Does raising DP for meat equal out?

[homesteadapps]

Here's a post from us that shows a cost comparison of Cornish X and Heritage Dual Purpose Breeds.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5528345

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
Wow, I'll use your chart as a guide...gonna take a bit but I really want to figure it out.Thanks a bunch! I know it's extremely controversial but I wondered how come it would be MORE expensive if you're doing it all yourself...raising,processing...etc. I mean,is it MORE expensive to grow your own veggies than to purchase?I know that would be a broad comparison but it just seems to me that there would have to be plenty of ways to "cut back" on cost and still raise healthy sized birds to eat.If you raise them yourself,there's really no transporting,no hired hand to pay,no accountant to keep track of your business,no health insurance premiums,no really extensive equipment to buy/maintain,no extra shots of this and that to process the meat..(all of which MUST go into your purchase from the store,right?They'd have to cover it somehow..(I of course mean all of this not counting your time as money.(which I only do at work

)
Like I've said many times on here...I am NEW to this and very limited and naive,even, but it just seems illogical that it would be MORE expensive to do it all yourself.
OK...everyone can commence to set me straight..(Drumroll).....................

..NOW....!!!

 

[Jared77]

The big businesses make their money on volume. They grow their own food, so their costs are driven to an absolute minimum. I wouldn't doubt it if they have lines that produce probably even faster that what we can get our hands on. We'll never know but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I think its possible but likely? Probably not for most folks. But the immeasureables such as quality, and healthy chicken are something you can't put a price on. Its all in whats acceptable to you and your family.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
I know there are some commercial strains only offered to commercial growers , but they were developed with the market for boneless , processed products like chicken nuggets in mind . Most of us want a carcass that looks good and not concerned with meat to bone ratios . I have to say though that I don't know if any of the newest , most efficient strains are available to the hatcheries who , in turn , make them available to us .

 

[NonnasBabies]

I rasied 7 black sex links and processed them at 5 months and the largest one dressed out at 3lbs 3.3 oz. They were fed starter till all of them went on layer feed and then they were fed that. I'll be doing some more this year and plan to feed them a game bird feed and see what difference it makes. All these are extra roos from hatches. I KNOW that it's cheaper to raise cornish X. But I would still have to buy them vs the extras I use! When I hatch out eggs I can't keep all the extra roos so what do YOU do with them if you don't raise them for meat???

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Quote:
I would say Yes, the industrial growers have a better strain than the typical hatchery CornX. We had NO leg problems, but they were sensitive to temperature changes.

One family got attached to the birds, and did not process until they were near turkey sized (several more months). It was reported they were still tender and delicious.

We also raise DP breeds. We eat our surplus DP roos. I have to admit to eat I prefer the CornX, because I like breast meat, and the DP Roos are more expensive to get there. But the DP roos are more interesting to raise with a lot more personality and behaviors. The CornX just eat and squat.

So I would continue to raise and eat your hatched roos, but do not expect to save money over bought chicken unless you can find a free source of food for them. All that labor, medical and such that you talked about saving by working to raise your own birds, you are instead having to spend on the folks producing your bagged feed. That is the expensive bit you have to replace.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Quote:

The big commercial companies will buy thousands of chicks at a time and get huge quantity discounts.

They will buy a LOT of feed in bulk directly from the processor and save a lot of money there.

They use the very best strains of feed-efficient super-meaty grow-fast birds. DP birds are not near as feed efficient as a Cornish X.

They use machines to do a lot of the work. They have a mechanical plucker, mechanical gutter, a conveyor belt that keeps the feed moving when the birds are chicks to make them want to eat more, and many other machines.

Tyson and all of the other big companies receive many government grants, which in turn allows them to sell the birds much cheaper than they otherwise would. Same is true with eggs.

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:

The big commercial companies will buy thousands of chicks at a time and get huge quantity discounts.

They will buy a LOT of feed in bulk directly from the processor and save a lot of money there.

They use the very best strains of feed-efficient super-meaty grow-fast birds. DP birds are not near as feed efficient as a Cornish X.

They use machines to do a lot of the work. They have a mechanical plucker, mechanical gutter, a conveyor belt that keeps the feed moving when the birds are chicks to make them want to eat more, and many other machines.

Tyson and all of the other big companies receive many government grants, which in turn allows them to sell the birds much cheaper than they otherwise would. Same is true with eggs.

.....So there's a chicken version of Wally World?

That's soooo wrong!

 

[deerman]

Quote:
I was going to post , this same info.

I checked into this, yes they bring you the chicks, then the feed, then come and pick up the chicken at butchering time.(they bring the trucks and mean people to load)

Then pay so much the differents of chickem weight ver feed weight , they gave you. If you lost many less pay for you. Your pay would be lucky to be in .20 cents per birds, so only way to make money is to raise thousands , like 10,000.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I just skimmed this so I may have missed it but I didn't see anybody mention other ways to offset your feed costs.

For example, we have a flock of Buff Orpingtons and they are a very popular breed in this area. Our first batch of chicks hatched last weekend and have been all presold even before we set the eggs as are the next probably 3 hatches. We get $2 per chick straight run and we sell every one we hatch from Jan until June when we shut everything down. You can't do that with a cross.

Steve