Why do we do it, when you can pay someone?

[Milliemay]

That seems to be the question everyone is asking us when they learn we are processing our own chickens. We have Amish neighbors that will do it for $1.25 a bird, and we chose to do the chickens ourselves. Why would you bother with such a nasty job, when it's so cheap to have someone else do it? Well, we have only done 13, we have 39 to go. I have gotten fast enough at plucking that I have another bird ready by the time DH is done with the rest.

The biggest reason is the satisfaction of a job well done, and food in the freezer that we raised and processed without relying or paying some else to do it!

 

[TimG]

It's great to know that you can do it yourself. But, at $1.25 a piece...

 

[Burbs]

$1.25........wow. It took three of us 3 hours to take care of 20 birds.
I would have a hard time passing up that price. Your time is still worth something.

 

[Milliemay]

O.k, O.k., so the true consensus is we are nuts!

 

[ChickenToes]

We do it ourselves because we are too cheap to pay someone else to do it. Plus, we try to be self-sufficient, and don't want to depend on other people for something that we can do ourselves.

 

[ixnay]

Wow, that's a super price. The best I have found around here (western Maine) is $4 through a membership coop, and that is if you put in a whole day helping! Otherwise, members pay $4.50, non-members pay $5. Now, I could sell those birds (it's the only state inspected place in Maine). The guy up the street does "custom" processing (can't sell the birds) for $6 a bird, I think.

If someone knows a better price in Maine or eastern NH, I would love to hear about it. I have never processed chickens, I'm pretty sure I could do it, but yeah, my time IS worth something.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I WISH there were even people near us who DO process chickens. The closest is Omemee and that's a good hours drive!

 

[Lucky Ducky]

52 x $1.25 = $65

Now this doesn't include the cost of buying and feeding the chickens. I'd do it myself and save the money. That $65 would buy 3 boxes of diapers or 4 bags of feed.

We just did 22 over 2 days a couple of weeks ago. It was my 1st time processing chickens and it wasn't hard. Next time I will time it for fall because it was HOT!!! Nope, you aren't crazy. I have no problem with saving money!

 

[wombat]

I look at it this way ... if I were farming, it would be part of the job. I'd accumulate / build all the things I'd want to do the job efficiently, and I'd have enough space in outbuildings to store all that stuff when I wasn't using it.

As long as I'm doing something else for a living, and this farmin' stuff is just a small scale hobby, I look at it differently. If I can only process about five birds an hour with what I've got on hand (three an hour if my kids help), at $1.25 a bird I'd be paying myself and Mrs. Wombat only $6.25/hr. between the two of us (or less if the kids help) to do this ... and since I only have so much free time, and my to-do list is filled with things I'd rather do, I'd jump at handing off 30-40 birds and getting them all taken care of at once. It's also dang hot here this time of year, and I think I'd have to start at 6am and quit by 10am, so 40 birds would take up two saturday mornings ...

With all that said, I just took some birds over to a chicken raisin' friend last night, and we're already making plans to raise some meaties next spring and process them at his place ... He just built another shed, so he's already trying to figure out what stuff to get to fill it up with.

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

$1.25 per bird is a really good price , but i am with you
It feels good to do it all yourself and not have to take em somewhere else for somebody else to do.

But if you ever get straped for time its also great to know you can get them processed close to home for $1.25 per bird

I say whatever works for you is best !