Selling meat birds

[Northern.Ontario]

This is my 2nd batch of CX. Out of the 1st batch, I have sold a few. I asked $10 per processed, cut, sealed and frozen bird. Myself, I think this is a bit cheap. Given that the chick and feed to age is $6, I feel that my care and processing are worth more than $4.
My birds are outside "ranging", as much as the little fatties will "range". I don't want to take advantage, I just want a fair price for my area, kansas.
Any help I can get in this area will be very appreciated.
TYIA

The local farms in my area (Northern Ontario, Canada) sell whole-processed birds for $3.75 up to $5.50 for organic PER POUND. So a 6 or 7 pound whole bird is a minimum of $20 (Canadian dollars), up to $40 !! If you want just the cuts, you're looking at a minimum $6 to $7 per pound.

 

[Justtrying]

The local farms in my area (Northern Ontario, Canada) sell whole-processed birds for $3.75 up to $5.50 for organic PER POUND. So a 6 or 7 pound whole bird is a minimum of $20 (Canadian dollars), up to $40 !! If you want just the cuts, you're looking at a minimum $6 to $7 per pound.

WOW!!

 

[Northern.Ontario]

WOW!!

Put some fancy labels on your chicken like "Pasture raised", open sky raised, free range, grass fed, organically produced, hormone and antibiotic free, etc etc and people will pay big bucks

 

[Justtrying]

Put some fancy labels on your chicken like "Pasture raised", open sky raised, free range, grass fed, organically produced, hormone and antibiotic free, etc etc and people will pay big bucks

Weeeell, they are all of those things!!
As I said, I do love my birds, I couldn't treat them any other way.....

 

[EggSighted4Life]

My birds are not organic. We don't use herbicides or pesticides on our place but I feed Purina flock raiser.

It's funny hormone and antibiotic free is such a misnomer... there are hormones and antibodies in the birds naturally. I know they mean not added... but in some places it's the law, so them saying it is essentially advertising.

I sell week old chicks (I won't let them go before I see they are fully thriving) for $8-9 each... some breeds as fast as I can hatch them, straight run... and offer to take the boys back for free as a community service with the understanding that they will go to feed my family and pets or someone else's (who does the processing).

I... wouldn't be frying a bird that age though. The Delaware, that is. They didn't produce nearly well enough meat or eggs for me to keep but that was hatchery stock.

Then on the other hand... my Silkies don't produce too much meat or eggs and I keep them. I pay $5 each for processing. It's not a lot of meat, but I get to hatch what I want and no life goes to waste. Like I said, some breed chicks go like hot cakes.

Also... you should get a broody Delaware if that's the breed you are keeping. I have seen broody just about everything! So be patient. I far prefer a broody large fowl hen to my Silkies. Silkies are fine, they just happen to be known for brooding but my large fowl can brood circles around my Silkies.

 

[Justtrying]

Heellleerrr BYC!!!
I'm not completely new to chickens. I've only been at it for 3 hatching seasons, spring. STILL LEARNING!!
So far, I've successfully incubated and hatched almost 100 birds. Some I added to my laying flock, the rest, in the freezer..
I have 50 layers, a mix of RIR, NH, Delaware, white leghorn, Wyandotte leghorn and Wyandotte lace. I also have almost 50 that range in age from 2 weeks to 2 months. The new ones will also be layers. If there's a roo in the mix, I'll put him to work. In a separate coop, I have 6 ladies, Delaware, Wyandotte lace and 1 Wyandotte leghorn, the babies are beautiful, (the 50 mentioned above).
I was so lucky the day I had a question regarding my chickens and found this page. It is a wealth of information aaaannnndd friendly folks willing to share their experiences.
My husband and I also garden. We love heirloom tomatoes and sell at least 3/4 of what we grow, others love these tomatoes as well. What doesn't sell or get eaten, I can for future use to make delicious dishes. I make a very tasty pasta/ pizza sauce as well as salsa(chili). My husband is trying his hand at some very hot peppers this year, Carolina reapers and 2 others. I will NOT be making chili with those!!
I look forward to being IN this group since I've been reading it for 2 years..

 

[Justtrying]

Part of why I want to hatch out my own chicks is to have a steady source of farm-raised chicken for the freezer. We've been trying to eat less factory-farmed meat for several years but $30-40 for a chicken from the farmers market is hard to justify, even though the taste is amazing! Store bought chicken is just gross once you've had real chicken.

Though the cockerels we butcher probably cost us way more than $30 each by the time you factor in the cost of feed, housing, fencing, etc. But they do provide soil enrichment and vast hours of entertainment too, so I guess there's that? ;-)

Anyway, to the OP: you should be charging a MINIMUM of $15 per processed bird. Minimum. I charge $8-10 just for live cockerels.

What breed of chicken do you use for meat?

 

[Justtrying]

Okay my BYC FRIENDS...
I have a big question.
I'm gonna see if I can upload this picture. While splitting the chicken breasts I found this...
What is it??? Had I not been deboning the breasts, I wouldn't have found it. HELP PLEASE!!!

 

[RUNuts]

@Justtrying what are we looking at? Not sure where it came from. What part of the breast did you find it? How does it feel? Scratchy or smooth?

@aart @BantyChooks any input?

 

[aart]

What part of the breast did you find it?

This^^^ would have been good to take a pic in situ the second you find it to show where, but hard to do with raw chicken on your hands...and more pics from different angles and with the thing picked apart some.

Is this something you found while butchering birds you are slaughtering yourself?