Is my math right??? Raising meat chicks for about $6 apiece???

[Peruvian]

It's important to consider what you are buying at the store for $.69/lb as well. How much salt solution is in that pound of chicken? How much dextrose? sodium lactate? phosphates? The USDA allows somewhere near 15% additives to 'all natural' chicken.

I don't mean to rant about additives but to try and consider the real per pound cost of what you are getting in the store. Here's a short Consumer Reports story on the subject - http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...-to-products/overview/enhanced-poultry-ov.htm

 

[UncleHoot]

Quote:
The first one we got processed, we ate fresh. I remember sniffing the chicken (prior to cooking) and realizing that it didn't have that odd smell that the grocery-store chickens have. In fact, there wasn't much smell at all, and what there was, simply smelled like MEAT. It really made me wonder...

 

[greyfields]

Our homegrown meat is dry. Grocery store chicken is wet, almost squishy, and has that watery/oily sheen to it.

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
I agree. Almost like it has been tenderized by mechanical means or it is old and breakdowning too much for firm meat.

 

[mmajw]

Our meat is very tender and juicy much better than store bought.

 

[Davaroo]

I never set out to raise birds to save money. I don't claim to be an expert. I do claim to know a thing or two about raising chickens. You can raise a good meat bird that is better quality than a commercial chicken without breaking the bank.

This is proven by the results shown here. Obviously, it is affordable. Now, is a $20 bird a good economic choice,simply because you can afford to produce it? Only the person with the money can say yes or no. I say no.
Ill put up with "inferior" store birds for $4-5 before I pat myself on the back for a $20+ homegrown bird. It's a matter of choice, of course.

I dont believe, though, that a 12lb broiler cross is common. It seems you managed it, for whatever reason, and good on you. You done good.
But even you must admit that it was outside the normal, if you add the numbers. The lengths you have gone to explaining how you did "nothing special" hints at that very thing. Most people DONT achieve that - no matter how hard they try. The average is something less than that. Maybe you have magic soil or something!

 

[MissPrissy]

I know the economic area you live in. I lived there myself for 36 years. $4 - 5 for a chicken is good. Up here you don't get chickens for that price. The economy and cost of living is crazy. I have been here 4 years now and I still have sticker shock. If I could buy a well grown, humainely raised chicken for $4 that will feed my family of 6 I would do so. It just doesn't work the same in all areas of the country.

 

[kees]

I went to the supermarket this afternoon in the Hudson Valley area and the price of an organic broiler was approximately $10. I get so sick of picking up birds that are so expensive and raised under who knows what kind of conditions. Then when I unpack the plastic , there's a paper like towel and watery blood dripping from the chicken which might or might not have a gizzard, neck, liver or heart inside. Sometimes they have multiple organs. Sometimes none. What really gets me is when I read a label that says that a bird may have an injected brine of approximately 8% to keep it flavorful!

 

[ZykloniaDark-GothikRanchr]

Quote:
HERE HERE!! My sentiments exactly! I am not raising my meat birds for anything but peace of mind, and to send a message that I am NOT buying into the factory farm. I may just be one person, but I am one person who refuses to feed my family the products of a horrible situation. I do successfully free range my broilers, but I am not trying to get them big fast. I just want to eat them eventually.

I don't buy eggs at the store, I don't eat meat from the store. If I had the means, I wouldn't ever go to the store for anything!
The cost of producing my own food for me is low compared to what I would normally be spending to perpetuate factory farms that raise low quality meat birds in despicable conditions to sell dirt cheap to people who don't know any better.

 

[mommy9994]

I got all of my coops, runs, etc. off of freecycle. An elderly couple were moving to a retirement home. They actually raised siamese cats in our now meat chicken house, and shed, and bantams in our current hen house. So I don't have any $ in those. I only have to count the cost of my birds and feed. I process myself. No way would I pay $7 per bird to process! it doesn't cost me that much to raise them! I got my birds from Meyer @ $0.93 each. I'll order 50 in the fall, and they will cost less. I figured my final birds will cost me around $5 each. Slightly more than Perdue, but worth it. I may or may not sell some to recoup some cost. I checked prices at the farmer's market, they were selling for $3.50/lb and a dozen eggs @ $3.50