At 37 days sold my first live broiler of this group of 300.

[AgroUrica]

He weighed 2.6 kilos or about 5 3/4 lbs. I was pleased with that weight at 37 days.

Today I dressed about 20 birds and the biggest was 3 kilos or about 6.6 lbs. I'm sure there are even larger birds in the group. Amazing how fast these guys grow. Of course, it's amazing how much feed they consume too.

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

Awesome! Are you doing this as a start up business or just for "fun"?

 

[AgroUrica]

Awesome! Are you doing this as a start up business or just for "fun"?

It's a complimentary business to related farm-type work I'm doing. I have a cattle, horse, and free-range hog ranch and also bale and sell bermuda. In the pueblo (I live in S. America) I'm opening an agropecuaria which is a feed, seed, medicine, farm equipment-type business that will be based in my home. Since my backyard is quite extensive and was already equipped with much of what I needed in the way of sheds etc, chickens seemed like a good fit. They've been better than I could have imagined. At the local market each Monday morning I sell 30 - 40 birds live.

I also opened a bodega at the house from which I sell my chickens (live and dressed), eggs, canned good, casabe, fresh cheese, soft drinks, cooking oil, and other household-related goods. Since few folks here have their own transportation, they rely heavily on bodegas for many of their needs.

I've purchased a 640 egg incubator and once I take delivery and can find a reliable source of fertile eggs for top-quality broilers, I'll start producing chicks as well. There's a lot of interest in poultry here right now and it's a good fit for me as well.

Thanks for posting.

 

[AgroUrica]

It's a GOOD thing to do. (what YOU are doing)

IF I was younger...I would come HELP you !!!

( ?We would probably do better together working than competing. I grew-up in an area where "Trading-Posts" ...in New Mexico, USA... were THE "Bodegas" of where YOU live. I know much about that sort of LOCAL Business. AND I really enjoy the Cultures "South-of-the-Border" ....at least-for sure- MEXICO- where I have been MANY MANY times.....BUT...too old now.)

Yo entiendo Espanol un pocito...no muy mucho....es No Problemo ! Puede ser...yo un studiente PRIMO !!

Muy Bueno, Hefe !
Bruce Sartist

Gracias Bruce! Y usted sabe que nunca uno es demasiado viejo a cambiar la vida. Mi casa es su casa, por siempre.

I've traveled extensively in New Mexico and Arizona. Loved Indian country and especially the trading posts though today I suspect they're much more of a tourist trap than anything else.

After a few years of trying to figure out the best way to earn a living here, things are finally clicking. When I learned that horse folks were having their bales of bermuda brought in from the other side of the country, I figured there had to be decent market for locally-produced bales. I was right. Last year I sold over 40,000 small squares and still can't keep up with the demand. I planted much of my ranch in bermuda starting in 2008 and haven't looked back. This zone is perfect for producing bermuda because there's enough rainfall for 6 months out of the year to produce a harvestable crop every 40 days and it's also dry enough to allow for baling. Add an irrigation system and one can produce year-round.

Just a few miles to the west it's way too dry to produce grass without irrigation and a few miles to the east it's way too wet to bale consistently.

Because of the climate (we also have lots of wind) the area was once a huge producer of chickens. Politics disrupted most businesses here about 15 years ago and many have never recovered. Today, despite the government, those businesses are making a comeback.

The nearest feed stores are a 45 minute commute and as I mentioned before, most folks just don't have the means to travel much. For this reason I'm confident that combining bale sales with the feed/seed store and also offering baby chicks, as well as live and dressed birds will be a winning combination.

I'm expecting enough demand that I plan to couple the baby chick sales directly to the feed sales. That's to say, if one wishes to buy 500 baby chicks from me, I'll sell them the birds on the condition that they also buy (up front) the required sacks of feed to get the chicks to at least 21 days of age. My logic here is to insure that the buyers are properly capitalized to raise the chicks (feed is expensive here) and also to protect my reputation as a producer of quality birds. Don't feed these birds correctly and mortality will be high. I don't want the blame for high mortality.

There are also plenty of shortages here so the risks are high that if one doesn't secure the feed upfront, he may be faced with a crisis down the line. On Sunday afternoon I visited a local producer who has about 2,000 birds currently. In talking with him I learned that he spends a lot of time trying to find feed and based on the age of his birds, I could see that they were not as advanced as mine were at that age.....ie, lack of feed.

Anyway, it's a challenge but a lot of fun as well. I love my cattle and hogs but there's no doubt that chickens can feed a lot of people in a very short time.

 

[srm220]

¿En cuál parte de sudamérica vives?

 

[AgroUrica]

¿En cuál parte de sudamérica vives?

En el nor-este de Venezuela, pegado con las montanas.

 

[srm220]

qué bien. ¿Eres de allí...o vienes los estados unidos?

 

[foxrfarm]

How many weeks old were they?

 

[AgroUrica]

qué bien. ¿Eres de allí...o vienes los estados unidos?

Soy gringo.

 

[AgroUrica]

How many weeks old were they?

Sold the first bird at 5 weeks 2 days.