I am sure this has been posted before.. but incase anyone is interested, heritage birds comparison of weights and food consumption.. your milage may differ.
from: https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/
DATA
I have included multiple charts with the following data, but here it is in a simple text format. I have ordered data within the following sections based simply on the order of the shelters on pasture, not from highest-to-lowest or lowest-to-highest. This is for ease of comparison.
Total feed consumption per bird, by breed:
– Dominique – 22.808 lb.
– White Plymouth Rock – 24.385 lb.
– Naked Neck – 24.137 lb.
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – 26.487 lb.
– Speckled Sussex – 20.821 lb.
– New Hampshire Red – 24.302 lb.
– Delaware – 23.110 lb.
– AVERAGE – 23.721 lb.
Average live weight per bird at processing (18 weeks 4 days), by breed:
– Dominique – 4.388 lb.
– White Plymouth Rock – 5.010 lb.
– Naked Neck – 4.815 lb.
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – 4.686 lb.
– Speckled Sussex – 4.103 lb.
– New Hampshire Red – 5.238 lb.
– Delaware – 4.801 lb.
– AVERAGE – 4.720 lb.
Average dressed weight per bird, by breed:
– Dominique – 2.98 lb.
– White Plymouth Rock – 3.40 lb.
– Naked Neck – 3.38 lb.
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – 3.17 lb.
– Speckled Sussex – 2.85 lb.
– New Hampshire Red – 3.29 lb.
– Delaware – 3.03 lb.
– AVERAGE – 3.16 lb.
Dressing percentage rate, by breed:
– Dominique – 67.86%
– White Plymouth Rock – 67.84%
– Naked Neck – 70.27%
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – 67.74%
– Speckled Sussex – 69.52%
– New Hampshire Red – 62.87%
– Delaware – 63.02%
– AVERAGE – 67.02%
Feed efficiency rates based on live weight (lb. feed per lb. gain), by breed:
– Dominique – 5.20
– White Plymouth Rock – 4.87
– Naked Neck – 5.01
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – 5.64
– Speckled Sussex – 5.08
– New Hampshire Red – 4.64
– Delaware – 4.81
– AVERAGE – 5.02
Feed efficiency rates based on dressed weight (lb. feed per lb. carcass), by breed:
– Dominique – 7.66
– White Plymouth Rock – 7.17
– Naked Neck – 7.13
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – 8.34
– Speckled Sussex – 7.30
– New Hampshire Red – 7.38
– Delaware – 7.64
– AVERAGE – 7.49
Cost of production per lb. dressed weight, by breed*:
– Dominique – $4.08
– White Plymouth Rock – $3.71
– Naked Neck – $3.73
– Silver-Laced Wyandotte – $4.21
– Speckled Sussex – $4.01
– New Hampshire Red – $3.82
– Delaware – $4.05
– AVERAGE – $3.90
* These cost figures are to be used for reference only, and are not intended to be authoritative or even typical. Clearly one’s own enterprise costs will vary largely depending on a number of factors. Farmers should input their own relevant costs, using the breed-specific data above, to best determine their own potential outcomes. My own production costs are based on the following:
– cost per chick of between $1.34 and $1.45 (depending on breed);
– feed cost to butcher date at $0.365/lb. for bagged non-GMO feed;
– processing equipment rental cost of $75.00 for one day;
– bags, clips, and labels at $0.371 per bird;
– mileage to pick up chicks from the hatchery, pick up feed, and pick up and return processing equipment;
– and approximate shelter depreciation cost of $1.00 per bird.
WOW! That is a gold mine of information. Thank you so much for sharing!
At least here you are among friendly folk. And appreciated.
