I went to town the other day....and when I got home, there was a car behind me...it slowed down...but went past the house. So I cam down the drive...and was getting out of my truck, when I see the same car, coming back down the road, and turned into my drive. I live out of town about 15 min...and DH was at work, so I tossed my purse back in the truck, grabbed my cell phone, and keys...and locked my truck. Then I realised...it was a woman, with 4 small children. She gets out and asks if I have eggs for sale....( I have a large 4ft x 4 ft sign in the front yard...with an OPEN sign hanging on it) So I go in the house, get her eggs, and when I come out, she is on the front porch....kids in tow. We exchange money and eggs...and the kids want to go see the chickens...so I tell them, they have to ask momma. Well, turns out, they are her grandkids! LOL So we go out there, and she points to the Turkeys and says " WHAT are THOSE huge things"?? I said..." ummm, Turkeys?" LOL So she proceedes to tell me, she sees a Holistic Dr, and he advised her to get fresh eggs, and meat locally, if possible...without hormones and all. She looks at me and asks if I use hormones on my birds? Ummm, no..I wouldnt even know HOW to! LOL So then she asks me if I sell "meat chickens" and wants to be put " on my list" if I do, for 12 of them. Hmmmm....I wasn't planning to sell the ones I DO get...I explained to her, I would have to get more info, on what the price might be for the meat birds. She said..." whatever you want for them, I will pay" Then wants to know if I will sell slaughtered turkeys in the fall...and how much? I told her I was thinking of trying to raise a few for meat...but wasn't sure...then she turns to me and sayd///if you want to raise them, and sell meat chickens, and turkeys....and eggs...between me and my friends who all go to this Doctor...we can keep you fresh out of supplies! So, IF I DO raise cornish cross..and turkeys for meat to sell ( I was only going to do enough for me and DH) How would I price them? Is $7.00 per chicken and $30.00 per Turkey( say between 12 and 15 pounds) a good price? Or am I hurting myself...or them?? Any advice??
How neat! I'd sell by the pound, check your local store see how much they sell for per pound and decide based on that. (your price will be more for sure) A lot of folk here can tell you how much it costs to raise a meat bird to a certain age - take that into account as well... I bet MissPrissy knows You should get the doctors name, and if you do do this, send some little flyers or something over to the doctors office, so this lady isn't your only contact. GOOD LUCK!
My buddy raises several hundred turkeys a year. He sells them for $3 a pound and has a waiting list. He doesn't process until they are over 20 pounds. He sometimes processes at 38 pounds. His demand is so high he won't sell me one. "Grow your own darn birds"
Sell them by the pound. Calculate what you expect to spend in feed and housing, etc for them. Check what the price for organic free-range birds is in the store and price them competitively. I have people asking me about my meat and eggs too. I have to tell you, it is a lot of work to process those birds if you have to do it yourself. Make the price worht your time! If you have to pay abutcher to do it for you remember to pass that cost on to the consumer as well. Once you have an idea of the cost you should inform the future buyers of the price - they may back out when they find out a chicken of your quality might run them $6 - 9 a pound or more. Can you imagine my 13lb chickens at $6-9/lb. People just blink a few times and run away. LOL
The local Save-A-Lot stores...sell whole chickens for $.99 a pound. I know I cant compete with THOSE prices. But...ours will be "pasture raised" She said she has "several friends" that would be interested as well. Oh, on another thought...is there a law against this sort of thing?? LOL Wondering if I will have to get liscenced ?? UGH, not sure I want to get into it THIS big....I just wanted a few for MY freezer. LOL On the other side....anyone have a chicken plucker for sale.... near me...CHEAP?? LOL
I paid $10 for a 5 pound chicken. And that was CHEAP because I know the lady who raised them. But it was the best dang chicken we ever had.
Don't forget that I'm already in on your meat-bird-selling scheme!! I'm excited to try a 'fresh' bird!!
Don't base your price on "normal" store bought chicken, these people are looking for something better and are prepared to pay for it. When you compare prices, look at the price for organic chicken (or what's being sold at the local farmers' market) and make your decision based on that.
Oh Jennifer, I didnt forget....well..sorta. LOL I knew there was someone who wanted some...how many did you want?? I will let you know when the butchering begins...hopeing to order them in March...I want the butchering over before it get too hot outside! LOL YOU are going to help....right??
BTW you may want to be careful about processing birds for people. We used to do that with beef and the government got mad because of health regulations. They said we could do it for ourselves but not others because our facility (basement) was not approved and inspected. They said we could cut it up for ourselves but not for selling to others, so we have people who have us take it to the butcher and others that come help out w/ the cut and wrap process. Just be aware that there may be rules for processing chickens for other people.