Raising meaties on the cheep...anyone out there trying this?

[SIMZ]

I SO want to go to your workshop! That is a GREAT idea! What a great way to cover costs and really be a help to others at the same time.

 

[Beekissed]

C'mon down!

My aunt lives up there in Indiana and she will be coming down long about then to visit too...except she's never killed a bird before. She will be there to conduct how things go and to boss things...she's 80 and still a terror. She is still working for Jackson-Hewitt doing taxes and is one of their largest earners.

My mom...the antique manual plucker..is 77 years old and can work circles around most people I know, young and old.



We are providing disposable, plastic aprons, latex or silicone gloves and can email you a pic later of you doing your thing with a knife!

 

[DanIndiana]

Beekissed you might be fill up several workshops. You could go into lots of different areas of your chicken knowledge. Great idea.

 

[SIMZ]

Dan - I'm in Wanatah! Small world!! LOL

 

[trifecta]

A friend of mine did a similar workshop... he was sold out of spots and its a highly sought after skill. I know around here, there is no one local to process chickens nor any way to learn directly from someone.

I think its also a huge "public service" as many become further and further from their food. My mom was raised on a farm in Poland, and because we grew up as "city kids", lost many of the skills that she came to this country with. Its like the whole caponizing thing... very few know how to do it any more and now its a lost skill. It would be a shame if basic survival skills like making your own food went by the wayside too!

I also can get chick starter and the 24% grower for pretty cheap out here ($13.50/ 50 lbs) but we have a farmer co-op down the road from me so I will swing by there and see if they know where I can get locally ground feed. God knows they grow enough grain around here, I really shouldn't have to be purchasing anything imported in from other states, which should help the cost even more (or maybe that's why my bagged feed is cheaper in the first place!)

I also would love to know where someone found chicks for 78c a piece! I didn't worry too much about the cost of my chicks from an experiemental standpoint this year but it definitely hurt in the budget to shell out $2.25 for each one. I also know I don't have space for more than 25 since they're technically illegal in my backyard anyway!

What do you think is a reasonable goal for cost per lb of chicken produced? Around here I can buy whole fryers for 0.99 lb but I know its unrealistic to even try to get there (at least I think!), as the whole goal is to produce a better product than what I can buy in the store. Not including my equipment investment, I ended up around $2.50/b for the birds I currently have in the freezer. If I amortize the startup costs over several batches that becomes pretty minimal.

I am trying to find my farmtek catalog to look for electric fencing, because it would really help me out from a labor standpoint... I spend a lot of time carrying chickens from their dog run to their grass pen, and lots of time cleaning up CXR poo from the pen, LOL. Not that its terrible work, but I can only use the chickens as an excuse to be late in the morning so many times

 

[SIMZ]

Here's how my chicks ended up costing ME 78 cents each. We bought 100 chicks from Central Hatchery for $100. I go in with friends so we can get them cheaper by buying so many. I ended up with 30 extras that I sold for $1.25 - which is still a very good price! That brought my cost down to 78 cents for the 53 birds I raised.

 

[DanIndiana]

SIMZ-I sent you an email with some questions!

 

[Life is Good!]

Thus far, at 2wks3days old - our 26 Freedom Ranger chicks have consumed less than 3/4 of a 50# bag of 21% feed.

The one thing that has helped make a difference is a daily 'treat' for lunchtime. So they've gotten scrambled eggs (3 eggs from our layer flock), 1 8oz container of plain yogurt, and a whole bunch of mealworms we've raised ourselves as example treats.

The mealworms have been the biggest finance saver for us. We started our mealworm "farm" back in June last summer with 200 worms from a local pet store. I cannot count how many worms we've given to our flock (and now the chicks), as we've let them reproduce at will and generally take only a small number per week. Well, that's helped tremendously now, as we're using so many more per week than ever before! Thus far, we've not noticed a dip in their numbers, but I'm hoping it's sustainable for a while longer. Once the chicks are out on grass, we'll cut down the number of mealworms to a once a week treat.

My sons have also spent a fair amount of time collecting earthworms from our gardens to give the chicks. Yummy! I'm slightly concerned about parasite worms (from these collected worms), but truthfully, what's the difference between a worm the kids give them and a worm they find on their own?! None! And since they'll not live long enough to need to get wormed, this too shall pass!

 

[trifecta]

Is anyone raising their own feed or even purposeful pasture for their meat birds? I was doing some gardening this afternoon and saw that Johnny's seed catalog offers some pasture mixes. I wonder if I could graze the birds on a legume mix if that would add significant protein to the diet.

 

[Beekissed]

My CX are now 7 wks old and I've used approx. $100 in feed so far. They continue to forage each day, all day and are all mobile and active though I see them taking a rest now and again now that their breasts are larger.