Chicken business ideas...

[Molpet]

I will be doing that as well. We have a big farming community here. People asking for chicken manure all the time. We farm ourselves on about 300 acres of land. Our island has about 8k people living here. All food is imported. Eggs in our store cost 4-5$ a dozen. Bag of chicken meat $40.

How much is a 50lb bag of chicken feed?

 

[Ruthster55]

Well, maybe you want to connect with this member who is situated in Hawaii and posted this problem of too many chickens in Hawaii:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...of-or-capture-chickens.1394122/#post-22881126

The feral chickens in Hawaii are quite small and look more like game fowl than traditional dual-purpose birds. They could have an important role in your 8-acre chicken homestead, but not as meat birds.

If you can catch some of the hens and fence them up in a run rather than having them wander all over, they would be awesome broody hens for your dual-purpose meat birds!

On a sustainable project like this where you aren’t ordering frequently from a hatchery, you would need to plan what you will do about cockerels.

 

[Ruthster55]

I will be doing that as well. We have a big farming community here. People asking for chicken manure all the time. We farm ourselves on about 300 acres of land. Our island has about 8k people living here. All food is imported. Eggs in our store cost 4-5$ a dozen. Bag of chicken meat $40.

You certainly have the land to make this work, but it requires lots of research to do things the way that you can earn rather than lose. The first part of the research involves observing and talking to friends, neighbors, and local restaurants to see what THEY want. Whatever they want, they will probably pay a bit better for. Is there an oversupply of eggs in your area, or do people want eggs? I certainly looks like there is a shortage of meat unless that $40 bag of chicken is ginormous.

The next part of the research involves finding ways to cycle the chicken manure into the rest of the farm in a beneficial way. And then there is research about the choice of: what sort of meat birds to raise?

Would definitely recommend building a simple nursery on a part of the acreage that is close to the road and using some of the composted chicken manure on those plants that usually are abit more expensive than vegetable plants. In a tropical climate, you can make a nursery out of some bamboo poles and some kind of lumber for the shelves. You might not even need to cover it, depending on what kind of plants you grow. Where I am is also tropical, but there is a dry season that is excellent for growing succulents.

The other part of the composted chicken manure can either go on your crops or can be bagged up and sold.

As far as the eight acres the chickens will be on, I see the virtue of partitioning that into a few different projects. Am aware that requires fencing and more work.

What kind of meat do your friends and neighbors like? Do they really like dark meat or do they like breast meat?

First, you want to decide whether you want to pasture-raise Cornish X or whether you want to go with heritage meat birds. Each has its strong points and drawbacks. Cornish X are best for markets where people like breast meat better than drumsticks. They will yield a better return per carcass than heritage birds will under normal circumstances.

The Cornish X have higher mortality than heritage breeds, and they do best on rationed feeding. They certainly have higher feed conversion than any heritage breed. Another drawback with the Cornish X is that you would need to order them from the hatchery every quarter or so. They are a four-way hybrid and won’t breed true. They do well in chicken tractors on grass...but moving the tractors every day is a chore and you will want to build as light-weight tractors as possible, unless you are a powerlifter. To me, the Salatin-type tractors look way too heavy, but there are some other smaller and lighter designs.

A lot of people combine some Cornish X tractors with pastured layer birds. You can certainly do heritage breeds (or mixes) as layers. For this, you might want to have a variety of breeds including Easter Eggers and some others so that you could sell the eggs as a “rainbow” or “variety.” You would need a coop with some rollaway nest boxes to do layers, even if they are out on pasture foraging all day.

With heritage birds, they are hardier but have lower feed conversion, but they might work in a market where the taste runs more toward dark meat. Some gourmet markets desire heritage birds and people who are really into sustainable meat likely prefer heritage.

Do you have lots of bugs and worms around the area? They help with the feed conversion situation. Some people like doing meat projects with giant Naked Neck birds. They’re pretty big and easier to pluck if you’re doing them on a large scale.

Heritage breeds are indeed the most sustainable possible meat bird because they breed true and you don’t have to keep ordering from the hatchery if you have an incubator (energy costs) or some of those Hawaiian chickens locked up brooding eggs (free once you have caught the local hens and have built the fencing to keep ‘em in).

With heritage birds in a self-reproducing setup, a key problem is that you would need to harvest the cockerels at 14 to 16 weeks and they will have a smaller, leggier carcass than an 8-week Cornish X. Are there restaurants in your area that are looking for heritage chicken? Is truly sustainable meat a big thing in your area, or are people satisfied that the chicken was just raised outdoors on grass? I believe there are some growers of Cornish X who are organic-certified, although that might be a bit easier with heritage birds.

How many pounds of chicken are in that $40 bag and what kind of meat is it? How many breasts, how many leg quarters, how many drumsticks?

There is one other option with the heritage cockerels, caponizing them, but that has a steep learning curve, takes a while to learn, and is not for the squeamish.

I know this is a long reply, but with 300 acres of prime Hawaiian farm land, plus 8 acres just for chcikens, there’s a lot to think about!

 

[tribalacres]

Hello,

We have about 175 Cornish hens and 9 rainbow broilers. We wanted some for the family and then was like maybe I should ask friends if they want some. We sold 100 just to family and friends and bought extra to sell to others. Most around here sell for 15-20 dollars per bird. When you think about the cost, feed, water (supplements) you can spend anywhere between 7-9 on a bird, I think it could be a great margin there. Hope this helps.

 

[Ruthster55]

Hello,

We have about 175 Cornish hens and 9 rainbow broilers. We wanted some for the family and then was like maybe I should ask friends if they want some. We sold 100 just to family and friends and bought extra to sell to others. Most around here sell for 15-20 dollars per bird. When you think about the cost, feed, water (supplements) you can spend anywhere between 7-9 on a bird, I think it could be a great margin there. Hope this helps.

Your costs would need to include the cost of building the tractors or other housing for them plus the cost of any losses. If the tractors are already built you could just divide those costs by however many different lots of meat birds you have had. Also, the people who raise pastured chicken as a business also include their labor cost and the amount of hours involved brooding the chicks, feeding, and hauling tractors around.

 

[tribalacres]

Your costs would need to include the cost of building the tractors or other housing for them plus the cost of any losses. If the tractors are already built you could just divide those costs by however many different lots of meat birds you have had. Also, the people who raise pastured chicken as a business also include their labor cost and the amount of hours involved brooding the chicks, feeding, and hauling tractors around.

Which is probably why they sell for nearly double that.

 

[iwltfum]

Which is probably why they sell for nearly double that.

100% mark up is pretty standard for most farm products sold directly to retail markets. Honestly it's a little low for what it is...considering we can't live without proper nutrition.

 

[tribalacres]

100% mark up is pretty standard for most farm products sold directly to retail markets. Honestly it's a little low for what it is...considering we can't live without proper nutrition.

I wasn’t saying that in a negative way, this is what we do for a living. As the saying says we work in Acres not hours.

 

[jmanaba]

Sounds like you might be able to create a win-win situation connecting with @Higap

Dang, he's on a Different island.

How much is a 50lb bag of chicken feed?

27.35 for broiler starter

You certainly have the land to make this work, but it requires lots of research to do things the way that you can earn rather than lose. The first part of the research involves observing and talking to friends, neighbors, and local restaurants to see what THEY want. Whatever they want, they will probably pay a bit better for. Is there an oversupply of eggs in your area, or do people want eggs? I certainly looks like there is a shortage of meat unless that $40 bag of chicken is ginormous.

The next part of the research involves finding ways to cycle the chicken manure into the rest of the farm in a beneficial way. And then there is research about the choice of: what sort of meat birds to raise?

Would definitely recommend building a simple nursery on a part of the acreage that is close to the road and using some of the composted chicken manure on those plants that usually are abit more expensive than vegetable plants. In a tropical climate, you can make a nursery out of some bamboo poles and some kind of lumber for the shelves. You might not even need to cover it, depending on what kind of plants you grow. Where I am is also tropical, but there is a dry season that is excellent for growing succulents.

The other part of the composted chicken manure can either go on your crops or can be bagged up and sold.

As far as the eight acres the chickens will be on, I see the virtue of partitioning that into a few different projects. Am aware that requires fencing and more work.

What kind of meat do your friends and neighbors like? Do they really like dark meat or do they like breast meat?

First, you want to decide whether you want to pasture-raise Cornish X or whether you want to go with heritage meat birds. Each has its strong points and drawbacks. Cornish X are best for markets where people like breast meat better than drumsticks. They will yield a better return per carcass than heritage birds will under normal circumstances.

The Cornish X have higher mortality than heritage breeds, and they do best on rationed feeding. They certainly have higher feed conversion than any heritage breed. Another drawback with the Cornish X is that you would need to order them from the hatchery every quarter or so. They are a four-way hybrid and won’t breed true. They do well in chicken tractors on grass...but moving the tractors every day is a chore and you will want to build as light-weight tractors as possible, unless you are a powerlifter. To me, the Salatin-type tractors look way too heavy, but there are some other smaller and lighter designs.

A lot of people combine some Cornish X tractors with pastured layer birds. You can certainly do heritage breeds (or mixes) as layers. For this, you might want to have a variety of breeds including Easter Eggers and some others so that you could sell the eggs as a “rainbow” or “variety.” You would need a coop with some rollaway nest boxes to do layers, even if they are out on pasture foraging all day.

With heritage birds, they are hardier but have lower feed conversion, but they might work in a market where the taste runs more toward dark meat. Some gourmet markets desire heritage birds and people who are really into sustainable meat likely prefer heritage.

Do you have lots of bugs and worms around the area? They help with the feed conversion situation. Some people like doing meat projects with giant Naked Neck birds. They’re pretty big and easier to pluck if you’re doing them on a large scale.

Heritage breeds are indeed the most sustainable possible meat bird because they breed true and you don’t have to keep ordering from the hatchery if you have an incubator (energy costs) or some of those Hawaiian chickens locked up brooding eggs (free once you have caught the local hens and have built the fencing to keep ‘em in).

With heritage birds in a self-reproducing setup, a key problem is that you would need to harvest the cockerels at 14 to 16 weeks and they will have a smaller, leggier carcass than an 8-week Cornish X. Are there restaurants in your area that are looking for heritage chicken? Is truly sustainable meat a big thing in your area, or are people satisfied that the chicken was just raised outdoors on grass? I believe there are some growers of Cornish X who are organic-certified, although that might be a bit easier with heritage birds.

How many pounds of chicken are in that $40 bag and what kind of meat is it? How many breasts, how many leg quarters, how many drumsticks?

There is one other option with the heritage cockerels, caponizing them, but that has a steep learning curve, takes a while to learn, and is not for the squeamish.

I know this is a long reply, but with 300 acres of prime Hawaiian farm land, plus 8 acres just for chcikens, there’s a lot to think about!

Thank you for all this info! Really helpful!

Since I got the land, venison (40k head of deer), bugs, I feel like I could make some money on this and save money on feed.

Wild chickens here got no meat and gives eggs only when broody, they're super small eggs. I use one for my backyard chickens to help hatch my heritage.

$40 for 10lbs of meat (breasts, thighs), tasteless. Caged.
Shortage of eggs.

I think its best if I order broilers for meat and heritage breed for eggs. I read on a lot of places that heritage birds isnt as tender. What do you think?

Manure will be sold by the bucket full.

Chickens will be raised on grass after 4 weeks of age. Will be pulling a rickshaw type structure for shade,feed, and watering area. There are good shaded tree areas as well. I will also be ordering the roll away nest boxes. Doesn't get cold here... hardly rains.

I asked around and everyone would buy chickens to eat and the eggs. We ship everything here all meat and eggs so I dnt see why people wouldn't buy from a local business.

I want to just use 1 breed for the heritage. Delaware chickens is what im looking at. What do you think? Good in hot weather, jumbo, xl eggs.

Did I miss anything lol??

 

[jmanaba]

I wasn’t saying that in a negative way, this is what we do for a living. As the saying says we work in Acres not hours. ✔

Hey I would like to pick your brain a bit. How many birds do you order? When do your order? Every 4 weeks? Do you pasture raise? Do you work with egg layers? What breeds? Lol