Does it cost more to raise a standard breed for meat?

[Bossroo]

Speaking strictly on Return On Investment... if one invests 500 pounds of feed for raising 25 Cornish X , one should expect to harvest 200 pounds of meat in 8 weeks. If the cost of the feed is $13.00 per 50 pound bag x 10 bags= $130... $130 cost of feed / 200 lbs of meat yield = $0.65/lb cost... $0.65 x 200 pounds of meat = $84.50 actual cost of meat for 25 Cornish X. If one raises 25 DP ... also takes 500 pounds of feed but takes 18-24 weeks and will yield a 3.5 pounds carcass of meat x 25= 87.5 pounds of meat. Cost of 500lb of feed is $130 /87.5lbs meat yield = $1.48 / pound cost. $1.48 x 87.5 lbs yield = $129.50 cost for 25 DP. So, 200 lbs of Cornish X meat -- 87.50 pounds of DP meat = 112.50 pounds of less meat at the cost of $ 129.50 - $84.50= $ 45.00 more actual cost for meat yield for the DP birds.

 

[silkiechicken]

And if you figure the time involved, even if you do them at 16 weeks, that is 2x of your time to get only about half the meat, with that "meat" having a greater proportion of bone mass vs eatable meat. So in reality, your 5lb meat bird can give you like 3lbs of chewable product, while even if you had a dual bird weighing in at 5lbs, chew able product may only be 2 lbs due to the increased density of the bone in an older bird as just one of the factors.

A free ranging factor to add in is that when birds are small, like 8 weeks, if they really get to free range, predation can happen and even if they eat food outside on the grass, if it is not balanced, they may take longer to gain weight, and may burn that energy running around vs eating. On the flip side, you're spreading the "work" of maintainence over twice the time, so it may feel like "less work" and "less mess".

 

[SteveH]

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I do believe its cheaper to feed out the Cornish X regardless , but DPs are can be fed out on lower , 18% protein grower formula [ lower cost per pound ] .

 

[Chicken411]

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I read an article last night about how chicken used to be prepared differently according to the age of the bird at slaughter. Now I am thinking I am going to have to give DPs another chance. Maybe I cooked it all wrong, in fact, I probably did. But I am excited to try my CX as well. They are growing like crazy and will be free-ranging in a few weeks hopefully, if the weather cooperates.

 

[Chicken411]

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Maybe your farmer friend sold you some old wore out chickens. If that was the case they should have been cooked differently. Plus chickens raised on pasture are better than those raised in confinement.

This very well could be the case. I do not know the family well and I know the chickens were raised without free ranging. I thought it odd they couldn't tell me what breed the bird was, although they honestly didn't seem to know. She looked at me funny, like she had never heard of different types of chickens.

 

[Chicken411]

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When you say your prefer an older chicken, what do you mean? They get a better flavor after so many weeks of age?

Thanks

 

[Chicken411]

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If you are figuring 500lbs for 25 cornishx, that would make the cornish x even cheaper. I can do 4 cornish x per 50lb bag of feed for 8-10 weeks, which means 500 lbs would be enough to raise 40cornish x. If a conservative final weight was 5 lbs each dressed, that would be 200lbs of meat, giving a fcr something like 2.5lbs of food per lb of meat, which I think is about right for cornish x.

FCR? Do you do a lot of free ranging, is that why you use less feed for your birds? What kind of a feed schedule do you do? Seems like you are very familiar with CX.

 

[silkiechicken]

When the farmer sold you the birds... did they age them or did they expect you to age them before cooking? If you didn't age, that could explain the toughness, and if they were older, they could have thought you wanted a fresh bird for stew. Breed doesn't really matter that much on flavor, and a lot of flocks are just mutts from breeds tossed together and hatched out. It's the age. When birds are older, they collect up more proteins and other stuff in their tissues. So a 8 week old cornish x will likely taste pretty similar to an 8 week old "dual", while a 16 week old cornish x will taste like a 16 week old dual. Just the quantity of meat differs between the age. But of course, different people will have different opinions.

FCR = feed conversion ratio, feed per lb of weight.

I'm not a meat bird expert by any means, just raise a few bathes a year when I was back home. I grow them up in tractor style houses outside starting as day olds and open the door to free range at about 3 weeks old. Day's in the 40's, nights in the 30's for the time of year I usually raised them. Even though they range, they do burn energy ranging, and often rainginig is just on dirt when their walking and pooping kill the grass in the range they venture on to. Even though they are big, one has to remember they literally are big babies. They only go as far and forage as well as 8 week old babies of any other type. Their weight usually keeps them close to home and heat so they don't go to the extremes of the property. I think the rainging is best for their health due to increased space, but don't consider the ranging as any significant part of their diet. I actually think the ones who range the most actually grow slower. Commercially I think the FCR is pretty close to 2lbs feed per lb. They are kept at a constant humidity and temperature though so never have to spend energy keeping warm.

As for feeding, I just keep food and water high so they not only have to stand and eat, but stand and stretch up to eat. That way they have to walk between food and water, and can't eat while sitting/sleeping. Opening the door gives them a distraction from food so they don't eat out of boredom, and by taking light away at 6 weeks, they only have the chance to eat when the sun is up. Of course though, everyone will need to try a few batches to figure out what works best for them.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

I raised some Dixie Rainbows (kinda like a ranger meat bird) last year and I am raising Cornish xs this year. It seems to me that I am going to spend less time and feed (therefore money) in getting the Cornish to market weight.

 

[Chicken411]

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You'll have to let me know which one you think tastes better after you've tried your CX.