Selling guinea for meat

[Nestled Chickens]

I have someone interested in buying my guinea when they are old enough to eat. I know nothing about guinea (mine were given to me as keets and have enjoyed a free range life). How old are they when they are big enough for butcher? And how much to they usually sell for?

 

[GuineaLady93]

I'm not quite sure...but I think you could butcher them around 6 months.?.?
And at that age I wouldn't let them go for less than $7-$10.

 

[Fenika]

I would say a minimum of $20 personally, but that ends up being about $10/lb roughly (eek!) so you might drive off your buyer with that price. (So you probably don't want to listen to that advice, lol) I've heard of processed (and USDA inspected, which has to be done if you are selling meat instead of live animals) guineas selling for $10 a pound, but again, that's all ready to cook and inspected. Other than that, I've no idea what a live bird should go for.

Jumbo or French guineas are slaughtered between 12 to 16 weeks, sometimes a little later. For regular guinea fowl, I'd say a minimum of 16 weeks, maybe a little longer. Jumbos become gamey at around 20 or so weeks? 22 weeks? Something like that.

 

[jcatblum]

We have several poultry auctions around. I have seen grown guineas usually go 7-10 a bird. If they go higher than 10 it is because of the color, not size. Not sure where you are but when I take keets to auction they have brought $3.50-$6.75. The $6.75 was a bidding war & I had the only keets that time. $4 is the normal price for keets here.

I would say that where I am no one would pay $20 a bird, but I heard abbot a guy selling quail, processed whole 4/$20. And I have paid $15-$18 for organic rabbits & chicken, that were processed from a local farm.

Would you process the birds first or sell them live?

 

[Nestled Chickens]

I'll be processing them first. It's for my parents, so I don't know how much I can get away with

They tend to run on the "Who cares how much it costs, we're retiring and we want to spend all our money before we die" type. Keeping up with the rich neighbors-gag. I'm more of a down-to-earth person myself.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
If I were capable of processing for my folks. Id be putting them in My own freezer. And or keeping as many live ones as I could for myself. Selling them already processed unless done by a certified professional is setting yourself up for a law suit. Then If you couldn't keep them the live ones long term, now you have time to sell them on Craigs list. If money is no option Time shouldn't be either.

I will keep my opinions about your folks to myself.

 

[PeepsCA]

I've seen processed, frozen, vacuum sealed Guinea Fowl selling for usually $29.95 (plus S&H!) online on several sites. I imagine fresh would sell for a higher price (just like all fresh poultry does). If I was the one doing the processing, dealing with the labor and all the mess and guts... I'd be charging accordingly, no matter who I was selling them to lol.

Keep in mind, most processed Guineas are small (2 to 2.5 lbs) because they are usually processed young (14-16 wks old), before they get tough and the meat gets a gamey taste. 1 cooked Guinea barely makes a decent meal for 2. I've been told that older Guineas that have been free ranging provide a little more meat, but will be a little tougher and have a gamier flavor.

I don't eat my Guineas (or any Guineas, period) so I'm just going by what I've read and by what I've been told by others that do.