Anyone cost out their meat birds?

[greenhorn]

Well, after a serious attempt to keep careful expense records with the meat birds this year I gave up! We lost 20 chickens to a very bad neighbor dog (this attack cost the owner $200, so the dog lives far away now) and we are also raising turkeys who get the feed too, so keeping track really became a lost cause.

I'd like to step up the operation next year as I was able to get a good price for the meat and had more demand than supply. But I'm curious what the actual profit is. I know it won't be super high, but I'd like to get an idea before I spend January and February building a bunch of chicken tractors!

Anyone keep track of this? If so, I'd love to hear your expenses (type of feed, items other than feed to reduce costs, etc.) I include in my costs chicks, feed, butchering expenses. The infrastucture stuff is just part of the whole thing so I don't figure that in the costs (though I keep track of what I bought/build equipment-wise).

Can't wait to hear the responses! I love the bountiful variety of info on these forums

greenhorn

[3kidsomy]

if you do a search, there is a lot of this covered in here already.

[greenhorn]

Thanks! I found and bumped up a great thread from Fin29.

[mygoat]

When we butchered our chickens at 10 and 12 weeks approximately, we figured it cost us under 1.00 per lb to raise them. We have 10 turkies and had 44 chickens, all of which were eating the same food in the same pen. The turkies are still around, but at time of butcher our chickens were about 5lbs on average. With turkey feed STILL FACTORED IN, we calculated as though the turkies didn't exist and came to 5.00 per chicken to raise them. Mind you, this is WITH the turkies factored in! We think we did pretty darn good.

[||Downhome||]

mygoat was that before or after you got you custom feed mix saveings or when you where still paying more for feed? I think I remember you switched up some time ago?

I think a good part of the equation is the cost of feed. when I first got my birds I was just buying dumore from tsc for 10-13 dollars per 50lbs. then a lady I got a roo from put me on to a farmer who does a custom mix on the farm, same protien level just mash and not pellets at 15 dollars per 100lbs. so obviously if some one was going the first route
they would be paying twice as much off the bat, then there are going to be losses, and intial outlay. plus you have some folks raiseing heritage dual purpose vs cornish cross.

I have not had the cornish but do know that for "early" harvest they recommend 22-24%
protien and there you can tack on a few more dollars for the extra protien needed, but I also understand they eat as much if not more in their short lives as heritage breeds over the course of hatch to harvest (4-6 months). I know the heritage breeds dont have that broad meaty breast like the CX but I would venture a guess that the heritage would come out less dollars per lb. then the other.

[Wisconsin Ann]

As a benchmark, you can figure 3# feed for 1lb meat as a goal. It usually goes a bit more than that in reality.

As to the broad breast..it's true, the heritage don't have it, but in some breeds, Jersey Giant or Marans for instance, the breast is DEEP. hmm. I really need to do a comparison in actual size...I have a feeling that it's not THAT much less.

[greenhorn]

I think I will be checking out sources around here for custom mix feed. Depending on how many cows I have in milk next summer I will probably also step up my clabbering. I think Joel Salatin also talked about chopped eggs for turkey poults...summer is always insane for extra eggs around here!!

I love all this discussion. It's really inspiring me about this project for next summer. I try to remember that we've only been out here for a year and a half, but I've been very confused (VERY) about what to do on this farm for a small profit, have dabbled in chickens and turkeys, goats, pigs, cow/calf, dairy, and rabbits and it seems that meat birds could be the answer. They're fairly easy, a short-term pursuit (summer mainly) less initial expense, and when one of them steps on your foot you don't have to go to the emergency room (Angus cow got me this summer...ouch!)

[mygoat]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin Ann

As a benchmark, you can figure 3# feed for 1lb meat as a goal. It usually goes a bit more than that in reality.

As to the broad breast..it's true, the heritage don't have it, but in some breeds, Jersey Giant or Marans for instance, the breast is DEEP. hmm. I really need to do a comparison in actual size...I have a feeling that it's not THAT much less.

But you have to feed them for MONTHS longer, not to metnion have to deal with a bunch of randy, annoying roosters for that time. I bet they go through more food, too. I find we can't eat the drumstick on heritage birds - too sinewy. I don't want less of a lower quality (IMO) meat for more expense. To me, a home raised cornish cross cannot be beat for meat quality and quantity.

For Downhome, that is with our 25% custom mix. High protein for turkies, too. I'd have to look to see what it cost per 500lbs. I know it was very affordable.

[lisa's garden]

I am interested in this topic too, since the cost of my meat is of concern to our family. I feed any appropriate table scraps, they have pasture and I feed the ready made crumbles. I called every feed mill I can find in the area, plus every feed store that sells the ready made crumbles and the best price I have found is at Farm and Fleet. The custom mix is more expensive even if ordered by the ton! I was very surprised.

Guess I will need to continue looking at the sales fliers to stock up and pick up any free produce that I can find.

Oh, and the cornish x can't be beat for cost effectiveness and amount of meat produced. I have some young mixed breeds that are barely worth butchering. But I am turning them into chicken soup rather than continue to feed them to a decent size...just not worth the amount of feed needed, IMO.

[lisa's garden]

Oh, and I forgot to mention...I have a friend who raises the cornish x and he figured it to be around $5-$6 per bird when raised to a dressed weight of about 5#. This is with the feed from Farm and Fleet and they were raised this spring, butchered in June.

I have found a very good price on the cornish x hatchlings from Sunray Hatchery and Schlect's ...both in Iowa. I have ordered from Schlect's and the service was fine.

[artificer]

Originally Posted by lisa's garden

...
I called every feed mill I can find in the area, plus every feed store that sells the ready made crumbles and the best price I have found is at Farm and Fleet. The custom mix is more expensive even if ordered by the ton! I was very surprised.

I'm surprised that you couldn't find a feed mill with lower prices. Are they selling feed they mixed themselves, or something like Purina? If you're from around Rockford, and can buy a ton at a time, you might want to check out the feed mill that we go to. Countryside feed in Cobb, WI. Last feed was $19/CWT for grower/starter. Layer was a little cheaper, but that was based on early summer prices. Current F&F prices are $22.58/cwt for the starter/grower.

I would try to find a small mom and pop feed mill that makes their own feed. Countryside will make whatever you want, if you get at least a ton. You pay for ingredients, plus the cost of mixing/bagging. Custom isn't any more expensive than their normal mix. Protein is one of the major costs, so higher protein for cornish crosses/turkeys adds a bit to the price.

Michael


Edit: did you specifically ask for crumbles? Our feed is ground, but not in crumble form.

[Cyngbaeld]

If you pressure can the legs on the heritage or dual purpose birds, the meat is excellent! The extra sinews give the meat a better "mouth feel", IMHO. I can the legs bone in for the extra flavor and nutrition.

If you are going for the cheapest meat and want to get done quickly, then the cornishx broilers probably can't be beat.

However, if you want more flavor and can let the birds range and avoid buying chicks every year, you might prefer the heritage breeds. Also, if you want to raise your own replacement hens, you will have lots of cockerels. Hopefully not 9 cockerels to one pullet like I had this yr!

[mygoat]

If we ever get a pressure canner, we'll try the lower leg meat.

Flavor wise, I think they taste the same. Our cornish x's free range too, and they do pretty well when their food dish and water dish and housing are far apart.

We do raise replacement hens every year, and yes we do eat the heritage birds. We just breast them out and take the thighs. We also take the gizzard, liver, heart/lungs by cutting into the body cavity and pulling them out. We don't really pluck/skin or eviscerate them, it seems like a waste of time for the amount of meat. They are still made of meat and since they're a byproduct anyways, we do eat them.

[ajaxlucy]

We're raising both meat birds (Freedom Rangers) and some turkeys, so our costs are all mixed together, too. The broilers will be dispatched this Friday so we'll have a better idea about weights then. I may be completely off, but my guess is that it will come out to about $10/bird. (We buy organic feed.)

[lisa's garden]

Originally Posted by artificer

I'm surprised that you couldn't find a feed mill with lower prices. Are they selling feed they mixed themselves, or something like Purina? If you're from around Rockford, and can buy a ton at a time, you might want to check out the feed mill that we go to. Countryside feed in Cobb, WI. Last feed was $19/CWT for grower/starter. Layer was a little cheaper, but that was based on early summer prices. Current F&F prices are $22.58/cwt for the starter/grower.

I would try to find a small mom and pop feed mill that makes their own feed. Countryside will make whatever you want, if you get at least a ton. You pay for ingredients, plus the cost of mixing/bagging. Custom isn't any more expensive than their normal mix. Protein is one of the major costs, so higher protein for cornish crosses/turkeys adds a bit to the price.

Michael


Edit: did you specifically ask for crumbles? Our feed is ground, but not in crumble form.

Thanks for the tip...what does cwt mean? I have been paying $11.49/50# for the meat production crumbles at Farm and Fleet...$9.99/50# for layer crumbles. I would rather have pellet form, I think, because I notice that they won't eat the finer crumbles and they go to waste.

I checked with DeLong's in Clinton, and the custom mix worked out to around $15 per 50#, without the vitamin mix added...and that was if I ordered a ton. I think a ton would last way too long for my flock. I have 24 meat birds and 10 layers right now, with 30 day old pullets on the way. I do have 1 or 2 'chicken friends' who might go in on a ton with me if the price was substantially lower that way.

[mygoat]

CWT means hundred weight. Usually when mills do custom mixes they do it by 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 lb increments, so most grain is mixed in by the hundredweight and priced by the hundred weight.

Our general purpose layer feed is guaranteed 18% minimum protein, but is likely more like 20%. It is a mix of soybean meal, corn, oats, alfalfa meal, mineral mix, and cocosoya (to make it less dusty). It is all ground uniformly so they can't pick out the corn and oats. I feed it to everything but the broilers and turkeys - including chicks, ducklings, muscovies, geese, laying hens, roosters... I do keep oyster shell on the side for the hens. We get this mixed by the 1000lbs, and it comes to about 147.00 or so. That is 20 - 50lb bags at approximately 7.40 per 50lbs. Can't beat that! Previously we were paying anywhere from 12.00 to 16.00 per bag for pre-bagged layer feed. Outrageous!