Which is more economical...raising chickens for meat or turkeys?

[SeattleChickenHead]

Why would you choose to raise your own BBW turkey fed with GM corn? If you want that just get it at Sams club. BBW turkeys have been bred so large that artificial insemination is the only way to breed them, naturally they cannot survive on thier own...and the ONLY wat to get meat that cheap is to feed it round-up ready monsanto corn, which is classified as a poison....
I just ordered 2 organically grown, free range, rio-grande turkeys, the price was $3.99 per pound, so for the 24 lb bird I ordered I will be paying nearly $100. To compare the quality a small producer can do compared to the poison they sell at sams, walmart etc. is ridiculous.
Grow the very best you can and it will pay for itself, whether its chicken, turkey, etc.....do something you can be proud in.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
This isn't the place for GM........please. There are plently of places to go to debate that. thanks

Steve

 

[pdpatch]

For the small flock owner raising your own poultry is not economical when you compare to store bought meat. When you have say 15 to 20 birds for meat the cost of feed is still high enough that it cost more then store bought. But that is not why we raise poultry, it's the taste.

Tom

 

[shareverwonder]

After building a $600 coop, feed, treats, bedding, etc. etc. Meat chickens cost so much more than store bought. I am not raising chickens to save money. I truly enjoy it and it is quality time with the kids and Dave.

We plan to raise a few turkeys next spring. Can't wait till next Thanksgiving when I can say my dinner was raised, grown and prepared by ME.

 

[mudvstheory]

Hi. I'm new at this, and haven't even bought my acreage yet, but please tell me if I have this straight. I plan to raise maybe three times the food my family eats in a good year, so year-round supply is important, and profit not so much. We plan to raise tilapia fish as well.

While runner ducks would be excellent fun, I would be buried in eggs before I had enough meat, and the butchering would be time-consuming, and wearisome. While they would not be tame as in affectionate, ducks don't peck effectively. And maybe a couple of motherly Brahma chickens to raise ducklings, without bother from the drakes. They sound tame. But my previous scheme lacks meat.

choice A
I could add heritage turkeys. While I would probably raise one batch a year, I would butcher a few as they grow, so if I could get poults in Feb, first butcher in Aug, and hopefully do one or two a month or so until next Feb. Can I keep a few year-old turkeys with the poults around, to get a year's supply? I know they eat more per pound of meat than chickens, but can it be half feed and half worms and leaves? Is the flying a headache? Do turkeys hurt people (suitable for elderly?)?

choice B
I could add meat chickens. Would the meat chickens bother the ducks? Would the predator losses be higher than turkeys? It would be more butchering and plucking, for less taste, I'm thinking. They eat a bit less, and it seems they would fare well on worms and leaves.

We are in Northern Virginia, so the climate is generally mild. I'm figuring the differences in coop and fencing, while important (and good to plan ahead), would balance out economically. And the manure issues would be similar, no?

All of this relates back to the OP question - which is more economical, chicken or turkey? For me the question is, to get fifteen to thirty pounds of meat a month, using supplemental feed such as worms and leaves, and figuring for some losses, how much does it take in terms of labor and supplies for each choice?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Mudvstheory, If you intend to raise a lot of food and you like duck eggs, get 2 different breeds of duck. Get an egg specialist like the runner or Khaki Campbell. Then also get a meat specialist like the Pekin, Muscovy, or Appleyard. If you want one breed to do both, the Appleyard is the only dual purpose that is productive with both meat and eggs.

It doesn't matter what type of birds you have, there will be heavy predator loses unless you have predator-proof housing for them. Virginia is the epicenter of raccoon country.

 

[Celie]

The best animal for the ratio of feed to meat on a farm is meat rabbit. They can b raised on much less than any other meat I would eat ! Also he are small so I can still be raising them in my 90's ! Chickens are easier to raise and smaller to handle than Turkeys. Big turkeys are I think turkey taste better. If I was only raising them to slaughter for the freezer and wanted to have to repurchase every year, I would raise the really fast growing BB turkeys and the Cornish cross chickens. Not as many eggs, but enough for the family as a bonus !
I raise Holland white turkeys, Rouen and Pekin ducks, African geese, lots of chickens and New Zealand White rabbits.and am well past 60. The turkeys toms get to about 45-50#, the hens about 35-40#(which I lift to bleed out with a tractor(but I could use a pulley and strong rope and tie off to a tree), the chicken roosters, depending on breed from 8 to 14#, I do not eat the hens, as they are for eggs and hatching(I sell fertile eggs and hatchlings o help pay for feed), Ducks about 8#drakes about 11#, the geese are the alarm system to call the dogs if a predator comes around, Rabbits are 5 to 6# at12 weeks as fryers. If I wanted lots of meat in a short time twice a year for my freezer, I would definitely raise BB turkeys(which maxed out over 80#) and cornish cross meat chickens(as fryers at 8 weeks8-10# an as roosters14-16# after that), but still have rabbits and barred rock, easter egger and Black Australoupe hens for rainbow colored egg, and a lot of them, as well as rabbits for more meat variety. But that's just me!

 

[razvanM]

I raise geese for meat and their are more econamical then anything,I slaughter them at 4 months,they eat a lot of grass,less feed and they have a lot of flavour.
the disadvantages with turkeys are :
-they eat a lot
-they are slow growing(unless you have broad bresteds wich cant breed naturaly and are geneticly modified)
so I woulnt recomad turkeys,or chickens on wich you have less meat.

 

[Celie]

I raise geese for meat and their are more econamical then anything,I slaughter them at 4 months,they eat a lot of grass,less feed and they have a lot of flavour.
the disadvantages with turkeys are :
-they eat a lot
-they are slow growing(unless you have broad bresteds wich cant breed naturaly and are geneticly modified)
so I woulnt recomad turkeys,or chickens on wich you have less meat.

What breed do you raise? I know they eat a lot more geese than in the US, but I live in Southeastern Louisiana and have Black African Geese. They are very friendly, great mothers and alarm system, but are very light for their size. They police the other birds, like good mother hens, but are easily taken by predators, because they are the first to confront foe! All of my birds eat feed and free range.

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

Remember a standard bronze tom CAN breed a bb bronze hen