how much to charge

[duckidaho]

If one just happened to be selling a meat bird to an acquaintance, how much would they charge per bird?

We'll be raising "label rouge" free range meat birds that take 12 weeks to reach butcher weight. Not as fast as a cornishX. I have no idea what the feed cost might be. Chicks are between $1.50 and $2.00 depending on how many we get at any one time. The local health food store charges...get this...$15.00 for a free range organic bird. Ours would not be fed organic feed, nor are we certified organic. Guesses?

thanks, duck

 

[TimG]

I'd set a price of something like $10-$12 per bird (including processing) and let your acquaintances know that you are doing this as something of an trial run. Then I'd keep track of costs and adjust my price as needed for future batches.

ETA: $15/organic bird sounds pretty cheap, unless of course, they're tiny.

 

[Charlene]

Actually, you can get an industrial organic bird at Costco, 2 pack runs about $20. This is pretty cheap, and I don't know how well they really treat them. In my area, you can get a local organic, free range bird for $4/lb. So that is about double the Costco price. I'm in the SF Bay Area.

 

[95yj]

organic means nothing if their still kept in the industrial raising facilities, it just means that their fed certified organic food, their still raised exactly the same way they just have a label. I'd much rather support local entrepreneurs.

 

[protodon]

I have yet to even get my birds but I give potential customers a price of $2/lb and that seems to be way to much according to most them. I live in a somewhat rural area but I'm not far from many big cities. I know people are just comparing prices to supermarket birds and I tell them they are not the same. I'm not sure why people are coming to get free-range birds from me at supermarket prices. I have the same problem with my egg prices($2/dozen). The supermarket is only 5 minutes from me so it isn't a matter of convenience. I will never understand how people think.