Last night, the wife was saying that if I got some meat chickens I'd need to put them away from the house so she couldn't see them and get attached. I told her that we wouldn't have them long enough and that they were too ugly to get attached to.
53 chickens on the road to the butcher right now. Chicken for dinner tonight. I'm curious to see how these grass fed birds taste.
I've heard they taste better after a day or to. Something to do with rigor mortis or letting the muscle relaxing.
Went to a poultry farm Friday and got 3 fryers and 2 roasters. http://www.tewesfarm.com/ Cut all but one of them up into parts. The best chicken I've had in years. They cost $2.50 a pound and they charge $3.00 per chicken to process home raised chickens. I need to figure out how much it would cost me per chicken to raise them and see if it's worth it. It doesn't seem like I'd come out ahead in the end unless I could find a way to feed them cheaply.
Does that include chick cost, feed and processing? So what would you sell a dressed bird for? Also did you have much death loss? I have 50 birds coming in two weeks. Next thing I have people asking if I can raise them a few. Just try to figure if it is profitable for me.
I won't know for sure until the next batch goes in for processing exactly what I'll have into them. We did lose more birds than I was expecting, but that is just part of the deal. We are going to sell some, by the pound, for about $3/lb. We aren't making a ton doing it, but we're only selling to good friends and family so I don't want to overcharge them either. We're getting enough to make it worth our while and cover some of our start-up costs (tractors, transport crate material, lights, feeders). My FIL is picking up more chicks tonight...probably another 50 or so. Should have a better survival rate this time...it got unseasonably cold for a few weeks in April and that weakened some...and killed some others. My wife and I always say we "get a little better every year", and I expect this to be no exception. Good luck with your birds.
One of my worries is weather. Today started off cold and windy. Then crazy thunderstorms. I'm going three weeks in the brooder than out to the tractor. No going early here. Might only be able too do two batches this year. Starting small see how it goes. I'll post pictures when they arrive.
Waddle, Don't rush those little chicks with the weather. When I started to raise chickens my mother (a central Wisconsin farm girl) told me that no animal likes its feet wet. So, wherever you put them make sure they can get out of the rain if it comes.
Wife picked up 9 chicks from TSC and hatched out another 6-8 from our current flock (about 20). That should get some fresh genes and young layers into the flock.
I got 4 more baby chicks.... Hopefully all are hens and no roosters... My buddy had a sitting hen, so they threw 12 eggs under the old girl. Out of 12, I got 4. I guess he's got another one that's starting to sit now... So he's going to get some baby chicks. They are suppose to be a mix of a Rhode Island Red Rooster & a Buff Orphington hen....
Our current flock is less than a year old and they were laying way more eggs than we could eat or give away. About a month ago, we stopped giving them layer food and now only give them cracked corn and their egg production has decreased, but not by a lot. I'll probably switch back over to the layer food in the fall to help them lay through the winter. I figure they'll probably need the layer food more as they get older, but for now, it's nice to save $4 on a bag of food.
Update. I have made some progress in the coop building. I am by far not a carpenter and have had several mishaps, including but not limited to shooting my middle finger with a nail gun. Through and Through. In and out. Tetanus shot and antibiotics needed. (wife is a nurse.) Anyways, I have done some progress on the building. Also, thinking ahead for winter, I am in the process of building a soda can heat powered heater. See pics. It aint dont, and she aint pretty but I she works. My buddy has one and I saw them in action. He uses it for his greenhouse. His heater is much larger since his greenhouse is 4ox40.
Doesn't have to be perfect just has to work. Came home today to see the eggs in the incubator moving a little bit and could hear some chick noises. (The chicken kind jeesh guys). By all rights if any our gonna hatch it should be tomorrow. Me and one of the girls are gonna have to have a talk. I feed her for the whole egg not this. My little bantam lays bigger eggs than that.
