My cost analysis for raising my meat chickens

[DianeS]

All the meat chickens are in the fridge/freezer, and I have done up my numbers (cost, poundage, etc) to share. (Sorry for the formatting stuff, it looks fine in the edit screen, but obviously not so fine when it's live.)

In March we purchased 4 Rhode Island Red day-olds and 2 Americauna day-olds. So the costs for the heating lamp, feeder, and waterer belong to those chicks. We also purchased 25 Cornish Rock cross day-olds, and the additional feeders to support those.

Cornish Rock chicks 25 $1.49 $37.25
RIR chicks 4 $2.49 $9.96
Ameraucana chicks 2 $2.99 $5.98

$53.19 Cost of chicks

PRODUCT COST cornish-only?
Waterer $4.99
Feeder $8.99
Sav-a-chick powder $2.99
Heat lamp $20.00
white feeders $1.98 $1.98
Emergen-C $4.00 $4.00
Electricity ?
Water ?

$42.95 Product costs for chicks $5.98 Product costs for Cornish alone

Deaths in the first week included 1 RIR, 1 Americauna, and 4 Cornish, bringing my total to 25 birds. For the 9 weeks I grew the Cornish, I spent $170.71 on feed.
PRODUCT WEIGHT COST
Chick Starter 18% 50 $15.99
Chick Starter 18% 50 $15.99
Flock Raiser 20% 50 $21.20
Meat Chicken 22% 40 $14.51
Meat Chicken 22% 40 $14.51
Meat Chicken 22% 40 $14.51
Meat Chicken 22% 40 $14.51
Meat Chicken 22% 40 $14.51

350 $125.73
$0.359 per pound of food at 8 weeks

Organic 20% 40 $22.49
Organic 20% 40 $22.49

430 $170.71
$0.397 per pound of food at 9 weeks

The chickens were butchered over a four day period, but the days were not consecutive. Two chickens weren't done until they were 10.5 weeks. Carcass weight includes bones, I took all the chickens down to plucked or skinned whole birds.

Date Processed Live Weight Carcass Weight H/R (Hen or Roo)

5/16/2012 5.33 4.00 H
5/16/2012 5.33 4.25 H
5/16/2012 5.33 4.00 H
5/16/2012 8.00 5.50 H
5/18/2012 6.00 4.50 H
5/18/2012 6.00 4.50 H
5/18/2012 7.00 5.00 H
5/18/2012 5.50 4.00 H
5/18/2012 7.50 5.50 H
5/18/2012 9.00 6.00 R
5/18/2012 8.00 5.00 H
5/18/2012 6.00 4.50 H
5/26/2012 7.00 5.00 R
5/26/2012 7.50 5.00 R
5/26/2012 9.00 5.50 R
5/26/2012 10.00 6.00 R
5/26/2012 8.00 5.25 R
5/26/2012 7.00 4.75 R
5/26/2012 6.00 4.50 R
5/29/2012 9.00 5.50 H
5/29/2012 7.50 5.00 H

TOTALS 149.99lb 103.25 lb
(Plus approximately 12 lbs of giblets and feet, which I did not include in these weights or in the cost analysis)

So for the analysis:
CORNISH CHICKS $37.25
MISC $5.98
FEED $170.71

$213.94 TOTAL COST FOR 21 CORNISH TO 9 WEEKS

$213.94 Cornish costs
103.25 Total carcass weight

$2.07 cost per pound for whole birds in freezer

I am quite satisfied with that. (I could have been more exact with assigning the cost of feed, but I did what I could. In my extimate, my laying chicks have cost $10.67 apiece to date.) I expect to do meat chickens again in the future, but only after I find a source for bulk food that costs less. But for happy, healthy, back yard meat chickens that were finished on organic food, I am accepting of $2 per pound. The meat is more tender than store-bought, and it has more flavor. Even my husband noticed and agreed with that. But I need the cost to come down if I am going to do this regularly. All in all I'm pleased with this experiment.

 

[SIMZ]

It's almost as fun working out the numbers as it is seeing all those birds go in the freezer, don't you think?! It looks like a job well done!

 

[Life is Good!]

Great analysis - it's great to compare other folk's #'s with your own.
Good job on raising great food (and also keeping track of expenses!).
I'll post ours when they're finished in 10days or so....

 

[OHSpartan]

I think we are twins separated at birth. I am tracking my growth rates and expenses the same way you are. I will post my expenses as well. Ironically, I predicted my end cost and it came to $2 per eviscerated carcass pound, not counting gizzards, feet, livers, hearts and other parts that become broth or chicken food.

 

[WinklerFarms]

I raise mine for about 1.10/ lb consistently. I sell mine for only 2/lb. 2.07/lb sounds like a lot if you are raising them yourself. But then again you figured in the cost of reusable stuff like feeders and waterers. Whe I started and anytime I get another one, I didn't factor in those costs because they can be used indefinitely and if I get out the business I can sell them and get most of my money back.

 

[DianeS]

I think we are twins separated at birth. I am tracking my growth rates and expenses the same way you are. I will post my expenses as well. Ironically, I predicted my end cost and it came to $2 per eviscerated carcass pound, not counting gizzards, feet, livers, hearts and other parts that become broth or chicken food.

Excellent! I went to college in Ohio - Ohio University in Athens. I must have drunk enough of the water there or something...

I raise mine for about 1.10/ lb consistently. I sell mine for only 2/lb. 2.07/lb sounds like a lot if you are raising them yourself. But then again you figured in the cost of reusable stuff like feeders and waterers. Whe I started and anytime I get another one, I didn't factor in those costs because they can be used indefinitely and if I get out the business I can sell them and get most of my money back.

I decided figuring in the equipment costs was the right way to do it this time, but not in subsequent times. If I stop doing this and sell the equipment, maybe I'll discount the last batch's numbers by the amount I got for the equipment. Anyway, I know for my expenses the feed was the one I have the best ability to cut down on. Just have to find cheaper feed, which probably means bulk feed and not those standard 40 and 50 pound bags. I don't see much room to cut anything else.

 

[DianeS]

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