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I was following ya... Just throwing some additional thoughts in there.
I was following ya... Just throwing some additional thoughts in there.
How much does it cost to raise a meat chicken?
- Thread starter ChickenJill
- Start date
Now how about the other side.. wouldn't you have to figgure in the cost of your car ,its gas ,and the impact on the carbon cycle when you buy the store bought chicken ? If everything I did was cost picky-ized I probaly would only eat off the dollar menu.
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No, because you'd be going to the store anyway for other items.
It's in my nature to analyze such things. Beside that I also have a working farm. I spent over $300k on this place with half of that being the costs associated with land and barns for business (egg production). It is not a country estate just for my recreation. The farm side has to pay for its portion of land, barns, farm insurance, property taxes, utilities, mortgage interest, etc, otherwise I would not be able to afford to live here. I keep good books to know how well that is working out for me and to avoid overpaying the IRS.
We all cost analyze every time we buy something. If you stepped into a store to buy a soda and the clerk asked you for $5.00 wouldn't you have some questions there? In answering the OP's post what if we had said that the costs are close to $2 / lb? What about $3 or $5 / lb? What is your breaking point?
So, in answering the OP's question we have said "No, it's not quite that much for chicks and feed, but don't forget about other costs that will be incurred". Realistically one should include bedding, utilities, packaging, and other expendables.
No, because you'd be going to the store anyway for other items.
It's in my nature to analyze such things. Beside that I also have a working farm. I spent over $300k on this place with half of that being the costs associated with land and barns for business (egg production). It is not a country estate just for my recreation. The farm side has to pay for its portion of land, barns, farm insurance, property taxes, utilities, mortgage interest, etc, otherwise I would not be able to afford to live here. I keep good books to know how well that is working out for me and to avoid overpaying the IRS.
We all cost analyze every time we buy something. If you stepped into a store to buy a soda and the clerk asked you for $5.00 wouldn't you have some questions there? In answering the OP's post what if we had said that the costs are close to $2 / lb? What about $3 or $5 / lb? What is your breaking point?
So, in answering the OP's question we have said "No, it's not quite that much for chicks and feed, but don't forget about other costs that will be incurred". Realistically one should include bedding, utilities, packaging, and other expendables.
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No, because you'd be going to the store anyway for other items.
It's in my nature to analyze such things. Beside that I also have a working farm. I spent over $300k on this place with half of that being the costs associated with land and barns for business (egg production). It is not a country estate just for my recreation. The farm side has to pay for its portion of land, barns, farm insurance, property taxes, utilities, mortgage interest, etc, otherwise I would not be able to afford to live here. I keep good books to know how well that is working out for me and to avoid overpaying the IRS.
We all cost analyze every time we buy something. If you stepped into a store to buy a soda and the clerk asked you for $5.00 wouldn't you have some questions there? In answering the OP's post what if we had said that the costs are close to $2 / lb? What about $3 or $5 / lb? What is your breaking point?
So, in answering the OP's question we have said "No, it's not quite that much for chicks and feed, but don't forget about other costs that will be incurred". Realistically one should include bedding, utilities, packaging, and other expendables.
Do I need 100000 in expended to grow a few chicken in my yard no I already have a business was looking for a hobby
I do believe he asked about raising a few birds for his needs not about starting a full blown chicken ranch.
No, because you'd be going to the store anyway for other items.
It's in my nature to analyze such things. Beside that I also have a working farm. I spent over $300k on this place with half of that being the costs associated with land and barns for business (egg production). It is not a country estate just for my recreation. The farm side has to pay for its portion of land, barns, farm insurance, property taxes, utilities, mortgage interest, etc, otherwise I would not be able to afford to live here. I keep good books to know how well that is working out for me and to avoid overpaying the IRS.
We all cost analyze every time we buy something. If you stepped into a store to buy a soda and the clerk asked you for $5.00 wouldn't you have some questions there? In answering the OP's post what if we had said that the costs are close to $2 / lb? What about $3 or $5 / lb? What is your breaking point?
So, in answering the OP's question we have said "No, it's not quite that much for chicks and feed, but don't forget about other costs that will be incurred". Realistically one should include bedding, utilities, packaging, and other expendables.
Do I need 100000 in expended to grow a few chicken in my yard no I already have a business was looking for a hobby
I do believe he asked about raising a few birds for his needs not about starting a full blown chicken ranch.
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So I guess this thread doesn't apply to you. She was asking, so it would seem that cost is a matter of concern to her. She didn't mention a hobby where the cost is of no consequence. I weighed in with some experience gained by analyzing our farm business which brought about some good conversation with other folks.
So I guess this thread doesn't apply to you. She was asking, so it would seem that cost is a matter of concern to her. She didn't mention a hobby where the cost is of no consequence. I weighed in with some experience gained by analyzing our farm business which brought about some good conversation with other folks.
Here's the bottom line:
If you only count the costs of buying a chick and feeding it to finish weight and processing it yourself, you probably spent about $6 a bird for a cornish rock hybrid that you raise to seven weeks of age.
If you count the amortized costs of housing the bird, providing water, electricity and the miscellaneous equipment associated with raising and processing a small flock of chickens, it probably costs you $9 a bird.
If you impute your labor costs at minimum wage, it probably cost you $15 a bird.
If you allocate the costs of your land, taxes, insurance, vehicle use, financing costs, etc., it probably cost you $20 a bird.
Take your pick. These are round numbers and may be a little off but they serve to illustrate my point.
Any of these methodologies is 'correct' in some sense, although taking into account all the costs gives you an accurate picture of how well you're competing against a true commercial operation where they have to measure these costs to produce the broiler you find in your supermarket (plus other costs you're not incurring such as marketing and advertising). The huge economies of scale that commercial producers enjoy allow them to sell at wholesale for 75¢ a pound the same chicken you're raising for almost $7 a pound.
My advice is: Don't raise chickens if you're doing it to save money. If you 1) just like raising chickens, 2) want to raise healthier and happier birds, 3) want to eat better-tasting chicken meat, or 4) enjoy being self-sufficient and sticking it to The Man, then by all means raise your own meat birds. These are all great reasons to keep raising meat birds.
I wouldn't kid yourself that it can be justified on purely a financial basis. You can never compete on price against an industry that raised 36.9 BILLION pounds of broilers last year:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/News/broilercoverage.htm
If you only count the costs of buying a chick and feeding it to finish weight and processing it yourself, you probably spent about $6 a bird for a cornish rock hybrid that you raise to seven weeks of age.
If you count the amortized costs of housing the bird, providing water, electricity and the miscellaneous equipment associated with raising and processing a small flock of chickens, it probably costs you $9 a bird.
If you impute your labor costs at minimum wage, it probably cost you $15 a bird.
If you allocate the costs of your land, taxes, insurance, vehicle use, financing costs, etc., it probably cost you $20 a bird.
Take your pick. These are round numbers and may be a little off but they serve to illustrate my point.
Any of these methodologies is 'correct' in some sense, although taking into account all the costs gives you an accurate picture of how well you're competing against a true commercial operation where they have to measure these costs to produce the broiler you find in your supermarket (plus other costs you're not incurring such as marketing and advertising). The huge economies of scale that commercial producers enjoy allow them to sell at wholesale for 75¢ a pound the same chicken you're raising for almost $7 a pound.
My advice is: Don't raise chickens if you're doing it to save money. If you 1) just like raising chickens, 2) want to raise healthier and happier birds, 3) want to eat better-tasting chicken meat, or 4) enjoy being self-sufficient and sticking it to The Man, then by all means raise your own meat birds. These are all great reasons to keep raising meat birds.
I wouldn't kid yourself that it can be justified on purely a financial basis. You can never compete on price against an industry that raised 36.9 BILLION pounds of broilers last year:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/News/broilercoverage.htm
Heavily cropped:
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That's why I do it!
But seriously, it is wanting healthier, better tasting chicken too, and knowing exactly the environment it was raised in and exactly what I've fed it. Same with beef, pork, and lamb. All purchased from farmers we know (or we have raised ourselves) so we know exactly what to expect.
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We can quibble about fine-points, and the nickle-dime aspects of accounting, but as a general statement, I really agree with this, including the rough-estimate figures of how much it costs, depending on what expenses and capitol investments you include in that calculation. It's hard to compete with the big industrial producers, but if you take other factors into consideration, and not just price, it can still make sense to raise your own. There are ways to economize on your back-yard production, but ultimately, it's a different product than what you get at the grocery store, so a simple cost comparison doesn't tell the whole story.
We can quibble about fine-points, and the nickle-dime aspects of accounting, but as a general statement, I really agree with this, including the rough-estimate figures of how much it costs, depending on what expenses and capitol investments you include in that calculation. It's hard to compete with the big industrial producers, but if you take other factors into consideration, and not just price, it can still make sense to raise your own. There are ways to economize on your back-yard production, but ultimately, it's a different product than what you get at the grocery store, so a simple cost comparison doesn't tell the whole story.
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My two cents worth would be for newbies to follow this guide that Mac already has put in place. Many don't consider the other expenses such as insurance, taxes, land, ect. because it's going to exist wether the chickens are there or not. Most hobby farms exist because it's like fishing or crafts in a sense... it's a hobby... not a business.
Is $12.00 / chicken high? Yes. Big Red showed where you can save. Chick cost and feed cost, it shouldn't be more then $8.00 / bird on a hobby farm level.
My two cents worth would be for newbies to follow this guide that Mac already has put in place. Many don't consider the other expenses such as insurance, taxes, land, ect. because it's going to exist wether the chickens are there or not. Most hobby farms exist because it's like fishing or crafts in a sense... it's a hobby... not a business.
Is $12.00 / chicken high? Yes. Big Red showed where you can save. Chick cost and feed cost, it shouldn't be more then $8.00 / bird on a hobby farm level.
I just took some frozen stewing hens over to the neighbor. He looked at the heat-shrink bags and wanted to know how much I was paying for them because the bags he uses for freezing wild game are getting too expensive...
Now how relevant is that to this conversation?
The darn things cost money!
Now how relevant is that to this conversation?
The darn things cost money!
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