Chickenless in Pennsylvania

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press1forenglish

Chirping
Joined
Nov 20, 2018
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Location
Northeast Pennsylvania
Hi. New to the site although I have browsed it several times throughout the years. I will be getting started with my first chicken flock next Spring so I thought it would be good to start getting more involved and begin learning.
My first priority, as always, will be my vegetable garden. But I'd also like to get 6-8 egg laying hens (several types) and also looking at doing my own Cornish Cross (5 week, brooder to oven) birds. I know for a fact that next year, I will not go out and spend money on processing equipment until I get the 'raising and growing' part right and I am looking for a local processor to do my first 50-100 birds (25 at a time most likely).
I have questions about fertile egg prices versus day-old baby chick pricing - why are eggs priced higher than chicks?? Doesn't make sense to me.
I also have questions about meat market pricing, as I see a local farm 'trying' to sell processed birds at $4.50/lb... not sure how much business they get, certainly won't get mine at $20 for a 4# bird.
 
press1forenglish said:
I have questions about fertile egg prices versus day-old baby chick pricing - why are eggs priced higher than chicks?? Doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...
may be fertile eggs are priced per dozen? It is $12/dozen fertile eggs and $4/chick where I am at. $1.80/chick at the hatchery but only once a year.
press1forenglish said:
I also have questions about meat market pricing, as I see a local farm 'trying' to sell processed birds at $4.50/lb... not sure how much business they get, certainly won't get mine at $20 for a 4# bird.
Click to expand...
if it pasture raised or organic or non-GMO, it commands higher price. If you kid yourself you will be able to match supermarket prices, you must have not checked feed and processing costs yet.

:welcome
 
Welcome to Backyard Chickens!:welcome We are glad you joined the flock! BYC is a helpful site providing all of the information you need to know about poultry! There is always space for more members on the BYC roost!:highfive: Where exactly are you ordering the chicks and are they the same breed you are talking about here? If the eggs come in more quantity that is probably why. Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do!
 
CanadaEh said:
may be fertile eggs are priced per dozen? It is $12/dozen fertile eggs and $4/chick where I am at. $1.80/chick at the hatchery but only once a year.
Click to expand...
I have been seeing more than $20/dozen for eggs and about $2/chick. It just seems like incubator cost and egg hatch rate doesn't make it advantageous to even think about (unless hatching my own eggs).

CanadaEh said:
if it pasture raised or organic or non-GMO, it commands higher price. If you kid yourself you will be able to match supermarket prices, you must have not checked feed and processing costs yet.:welcome
Click to expand...
I've bought and eaten many free-range and pasture-raised birds (honestly half of them were not so great tasting, the other half were delicious), generally retail price is about $3-$3.5/lb for these. When running my own numbers (with low quantities of birds per batch) it looks like I can easily hit $3/lb with someone else doing the processing ($2.50 if I did it myself minus the equipment capitalization/depreciation). I think this particular farm might be catering to a smaller group of suckers and price gouging a bit.
 
press1forenglish said:
When running my own numbers (with low quantities of birds per batch) it looks like I can easily hit $3/lb with someone else doing the processing ($2.50 if I did it myself minus the equipment capitalization/depreciation).
Click to expand...
the processing costs is $6 per bird where I am at last time I checked. If you saying you can lower you cost by processing yourself for free, you just give away the money you would be making processing somebody else;s birds
press1forenglish said:
I think this particular farm might be catering to a smaller group of suckers and price gouging a bit.
Click to expand...
or loyal clientele who like the product
 

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