The price of organic chicken

[setter4]

OMG, I about had a heart attack today....I ordered 2 free range pasture fed chickens , a capon and 5 lbs. of organic sweet potatoes from a local organic farm.
It never occured to me that i needed to ask a price on 3 chickens and a bag of sweet potatoes!!! WRONG!!! Thank heaven they didn't have the 1/4 bushel of beets I asked for or I would have had to go to the bank for a loan
$64.00 !!!!!!!!!! Holy crap. I am looking at my hens with a new respect!
We are not poor people and we pretty much buy what we want at the grocery store and we eat out way more than we should but I was really shocked by this. $15 + for a chicken is just off the chart to me.
Is this a normal price for free range pasture fed chicken?

 

[keljonma]

$15 + for a chicken is just off the chart to me.
Is this a normal price for free range pasture fed chicken?

I think it really depends on the area of the country you are in.

Was it Certified Organic? I think they have to charge more just to pay for the government certification.

 

[setter4]

Quote:
I think it really depends on the area of the country you are in.

Was it Certified Organic? I think they have to charge more just to pay for the government certification.

Yep, it is certified organic and you are right that it does cost them a hefty fee to get that certification so i guess i should have been a little more prepared. lol Justhad sticker shock!

 

[CarriBrown]

Would it cost less if you raised your own? I've often thought about that... the cost of buying the birds, feeding/watering them, keeping them housed, having them processed (Can't do it myself... wish I had it in me), etc.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

That's the main reason I don't raise and sell meat birds. It is expensive to raise them properly and then the labor of butchering. But you end up with a large, meaty carcass that feeds a family of four (or more) plus a pot of soup. So if that bird cost $20 it was still cheaper than a restaurant steak per person plus it is much better quality!

Sadly, feed prices are out of control, like just about everything nowadays. There is no reason for it either.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Organic whole chicken goes for just over $5/lb around here.

Boneless/skinless breasts for $14/lb

Legs for $6/lb

Wings for $4.39/lb

Ground Chicken for $8.29/lb

I don't have a problem with paying those prices. You get what you pay for, & you are what you eat.

http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/orderform.html

 

[mom'sfolly]

At the farmers market here it goes for between $5-8/lb. I buy my beef and pig from the famers market, but not chicken. I just don't eat much chicken now days because of that. My grassfed cow only costs $5.70/lb for my CSA.

 

[Squeaky]

In my area, grass-fed organic chickens go for around $20 each.

Now, just because the bird is labeled "organic" doesn't mean it was raised humanely or given access to sunlight or the outdoors. All "organic" means is that nothing in the bird's food chain was treated with pesticides or herbicides, and that the person or company who raised the bird has paid a hefty fee to ensure that the bird's feed was bought only from other companies who paid the hefty fee for organic certification.

Nutritionally speaking, there's nothing about organic food that makes it superior. An organic carrot is no different than a carrot that has been fertilized and treated with insecticide. In fact it's likely to be smaller and uglier since the pests aren't kept away. The only thing you buy when you buy organic is a better chance of having your food have lower levels of fertilizer and pesticide chemicals.

So, even if you pasture-feed your birds and keep them far away from potentially harmful chemicals, you can't use the "organic" label unless you pay the hefty fee and let the government dip its beak.

The excessive regulation appears to me to be one of the reasons why it costs more to get food raised with less chemical intervention.

 

[debilorrah]

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[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

That would be $69/lb