How much does it cost to raise a meat chicken?

[KenK]

Quote:
Only a miniscule portion of the population is willing to pay more. The great majority of people think grocery store chicken is just fine.

I think there are a great many good reasons to raise chickens, I just don't think that for most people saving money is one of them.

When somebody asks "how much does it cost" I automatically assume they are concerned with the cost.

 

[Bossroo]

Quote:
I respectfuly disagree with this type of cost calculation. No business will survive very long and no respectable accountant would condone this type of accounting. With this type of reasoning, no wonder the economy is in the state it is in today!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
I only included my direct expenses and didn't include the cost of equipment, barn, farm insurance, property taxes, etc that were fixed assets or expenses that I would have paid anyway had I not raised broilers.

I had expenses directly related to the broilers beyond chicks and feed:

Bedding
Electricity
Propane
Packaging
Mileage

These all thinned my wallet.

 

[karenbrat1]

On Welp's website http://www.welphatchery.com/cornish_rock.asp and in their catalog they have a nice little chart showing approximate weight of Cornish Cross broiler males and females, daily feed intake, and cumulative feed intake, for ages one week through 9 weeks. For example, according to the chart, 15 lbs of feed should give you a roughly 7 lb. female or 8 lb. male at 7-8 weeks age.

For the broilers I buy commercial bagged feed because they need that high protein level. Two years ago I kept good records and it cost me $6.25 per bird for chick and feed cost. I did not weigh the finished birds but they were much larger than your standard 3-4 lb. supermarket size. Of course that price does not take into account the cost of the brooder box, brooder lights and hovers, electricity, chick feeders and waterers, bedding, larger outdoor pen after 3 weeks, full size feeders and waterers, propane/electricity and ice at butchering time, or my labor.

Not to mention the cost of building a Whizbang chicken plucker, which though fantastic, costs a heckuva lot more than the author quotes unless you happen to have a lot of lumber, hardware, a plastic barrel and a spare motor laying around. Having to purchase everything, it cost well over $700 to build. I need to raise and butcher all of our poultry for a long time to make back the plucker cost, but the flavor of the homegrown poultry is worth it. (Homegrown pork is amazingly tastier than storebought, too, even if all they get is commercial feed with some garden/kitchen scraps and hay thrown in.)

Karen B in northern Idaho

 

[FeedYourself]

Quote:
Probably. But the last four I butchered dressed out at a whopping 7 pounds. They are small turkey carcasses. And that isn't 15% water weight like store bought chicken. It's amazing how much farther the equivalent sized home raised chicken will stretch. Even the soup stock is more concentrated than when I make it from store bought. Mine didn't have a good feed conversion ratio this summer due to the heat but they still grew enormous. I kept putting off butchering the last group in the batch because of the 115 degree heat wave in August. Finally, at about 12 weeks, it was obvious that I couldn't wait anymore. I lost one that last week, probably due to heat stroke or heart failure. It was 119 the day I lost her, a record hot day in Phoenix.

Absolutely correct. The home-grown stretch to 3-4 meals! They taste different (better in my opinion), and I know what they have eaten.

My last batch 2b harvested Oct 15 will cost around $1.35/lb. Worth every penny.

 

[homesteadapps]

Quote:
I only included my direct expenses and didn't include the cost of equipment, barn, farm insurance, property taxes, etc that were fixed assets or expenses that I would have paid anyway had I not raised broilers.

I had expenses directly related to the broilers beyond chicks and feed:

Bedding
Electricity
Propane
Packaging
Mileage

These all thinned my wallet.

Mac I too calculate this way too and what you are figuring is the Cost Of Goods which in this case are all variable costs.

A variable cost analysis also uses these same costs to compare raising dual purpose verses Cornish hybrids.
Example: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5529058

He, I most of the rest of us know that the other costs are there but are the cost of having the building on our property regardless.

He is showing the variable or direct cost raising chicks. Variable costs are those that increase with the more chicks or decrease with less chicks raised.

Fixed cost on the other hand are cost that do do change regardless of how many chicks are being raised; such as, property taxes, repairs, depreciation, insurance, etc...

---------------

As far as electric goes it can be both a fixed cost and a variable cost. The barn/coop outdoor light would be a fixed cost but the brooder lamp would be a direct cost.

NOW if you want to really break down detail to figure costs and get down right ridiculous about it then keep reading.

If you want to know the exact cost of electric it is easy to figure.

These brooding lamp costs are based on the outdoor temp being constantly below 75F

150 Watt Bulb X 28 days X 24 hours/1000 = 100 KW ()
250 Watt Bulb X 28 days X 24 hours/1000 = 168 KW (Good for up to 75 chicks, add 1 chick for each degree above 50F)

100 KW X $0.11 cost = $11.00
168 KW X $0.11 cost = $18.48

A 250-watt heat lamp suspended 18-24 inches over the brooding area that is completely surrounded by a draft guard 12-18 inches high will brood 75 chicks at 50F minimum room temperature.
By looking at these figures I can see that for fewer than 25 chicks the 150 watt bulb may be a better choice. at 25 chicks using a 150 watt lamp the cost per chick is $0.44 but using the larger lamp would cost $0.74

Now if raising 75 chicks the 250 is the better solution at just $0.24 per bird.

So by looking at these figures can be useful but are not completely necessary.

Now depreciation could be figured this way too but it isn't a generally accepted method since depreciation by nature is a current (this years) cost of a longer term asset and the cost is there irregardless of a full or empty coop.


Edited about feed costs.
Some posters say that cost doesn't matter at all. I don't think this is the right approach either since be shopping around for better feed at the same or even lower price I can raise more chickens or other animals for the same costs. There is also hidden value in purchasing from a local mill such as the mill operator getting to know you and your animals and can offer suggestions to help you improve your animals and efficiency.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Yes, I take these all into account on our layer operation, except for depreciation. Depreciation is shown for tax purposes, but it makes no sense to me to include it in a profit and loss statement when I'm looking at how well we are doing. I'm not really spending $8,000 a year for 10 years on a layer barn. It makes more sense to just realize that part of my profit goes to pay the principal on the note for the layer barn and that I have a certain amount of equity in that layer barn, the value of which will probably appreciate over time.

If you want to know the exact cost of electric it is easy to figure.

Yes, that's how I arrived at my $15.00 estimate for electricity for the broilers. I worked as a power linesman and electrician in a previous life. The previous owner just estimated the expense of electricity for the layer barn. I installed a meter in there and calculate the portion of our bill that is a business expense.

Some posters say that cost doesn't matter at all.

??? I was seriously considering not raising broilers this fall because the cost of feed had risen 25% since spring. Until I hit the lottery, I still have to fit such projects into my budget.​

 

[homesteadapps]

I agree with your costing calculations -- very similar to ours... Wasn't disagreeing with your post. In fact, I was trying show some evidence of how right you calculations really are.

When I was referring to some posters: It was other posts, even in different threads, saying that cost didn't matter to them, well they do matter to me and plenty of others too.

Again about the feed. The point I was making is if I can have or make mixed feed for a little over $8.00 per 50 lb bag then I can raise more chickens than if I just buy prepared commercial feed.

The real question is Why should I pay $15.00 for commercial feed when I can find feed of equal or better quality for 1/2 the price. After all companies like Hubbard, Kent, etc... sell concentrate protein mixes to the mill so that all the necessary vitamins, minerals, etc are included in the feed.

We raise a lot of Dual Purpose birds for meat. The Buckeye and White Rocks are our personal favorite for this, but we still raise some Cornish X each year to stock the freezer and go to the fair.

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
So what's your ration thats only costing you 8.00 per bag? At 7.50+ corn, you can barely make that ration with straight shelled corn- put in about a dollar a bag for bagging, mixing, and the bag, and you're already over the 8.00 mark.

I mix my own ration, and it comes out to about $12/ bag, which is .50 less than the bags that the elevator sells.

I guess what I'm saying is.. I don't believe you are buying any kind of properly formulated, higher percent protein feed for $8.

 

[homesteadapps]

Where we reside:
Corn today is $6.58 per bushel 56 lbs.
Wheat today is $5.97 per bushel 60 lbs

Concentrate 12.00 per 50 lb bag

Mixing costs $10.00.

A 500 lb batch of 18.55% protein mix can be made for 83.65 where we are using 3 bushels wheat, 3 bushels corn, 3 50lb bags concentrate.

Thats 8.35 per bag.

It's only a couple of dollars more per batch if you skip the wheat and just use corn.

A 500 lb batch of 18.00% protein mix can be made for 87.00 where we are using 6.25 bushels corn, 3 50lb bags concentrate.
Thats 8.70 per bag.


We used a 500 lb batch which we figure for 25 chicks.



Edited to add:

You can also save by boiling soybeans. In any case never use raw soybeans -- use either roasted or boiled.


PROTEIN CONCENTRATES

Hubbard:

Homestead Chick-En-Egg

Concentrate:
Purpose concentrate designed to make complete feeds for starting
growing chicks, broilers, and laying hens

http://www.homesteadfeeds.com/Poultry/chick_en_eggconcentrate.html


Kent

See the Poultry base or the Premix 240

http://www.kentfeeds.com/products/poultry/other/poultry-Other.php