Is it worth all the work?

[animalspooker]

A friend and I are looking at splitting an order of 50 meat chicks this spring, and after shopping and looking at the prices, I'm beginning to wonder if its worth all the effort? I do enjoy fresh chicken, but I'm not above eating store bought either. Is it going to be a good or bad financial effort raising my own?

Second thing, what differences are there in eating cockerels vs. pullets? I've noticed, while shopping for them, that the cockerels can be purchased (generally) for less money. Is the meat better on a pullet? Why are they cheaper?

Thanks for any help. Again, I'm just questioning the worth of doing it myself.

 

[Alaskan]

It is only worth the money if:
1. You value the way the animal was raised/treated
2. You care about knowing exactly what went into your food
3. Compare it to the cost of "free range" and "humanely treated" or "organically fed" chicken
4. Can butcher happily and quickly


The reasons the boys are less money is because all you can do is eat them. The girls could grow up and lay eggs, and THEN be eaten as wonderful soup.

 

[Alaskan]

The thing with home grown chicken is you MUST cook it at low temperatures.

Even in soup, if you let it come to a full boil then you have toughened the meat.

This is a great article:

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

 

[Beekissed]

A friend and I are looking at splitting an order of 50 meat chicks this spring, and after shopping and looking at the prices, I'm beginning to wonder if its worth all the effort? I do enjoy fresh chicken, but I'm not above eating store bought either. Is it going to be a good or bad financial effort raising my own?

Second thing, what differences are there in eating cockerels vs. pullets? I've noticed, while shopping for them, that the cockerels can be purchased (generally) for less money. Is the meat better on a pullet? Why are they cheaper?

Thanks for any help. Again, I'm just questioning the worth of doing it myself.

If you have to ask, then,no, it probably won't be worth the time, effort or money to raise your own. Raising chickens is more than about work or financial reasons, though I do feel those are important and I do not do anything I feel is going to keep losing me money and won't pay for itself, as I am much too poor to have a hobby.

If you don't mind eating store bought chicken, then it's probably cheaper just to continue to do so, though the quality is very subpar compared to home grown birds. If you were to compare the price you would pay in the store for the quality of the meat you can grow in a home setting, you'd be paying around $5 per lb. That's about average for free range birds not fed entirely on commercial feeds, not given medicines to thrive, and living a quality life in sun and fresh air. Same with eggs...they will cost you $4-$5 a doz if raised like one can at home.

Would I pay that much for them in a store? Not on your life. But comparing what you grow at home with what most people buy from the store $2 per lb chicken is like comparing apples and oranges. One is clean, fed a natural diet and lives a natural life and is humanely processed under clean conditions. It has a more rich flavor and texture because it lives longer and has a varied diet and is a healthier choice. The other? It's mushy, colorless, bland in flavor and you have to bleach everything it touches and cook it to death to feed it to your family safely.

That comes down to how healthy you want your food supply to be. Are you willing to do the work and initial expense in order to procure healthier food? How much is it worth to you to have that?

Dual Purpose cockerels are cheaper because the hatcheries have an overage of those types of cockerels and less market for them. They put on more meat and more quickly than pullets as their nutrition is going more towards meat production than are those in the females, but the females are mostly sold for egg production and thus are in more demand than their male counterparts.

When talking about purely meat breeds, the cocks will cost more than the pullets, as neither of the sexes in meat only breeds are in demand for laying and the males will finish out bigger in the end. Most go for the cheaper straight run when ordering meat only chickens.

If you have the right set up and use good flock management, it doesn't have to cost a lot or create much work to have a healthy food supply by raising your own chickens and feed costs can be offset by egg sales if you get enough birds. A bag of layer costs me $10.52 and it can last me around 45 days in the winter and about 60 days in the spring/summer/fall. I can sell eggs in my area for $2.50 and still be cheaper than the farmer's market's eggs and a flock of nine hens can produce anywhere from 27-45 eggs per week in the winter months and during molting and 45-63 eggs in peak laying months. Take away about a dozen per week for home consumption and then do the math on the approx. profits of the venture.

Even at the lowest production in the winter months of around 3 egg per week per hen, for four months of winter, I am making enough to offset cost on feed and make a profit....in peak months when feed consumption is much lower and egg production higher, much more profit. That profit buys feed, more stock, equipment and even meat breed chicks for the freezer. A good laying flock can pay for itself and other things if managed properly and it doesn't take a lot of work to do that if you've learned what you need to know.

Many a woman has provided extra money for the household and extra food to keep grocery costs down with the use of chickens over the years...it is only in this present time that people can't seem to understand that this can still be done if one is economical and thrifty in their flock management practices.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

hi, break it down. i have paid up to 8 dollars for a chicken. x 50 = 400dollars or 200 each in meat. - cost of food for what 16-18 weeks? roosters are generally tougher then hens. depends on age. it will probably come out about the same or just a bit cheaper but, you have fresh organic food that you know was raised humanly and i am sure much better for you.

 

[lvorganis]

Depending on what you feed them, the cost is about the same or even a bit higher, but knowing where your animals were raised and that they were humanely killed, so worth it.

I don't find it to be much work at all. Taking care of the chicks takes maybe fifteen minutes out of my day. The butchering is where alot of work, but that's what husbands are for, ha!

 

[animalspooker]

Depending on what you feed them, the cost is about the same or even a bit higher, but knowing where your animals were raised and that they were humanely killed, so worth it.

I don't find it to be much work at all. Taking care of the chicks takes maybe fifteen minutes out of my day. The butchering is where alot of work, but that's what husbands are for, ha!

I am the husband!

 

[lvorganis]

I am the husband!  

Well then I understand your concern about it being worth the work, haha!!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I am the husband!

sooo sorry bout your luck.

 

[enola]

Farm raised broilers taste MUCH better than store bought ones. Then there is all of the manure if you have a garden......
And if you fish chicken manure makes a great worm bed......