Trying To Make Money On Meat Birds

[Owingsia]

I have 55 gallon barrels that can be filled with feed from the local mill.

Lately I have been doing the following. raise to 6 weeks on 20% feed and then let them have at the goat feed (Goat feed is running about 20c a pound here wile chicken feed can be more)

We raise Cornish Cross. I process at 8 weeks (Cornish Cross) and sell for $4.50 a pound for whole chicken. (people like that and a 3-4 pound bird is affordable for them. This price and weight avoids the sticker shock for most people and they will pay the premium for free range healthy birds.


I did just raise 5 Cornish Cross on 20% for 3 months (They ate twice a day other than they ate what they could find in the woods and goat pin) They are still tender and processed weight was from 6.5-9 pounds (Some of these birds got hugegantic! They all could walk around and were free ranging. As you might guess these were for our table otherwise I would have had to charge $5 a pound and at an average weight of 7 pounds per bird we are pushing $35 a chicken (to sell) and in the case of the 9 pounder we would be talking $45 bucks. Customers like 3-4 pounds and will pay between $10-15 a chicken and be happy.



PS:

I have not noticed a big difference when finished on goat feed for 2-4 weeks (Starting them on it at 6 weeks and sometimes I let the hens go to 10 weeks as apposed to 8). Honestly after the 6 week mark (If you are processing at 8-10 weeks with Cornish Cross) I dont think feeding them high protein is going to help much. No if you plan to go for bigger birds and raise them past that point IMHO good feed will keep them healthy and allow them to grow extra big!

They need to have the amount of feed they eat controlled otherwise they will eat until they die! (IE: Heart issues, leg issues, bone structure issues etc.....) after 4 weeks we take the food away and feed 2 times a day (You will have to figure the measurements out based on number of birds and time of year, Winter we feed more while spring and summer we feed less because there are so many bugs to eat out here in south eastern VA.) Doing this will help them be healthy but will save your budget because Cornish Cross like I said literally inhale food! They may act starved when you walk up with feed but trust me they are doing fine. As long as they are growing at the rate you wish they are eating enough. (Wish I could explain feeding amounts better but we just kind of wing it)

 

[Arielle]

I have used horse feed and goat feed as necesary when mill couldn't make delivery. As the complete content are listed on the labels I can feel confident about the content of each bag.

I have a 9 mo cornish rooster in the crockpot now-- Tough but wonderfullly chewy. He was a late bloomer or else he would have made it into the pot sooner.

$4.50 for a 3-4 pounder is very attractive priceing. Nice job.

 

[larry529]

So Arielle,

Do you think if you advertised naturally raised free ranged birds for 3.00 lb thats not to exp? I feed organic, BUT I do not pay the 2,000 for the certification, and was told by the State of Ohio Ag Dept. That it would be false advertising regardless what I feed, unless they come inspect my farm, and find that its up to par, and pay the big dollars. " I think" its 2,000... I know it was a ton of money.. So they told me to say Naturally raised, and to stress that when you go to Whole Foods, and can buy it for 1.99 a lb and it says free ranged to explain to the customer, that "free ranged" does not mean it was outside.. It means it had access to outside, but maybe never seen a day of sunshine in its life. She said, you should take pics of your birds outside, as even if a customer believes you, if you say, let me send you some pics, if there was a 1% chance of wondering, you probably just took it away, and than when there friends say, how do you really know it was free ranged, ppl can just say that to get us to pay more money. Than your "customer" would say, oh man, he sent me pics, different dates, and I believe him.

And yes, I know you can set a bird outside, take a picture, put it back inside, next day take a picture outside, and rinse and repeat, and say, See, my birds outside, look at the dates.. I believe som may do that.. Some ppl are VERY shaddy, while some are actually to honest. I feel that if you tell a lie, even the smallest lie that affected nobody, that you have to keep remembering that small lie so you do not slip up, and that tiny lie becomes a bigger lie.. And once your caught lying, or even someone suspects you are, why should they EVER believe you again.. As a man, I always say all I have to offer you is my word! Once that word is broken, I probably lost a friend,customer, others who believed in me by word of mouth, and than its only downhill... So just be a straight shooter even if its something people do not want to hear...


I have had ex's say do I look good in this dress... As a bf, I should say, yes darling you look fantastic!! As who I am, i am like, ummm. hunny, u looked better in the other dress, I am blunt, but honest on everything

 

[Arielle]

So Arielle,

Do you think if you advertised naturally raised free ranged birds for 3.00 lb thats not to exp? I feed organic, BUT I do not pay the 2,000 for the certification, and was told by the State of Ohio Ag Dept. That it would be false advertising regardless what I feed, unless they come inspect my farm, and find that its up to par, and pay the big dollars. " I think" its 2,000... I know it was a ton of money.. So they told me to say Naturally raised, and to stress that when you go to Whole Foods, and can buy it for 1.99 a lb and it says free ranged to explain to the customer, that "free ranged" does not mean it was outside.. It means it had access to outside, but maybe never seen a day of sunshine in its life. She said, you should take pics of your birds outside, as even if a customer believes you, if you say, let me send you some pics, if there was a 1% chance of wondering, you probably just took it away, and than when there friends say, how do you really know it was free ranged, ppl can just say that to get us to pay more money. Than your "customer" would say, oh man, he sent me pics, different dates, and I believe him.

And yes, I know you can set a bird outside, take a picture, put it back inside, next day take a picture outside, and rinse and repeat, and say, See, my birds outside, look at the dates.. I believe som may do that.. Some ppl are VERY shaddy, while some are actually to honest. I feel that if you tell a lie, even the smallest lie that affected nobody, that you have to keep remembering that small lie so you do not slip up, and that tiny lie becomes a bigger lie.. And once your caught lying, or even someone suspects you are, why should they EVER believe you again.. As a man, I always say all I have to offer you is my word! Once that word is broken, I probably lost a friend,customer, others who believed in me by word of mouth, and than its only downhill... So just be a straight shooter even if its something people do not want to hear...


I have had ex's say do I look good in this dress... As a bf, I should say, yes darling you look fantastic!! As who I am, i am like, ummm. hunny, u looked better in the other dress, I am blunt, but honest on everything

LOL--- the spouse in a dress is the survival of the marriage!!!! lol I ask my kids for the truth not my DH . lol

Yes, I think reputation is everything. As long as what you say is truthful, you don't have to exploain every nuance.

In the food inductry most of the terms we throw around have legal meanings. "Orgainic' is a tough lable to meet as you are finding out. I term my birds and eggs as farm fresh and free ranged. The dark orange yolks are my evidence. " Naturally" has a wonderful earthy and orgainic tone. When I encounter a customer that calls my birds organic, then I step in and correct the term. Because I feed pellets from the mill that doesn't buy organic grains, and I"m ok with that. I'm all for organic operations and fully support their efforts, but I personally can't afford level of production. However, I am looking at how I can increase the foodstuff off my land that is organic. BUt I never intend to be cerified. ( We have never used herbicides and pesticides or commercial fertilizers here--- just not how we cope with issues; we do use some medicines as needed and continue to find substitutes that are less harmful. is using sulfur powder instead of sevin to kill the mites. Not sure if pyrythins are also natural-- I think they are, but synthetics also exist.)

As for pricing, every market is different. THe farmers market I setn to this summer is in a very rich town-- the richest around and it was hopping busy as the commuters were arriving after work. $26-28 for a chicken on ice in a cooler and cyrovaced. $6 for homemade cashew butter about 6 oz. I choke at these prices but know the work that went itno making it. You are looking for buyers that work full time and understand the value of good wholesome food.

Not sure how to find that market. I like the idea of a farmers market as a way to test the market and see what people will pay and the level of interest. I read of one person that raised turkeys based on already having a farmers mkt clientelle and as they already trusted him, he used a sign up and deposit method to secure customers.

I hope some of this is helpful. Sales is tough work; farming is tougher. lol

 

[Owingsia]

IMHO the organic label is a joke if you are not selling in the supermarkets!

People can come see my birds out and about (most see them as they drive by on the highway anyway because the birds are always in the fields). I sell them at the local farmers market when I have enough to sell. I sell them frozen and whole. I will not cut the birds up etc.. if you want that you do it yourself. I have never lost a customer over this policy.

You have to factor your time into the price of your birds. How much are you worth?

I tell people my birds are naturally fed free range. I let them know I do give them feed and what brand it is etc... I do not buy organic as it can be $25-40 a 50 pound bag here. I however do not use GMO. Yes I do tell customers my food is GMO free.

 

[Arielle]

I was listen to a clip on the Tv talk show about GMO, and that lead me back to orgainic. IMO "Orgainic" is a marketing tool for the supermarket buyer in that when they can stop at the farm or farmers market the buyer has a on on one experience with the producer of the product. THat can't happen in the supermarket so they need a tool to hook the customer.

I'm having chicken for lunch!

 

[BCMaraniac]

I was listen to a clip on the Tv talk show about GMO, and that lead me back to orgainic. IMO "Orgainic" is a marketing tool for the supermarket buyer in that when they can stop at the farm or farmers market the buyer has a on on one experience with the producer of the product. THat can't happen in the supermarket so they need a tool to hook the customer.

I'm having chicken for lunch!

I had roasted chicken for lunch yesterday.....

 

[Pine Roost]

There is a lot of good stuff on here. Well....I have 50 white broilers coming the week of Jan 27th. (the first batch got canceled due to weather) I'm going to feed continuously for 3 weeks, then 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off until harvest. (any ideas on the best times to take feed away??) Hopefully my feed cost at $11.18 / bag will not hurt too bad. I am also hoping that they will grow to full potential with the 17% that I'll be using, start to finish.

Also in the process of building a wizbang plucker....so that should help with processing time. I'm leaning towards $2.70/lb for my cleaned, shrink bagged chicken. They will be raised in a 30'x30' pen and I would like to call them "naturally raised, antibiotic free"

 

[kuntrygirl]

 
I was listen to a clip on the Tv talk show about GMO, and that lead me back to orgainic. IMO "Orgainic" is a marketing tool for the supermarket buyer in that when they can stop at the farm or farmers market the buyer has a on on one experience with the producer of the product.  THat can't happen in the supermarket so they need a tool to hook the customer.

I'm having chicken for lunch!

I had roasted chicken for lunch yesterday.....

Y'all are making me hungry.

 

[Arielle]

There is a lot of good stuff on here. Well....I have 50 white broilers coming the week of Jan 27th. (the first batch got canceled due to weather) I'm going to feed continuously for 3 weeks, then 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off until harvest. (any ideas on the best times to take feed away??) Hopefully my feed cost at $11.18 / bag will not hurt too bad. I am also hoping that they will grow to full potential with the 17% that I'll be using, start to finish.

Also in the process of building a wizbang plucker....so that should help with processing time. I'm leaning towards $2.70/lb for my cleaned, shrink bagged chicken. They will be raised in a 30'x30' pen and I would like to call them "naturally raised, antibiotic free"

That is a really good price-- have you included allowances for loss of bird, or cost of processing, bedding and maintenace ov the 30 x 30 area?? Just curious.

Like your slogan.