very happy with spring meaties results

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blueskylen

blueskylen

Songster
11 Years
Mar 3, 2008
682
6
151
WV
We just got our CX back from the butchers:

40 chicks, shipping, mareks vac - $111.76
610 lbs Purina flock raiser, bedding - $210.00
processing and diesel to and from - $120.00

Total $441.76

36 taken to butcher - approx 250 lbs meat back - average per bird 6.9lbs - i had ordered straight run, but receive mostly roos which added to the weight per bird.

they are resting in the frigs for vacuum sealing Friday evening. we have fried some liver and onions and yum it was GREAT!

Hoping that everyone else has good returns this spring too.
 
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Congratulations! Those are some big birds.

Since you need to let the meat rest, liver and onions are usually what we eat first as well. My wife didn't like chicken liver until she had ones that were only a few hours old. Now she loves them. Doesn't get much better.

One thing, can I ask why you paid for the Mareks vaccine? Just FYI, Mareks is not something that is very likely to infest a flock of CX for butcher. Typically it doens't present itself until the age of 3-4 months.

Enjoy your fresh chicken!
 
congrats, sounds like realy good feed conversion, 6.9lb dressed would have put live birds very close to 10lb mark so 360lb live weight off 610lb of feed and feed conversion under 2lb/lb.

How long did you grow them out?
 
Thanks for the replys. i really was thrilled with the results! we grew them for a little over 8 weeks, which may account for the higher weights - plus they were mostly roos. usually i have gotten more hens, but got lucky this time.

i wasn't sure about getting the Mereks, but had a hatched chick from one of my hens that died at about 6 weeks - lost leg movement,lost weight, etc. and just wanted to make sure .
altho they weren't in the same coup, thought that it may be a good thing, but probably won't do it next spring if the disease doesn't show up until that late -- it was 22 cents each. i always get it for layer chicks that i buy.

i agree that these livers were especially mild in taste. it must be eating them so fresh that makes the difference or the fact that the birds have been eating nothing but feed - don't know, but what a good taste.

we live about 20 miles east of Morgantown - GO EERS !!
 
Thanks for the replys. i really was thrilled with the results! we grew them for a little over 8 weeks, which may account for the higher weights - plus they were mostly roos. usually i have gotten more hens, but got lucky this time. these birds had some black feathers here and there - maybe whatever they were bred from were a bigger breed - don't know but got them from Meyers.

i wasn't sure about getting the Mereks, but had a hatched chick from one of my hens that died at about 6 weeks - lost leg movement,lost weight, etc. and just wanted to make sure .
altho they weren't in the same coup, thought that it may be a good thing, but probably won't do it next spring if the disease doesn't show up until that late -- it was 22 cents each. i always get it for layer chicks that i buy.

i agree that these livers were especially mild in taste. it must be eating them so fresh that makes the difference or the fact that the birds have been eating nothing but feed - don't know, but what a good taste.

we live about 20 miles east of Morgantown - GO EERS !!



The menonite family that we get the processing done - close to Grantsville MD - also raise pastured CX for sale - $2.70 /lb - if anyone is interested - Silver Lining Poultry 301-245-4306

and their fee to butcher is $2.00 / bird - they do a wonderful job and the carcass is as clean as a whistle!! will leave whole or cut up- however you want.
 
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I think that on the hoof is how most feed conversions are listed.

One minor cost too is hydro, a 250 watt bulb burns 1kwh every 4 hours so 6kwh per day. At $0.10 a kwh thats 60 cents a day. Running a 250 watt brooder light for a month is pretty close to $20.

Got to watch electric companies, they often quote the rates at one rate per kwh, but if you take a look at the bill they tack on a bunch of surcharges, taxes and fees making the real rate much higher.
 
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