raise a small amount, so each chick would probably be more expensive to order.

Maybe by looking at your expenses, I could figure my own.

 

[lorihadams]

I was going to keep a running tally of my expenses anyway so I will definitely be talking about it and I'll post the results when we slaughter. I'm hoping to get some great fertilizer for the future goat "pasture" too cause that's where we are putting the tractor while we raise them.

I just hope the neighbors don't mind....I can't see them but they are there....I live on 3 partially wooded acres on a dirt road in a "subdivision", technically, but I have also shot deer on my property here too. Not very subdivision-y.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey!

you might also want to check over on the BYC page - BruntyFarms always has good info on costs etc. and i know a couple of the other producers can quote you a cost per pound.

'worth it' i guess kind of depends on what you want to get out of it. i gave up buying chicken in the stores when a package of cut up meat started to cost about $10. i think what makes it 'worth it' is if you are happy with the end result and feel good about how you raised them, maybe??

we got colored rangers for the first time this year and they did really well. the argument is that it takes more for them to grow out than the standard cornish x's.... but we liked that they were more 'normal' chickens than the cornish's and seemed a little more hardy.

however, they did take longer to grow out so we had to feed them longer, and it was more of my time to take care of them. we might try the meaties next year

but however you slice it - you got a steal on your birds! hope you dont have any 2nd thoughts. we found what really made it 'worth it' was all the extras... for instance i made a ton of stock, which i'd normally have to buy. and after i picked out the good stuff after i strained the stock, i gave the rest to the cats - so tons of stock + chicken salad sandwiches + cat food for a week!?!? lordy it was worth it for us!

go for it! whoot!!

 

[Big Daddy]

If you're talking dollars I think the answer is no. Our local Safeway has thighs and legs on sale for .99 a lb quite often. They have split breast on for 1.39 a lb on a regular basis. Then there's the mess and the smell. We raised 40 meaties and had someone else slaughter them. They are delicious.

If you're talking flavor and nutrition? Home grown is way better. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Plus you know what you're eating. I don't trust coorporations for anything.

 

[freemotion]

It's like comparing plastic apples to real, tree-ripened oranges!!