How to sell meat birds

[Cass208]

Hello ! I am new here, my husband and I are pilots who retired to be farmers, and have geese, ducks and chickens that we want to have a business of free range organic meat and egg birds. Birds are all doing great, but the next stage, how to develop clients. We also do not want to process our birds, and prefer to sell them live, but want to make sure they are humanely treated.
Advice please? Thanks so much!

 

[CluckerFamily]

I haven't heard of people selling the birds live. In Wisconsin, it is cheaper to have the birds processed in bulk or by paying per pound, we also have people in the area that will take a cut of the processed birds as their payment. If selling for this reason, you may have to look into laws on this, our huge family normally sells to each other so there are no issues or we put the birds in the freezer to last a year.

 

[Cass208]

I haven't heard of people selling the birds live. In Wisconsin, it is cheaper to have the birds processed in bulk or by paying per pound, we also have people in the area that will take a cut of the processed birds as their payment. If selling for this reason, you may have to look into laws on this, our huge family normally sells to each other so there are no issues or we put the birds in the freezer to last a year.

Thanks, Iso then you recomend having them

 

[Cass208]

Thanks, so then you recomend having them processed first. Ok, we will find local processors, we are just concerned that the birds be treated humanely.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Thanks, Iso then you recomend having them

I'm not sure... I have never butchered my chickens, they are my pets... I'm just not sure if you would have a lot of business if they have to pay you for the birds and then either pay to process the birds or do it themselves.
Process first is my recommendation but others may have different ideas.

 

[iwltfum]

Interesting idea to not butcher them at all. Saves you a ton of work thats for sure. Finding customers for a niche market that want to butcher their own purchased chickens in a rural state will probably be the most difficult part of making this happen. It will take many hours of networking and groundwork. Going to regional food/farming conferences would be a great idea, especially if they specifically mention livestock and/or poultry raising. Advertise at your local feed stores and maybe set up a booth at a farmers market (where you wouldn't sell anything you would just talk to people and see if there is interest in what you are attempting to do. The people that will be interested in this type of deal will probably be avid farmers market attenders.

 

[3KillerBs]

Very few people want to process their own chickens.

I have heard that there are some exceptions to that rule in certain ethnic communities, but know nothing about how a person not part of those communities would access those markets.

 

[Acre4Me]

make sure they are humanely treated.

A meat bird isn't going to be tortured - generally, if you were to sell a meat bird (often assumed a Cornish X or a Ranger) then they will be taken home, and processed shortly. People generally use a quick method to cull, and anyone with experience knows the process goes smoothly when birds are calm and deed is quick.

If you are raising random males and calling them "meat birds" than you are at risk of selling them to those who are involved in cock fighting. However, they are the minority of buyers.

If you are thinking they are going to be sold to relatively inexperienced people, then you could provide a training class for inexperienced people so you can teach them the most humane method of treating and processing a meat bird, people generally stick with what they know and you would be giving them the know-how.

You could sell live birds at an auction - but selling price is determined by who is there and bidding.

You could sell live birds to people who feed their dogs a "raw diet". I know of a quail farm that would sell some of the extra males to people who fed a "raw diet" to their dogs.

However, selling processed meat is another matter.

What state are you in? I'm in Ohio, and I can sell a large number of processed birds from my "doorstep" to individuals without having a bunch of oversight or paperwork, but cannot sell to businesses, restaurants, etc. But all states differ in these types of rules. You should call your extension office to see what the rules are in your state.

Selling the processed meat by the pound is generally going to net you the highest price.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

Yes, where are you is an important question. Location is important for many different reasons. If we knew where you are somebody might have local knowledge that could help. If you modify your profile to show a general location that information is always available.

If you are in the US, each individual state will have its own regulations. I suggest you call your county extension office and talk to them. They won't know all this off the top of their head but they should be able to hook you up with people that do know. This is not only regulations but the extension office may be able to help you with developing a market and help you in actually raising them.

Usually the regulations get more restrictive as the volume increases. Smaller operations often get exemptions on parts of the regulations. If your business crosses state lines things can change. To me knowing the regulations as you plan is of prime importance. It sounds like you are already raising birds so all this may be late.

If you are in another country I don't have a clue how it will work. Maybe contact your agricultural ministry or the equivalent.

Are you already certified organic? It's often a 5 year process to gain that certification, you need the records to prove you have been using organic methods that long to clean up your soil. But check with your certifying organization. If you start with baby chicks that you hatch or get them before anybody feeds them anything non-organic approved you may be OK.

You are talking about a niche market. I still suggest contacting your county extension office if you are in the US, they may be able to really help. Marketing the eggs may be easier than the meat.

In addition to what's been mentioned above one possible customer could be local restaurants. Many "niche" restaurants get their chickens locally. They probably already have suppliers but see if you can fit into that supply chain. The chef's usually want a certain type of chicken raised a certain way but it's worth a try. Also, if you have "organic" or "natural" stores in your area see where they get their meat. Since you want to sell live birds you will probably need to work through their processors or suppliers.

I don't know what kind of scale you are talking about. Since you are retired are you talking about a hobby just mainly for fun or are you wanting to make serious money? If it's more of a hobby and you mainly want to cover expenses talk to your local food bank. Maybe they would have ideas.

Edited to add: I don't have a clue how much you already know or what you have already done. All we can do is assume. I'm not trying to be insulting.

Also, since you mentioned free range as well as organic, if you decide to be certified it will probably take a long time. Definitely talk to your local certifying authority as they are the ones that have to sign the papers, but if that ground they are free ranging on isn't already certified you probably need to keep records to show it has been cleaned up.

 

[Cass208]

I'm not sure... I have never butchered my chickens, they are my pets... I'm just not sure if you would have a lot of business if they have to pay you for the birds and then either pay to process the birds or do it themselves.
Process first is my recommendation but others may have different ideas.

Thank you, I never have either, this is brand new for us.