On average how much does each one of your meat birds cost you?

If he is comparing prices to what you can get at the grocery store to see if it will be economical, it's not going to be. I have found geographically the price can range widely because of feed prices. Figure 20lbs of feed per bird + the cost of birds + processing (if you're not doing it yourself). It will be a pretty close estimate.

 

home grown meat is never really economical( that includes beef, pork, or anything else)... the benifits aren't in saving money, but in healthier food(no hormones, chemicals, or what not that industrial farming relies on just to get the animals to make it to slaughter)... and nothing beats the taste of "real" chicken... you never find anything in the stores that taste quite the same....

 

You should calculate the following:

Cost of chicks - including shipping if you have to have them shipped:

Cost of feed - figure about 15lbs of feed per bird for CX:

Cost of bedding - if raising them in a confined area (not a movable tractor):

Cost of building a tractor or coop:

Cost of electricity and water:

Cost of feeders and waterers:

Cost of processing or items to process yourself:

It's a bit different for everyone, depending on what things cost and what you have around.

 

I wouldn't count the cost of non-depleting supplies. The house, the brooder and the feeders/waterers should be able to be reused unless you're buying all knew with every hatching.

Just the chicks, the feed, and the electricity to run the brooder lamp.

If you're raising your own chicks from egg, I would only count the eggs that are purchased. Not the ones that are naturally hatched by already egg-laying hens and their mate.

I read somewhere, though, that you can't breed Cornish Cross (I think it was McMurry?). Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

Raising your own food is more expensive than buying it at the grocery store or Wal Mart. The difference is the quality of the food and the hobby. Raising your own food as a hobby becomes a very cheap hobby over a period of time and can be shared and enjoyed with others. It is also a hobby that is educational and can be handed down to your friends and family.

 

These are my cost

Cost of bird = $1.78
18 lbs of feed @ .29 = $5.22
Electricity = .05 * 21 days = $1.05 / # of chicks 50. For the 250W brooder bulb.
Bedding = $0 I use shredded leaves.
Feeders and waters have already been paid for.

Total = $7.21

The cost that usually kills people is pine shavings. Last year it added $2 to the cost of each bird for me.
You can get cheaper birds shipped to you. I prefer to pick mine up locally. Last year they were shipped 500 miles and out of 15, 11 survived. This year I got a batch of 50 and at 3 weeks I have 49. This is a personal preference.

Good luck

 

I usually have between $5 and $6 in one. That is if I do over 100 at a time. When doing over 100, you get a price break on the chicks and are able to buy feed in bulk.

 

Six cheap chicken breasts at walmart is running like 6.00-7.00 a bag. Tasteless, not very big chicken breasts. 5.00-6.00 a BIRD sounds pretty good! I don't know about the Cornish cross but my white rocks are pretty dang big and have cost me hardly a penny to keep fat and happy. They freerange though. Chicken tractors are a good investment to keep costs down. You gotta move them often though!