Cost of cornishX

[jaku]

Quote:
Haha, I was waiting for that one! To clarify, I sell my birds live- as in, if someone chooses, they can come pick it up before processing. I have a box on my order form that people check if they want it processed. The reason is that there are no laws against selling live chickens, nor are there regulations on processing birds for free. BUT, to do it that way, you have to actually mean it. I don't sell a single bird after it's processed- preorders only, and my birds are always picked up fresh, not frozen.

Do you actually make any profit selling for $10 per bird? I don't plan on selling my birds but was curious if there was profit.

I haven't done my official numbers yet for this spring's batch, but I'll probably end up making about $2/bird. The way I figure it, I take orders, sell a few, and get the whole flock paid for with a little bit extra. It doesn't cause me any extra work to do 50 than it would have to do 25, and I get free chicken all year plus a little bit of cash in my pocket!

 

[Teach97]

Had a student here raise some and he sold his for (I think) $8 a bird. He turned a profit.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

When feed was cheap I would sell for $8.00 / bird and would sell 7 lb birds.... I was young maybe 16 or so... now that I look back on it I didn't make squat! Just enough to feed the addiction and eventually I learned how to make a profit.

The key is to process them when they reach optimium size. Those big 6-10 lb dressed weight birds are great if your doing them for your family but you can't turn much of a profit on them. Instead stick to the 3.5 to 4.5 fryer size.

For example, a 6.5 week old broiler should weigh about 5.25 lbs live weight. This will give you a bird that is between the "optimum" weight for turning a profit.

A 6.5 bird is still growing extrmely fast and you get the best FCR at this age.... for me its about 8 lbs of feed for an average dressed weight of 3.7 lbs. If you do the math.... you make plenty of money to make it worth your while.

Cost....

$0.76 for a chick ( a lot cheaper if I could get them from my normal hatchery)

$0.76 for feed to get to 3.75 lbs or so....

$1.50 for processing

$3.50 for my labor... (if your doing this for profit you must include your labor... your not free!!!)

Total cost: $6.52 / bird.

Buisness profit: $3.48 / bird.


SO I make my personal money for my time and processing.... and the rest goes into the buisness account for reinvesting or other expenses....