What Do You Charge For Broilers You've Raised-Other Assorted Questions

[Patchesnposies]

We ordered a dozen cornish rocks that are about 4 weeks old now. And other than looking really strange-do they all look half plucked as they grow???-they are doing great.

We have had people ask to buy some when they are all grown, only we have no idea what a good price would be for them.

Now this would be our first time to butcher, and to be honest, we aren't sure if it is legal for us to sell dead birds! One of our local Chinese restaurants wants to buy birds from us but they will do their own butchering.

If there is anyone who started to buy broilers for themselves and found people wanted to purchase from them....would you be willing to share how you have handled that end of it?

If it isn't too hard we may want to do this again, but don't want to get in over our heads!

I'd love to hear everyone's experiences.

Thanks!

 

[willowcol]

can't answer any of your questions but good luck.

 

[CARS]

I only sell butchered birds to family. I would think there is huge liability issues with selling to a restaurant. (what if someone got sick and they sued? Even if it wasn't from your chickens??)

I find the highest price at the stores that I can and sell it for that dollar per pound. I have lost money but then again I don't give my family much for Christmas

But using a fast growing bird and good feed management I don't think I have lost money on Cornish X's.



In all honesty, I find it kinda disturbing that a restaurant would buy from a local, small farmer. But then again, we have all heard the stories of where Chinese food comes from....

 

[CovenantCreek]

Quote:
Don't be disturbed by it -- local small farmers who sell to restaurants and markets get inspected by the state Dept of Ag, they have to use USDA inspected processors, and basically meet all the same safety precautions as the big producers. They are, however, more likely to provide their birds with a decent existence during the 2-3 months of their lives.

 

[Kim_NC]

Try contacting your Dept of Agricuture or Cooperative Extension Office to find out what the regulations are in your state.

Here in NC we are permitted to slaughter up to 1000 head of poultry per year on-farm and sell them without inspections, permits, etc. Many states have similar laws. (A side note: I assure you , the conditions here and on other small farms are much cleaner than those production broiler houses and chicken/turkey processing plants.)

Prices vary a lot based on local areas. We get $2.85/lb for whole roasters locally. We're looking at participating in another market though - 45 min from here in a city area - where they sell for $3.85 - 4.25/lb.

We require a 50% deposit with pre-placed orders. The customer pays the balance on pick-up day.
For example, customer orders 10 broilers x 5 lbs estimated per bird x $2.85/lb x 50% = $71.25 deposit.
They'll owe approx another $75-85 when they pick-up, based on the actual weight of the finished birds.

The deposits are non-refundable. That's how we avoid raising a bunch of broilers for someone who then backs out.

We usually start approx 15-25 'extras' in each batch. This gives us a few for customers who just want to try a couple broilers, or come along in the middle of the growing cycle, etc. Any leftover 'extras' go in the freezer for ourselves.

I like the local Chinese restaurant wanting to buy live birds from you. If the price were right, I'd go for that in a heartbeat.

edited for typo

 

[Brunty_Farms]

As long as you sell your birds live and the chinese take them off of your property live.... you have no worries. What they do with them after they butcher them is totally on them not you. So personally I would sell as many as you can to them. It's a great group of people to get involved with as you don't have to process anything, all you have to do is raise them.

With that said... they looked half plucked for a little while but they will start to fill in.

Secondly, anywhere from $2.00-$3.00 / lb works depending on where you live.

For live broilers a good price is $8.00-$10.00 / bird.

Good luck,

 

[chixrus]

i'm getting meat birds, and i'm planing on selling some to people in my homeschool group who are interested in eating healthy. I'm going to sell them for about 2.50-3.00/lbs. But that is because of my area, people are willing to pay a lot where i live.

 

[justusnak]

Im not sure what the local laws are here....but this is how I get around it. I am selling them baby chicks...then I raise them, and take them to a USDA approved slaughter for the customer. My CC at cleaned weight are between 8 and 12 pounds. So, with those weight..I am getting $15.00 per bird. I think selling them to the restaraunt as live birds clears you of any wrong doings...if they are alive when they leave your property.

 

[CovenantCreek]

When you sell for $2-$3 per lb -- is that whole birds only, or do you also sell them cut up for that price?

 

[Patchesnposies]

Everyone who took the time to respond, I really appreciate your posts.

Kim, Covenant, J.A.Snak, Chix and Brunty you gave me lots of good advice and clear points of view from your experiences.

If we can develop a customer base where we raise them and they do the dirty work....... such a deal! I can live with that!

(I am trying to find a processor in our area who could do our birds, but so far no luck.)