Meat birds for me and my dogs :)

[lolita117]

How much is grower/finisher going for at your feed store? According to AbbyDog, it looks like about 12 pounds of feed per bird to butchering age. DianeS had 17 pounds feed per bird.

Okay I did my number with the 17 pounds per bird:

Meyer Hatchery - 25 birds plus shipping = $46.88, this is 1.88 per chick. Let round to $47.00 (These are white broilers)

17 pounds per bird times 25 birds = 425 pounds of feed. My bags come in 50lbs so lets say 450 pounds.

Cost of feed is ~$12.00/50lb so 450 pounds = 9 bags X 12 = $108.00

Let say I let these birds get around 6 pounds dressed weight. My total cost of the birds plus food = $155

My total poundage not including all my innards I get to keep: 25 birds X 6 pounds = 150 pounds

Total cost divided by total pounds: $155/150 = $1.03 per pound. Also remember I rounded up the cost of my feed up 25 pounds and not including all those goody insides I get to keep. So wouldn't $1.03 be a reasonable number?

I can see how some of you get up to $2.50 per pound with feed cost because your feed is much more expensive. But I buy the cheapest. Also I wonder if the 17 pounds per bird is allowed to be on grass? Mine definitely will be, just because the kind of housing will be a large movable tractor. So if the 17 pounds of feed is not on grass then maybe my cost will be even lower.

 

[wyoDreamer]

$12 for 50 pounds is a really good price!

Average between the two I quoted: is 14.5 pounds of feed per bird
$12 per 50 pound bag = $0.24 per pound of feed

(14.5 pounds of feed / bird) X ($0.24 / pound of feed) = $3.48 per bird to raise to butchering age.

 

[Oregon Blues]

If it is for dog food, look around and see if there are any egg farms around you. Spent hens are cheap. Not great meat, but the dogs won't care if they are tough.

 

[lolita117]

Meyer Hatchery Frypan Special (cockerels)
Quantity Price Shipping Total Price/chick
25 $14.25 $14.63 $28.88 $1.16
50 $23.50 $14.63 $38.13 $0.76
100 $27.00 $17.99 $44.99 $0.45

Meyer Hatchery White Broiler (straight run)
Quantity Price Shipping Total Price/chick
25 $32.25 $14.63 $46.88 $1.88
50 $56.00 $14.63 $70.63 $1.41
100 $102.00 $17.99 $119.99 $1.20

Okay so I found these prices. The Frypan special is heavy breed cockerels, and the white broilers only get to about 5 pounds. For the price would the frypan special be worth it? I know it will take longer for them to get up to weight than the broilers. I including shipping in the total cost per chick because sometimes that makes a huge difference between hatcheries.

So another question: The white broilers don't get as big as the jumbo cornish cross. For the cheaper price is it worth going with a smaller bird? The cheapest cornish X I have found so far is

25 - $2.25/chick from a local hatchery
50 - $2.00/chick shipping including from Cackle
100 - $1.65/chick shipping including from Cackle

The reason I include all three price points is because if I get good at raising meaties and can get the storage space, I will up my batch quantities.