Butchering

[amk122284]

Does anyone have a butcher shop process their chickens? I am very interested in raising meat birds next year but I am pretty sure I would have trouble doing the deed myself and if we did it ourselves I'm not sure I could mentally get around it enough to eat them lol. I am well aware of where food comes from, I have ate plenty of animals that friends have raised, named, and butchered but for myself its hard to get my head around ha! So I'm wondering if you have used a butcher to process your birds, did it at least balance out to be approximately the same cost as going to the store and buying chicken? I don't think we would want to do it if the cost of feed and then the butchering ended up being double quality grocery store meat. So just trying to get an idea before I approach my husband about expanding our coop and run lol

 

[cavemanrich]

Store purchased chickens will be less cash than raising your own, and then adding the assassination fees.
The local poultry processor near me used to charge $4 per chicken. That was some years ago. I never had any processed, but would go to the poultry store to purchase live chickens and pigeons. I only keep chickens as pets. My pigeon keeping is currently on hold.
I can forward to you info where the processor is in Chicago. You are in Northern Indiana, so maybe not that far away.
Raising meat birds is a totally different experience compared to Egg laying chickens. There are many factors to consider, like the harvest times, and how to stagger the flow of chickens. This way you do not end up with 150 pounds of chicken meat that needs to be frozen.
Most of the peeps that raise their own broilers do overcome the discomfort of processing, and do it themselves. Many keep a steady flow, of added chicks, to have a steady flow of fresh meat.
Ask anything else I might have missed.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Tre3hugger]

if the cost of feed and then the butchering ended up being double quality grocery store mea

What is "quality grocery store meat?" Home raised chciken will be nmore expensive, but not much. My last batch came out to between 1.50-2.00 a pound dressed. Slightly more than the grocery store.

The taste: can't overstate the difference between the homegrown yumminess and that bleachy spongy fecal float tank BS from the supermarket. The quality is exponentially improved compared to the grocery store.
The honor: think about the terrible lives these chickens have at the CAFO. You can be a tool against that terrible industry, for just an extra dollar or so a chicken !!

Tips for keeping costs down: 1.Buy twice as many chicks as you need. Then sell half locally at a slightly inflated price to recoup total cost of chicks. Paying zero dollars for the chicks really helped in keeping my price average down.
2. Raise in a tractor and move it everyday. This saves on bedding once they leave the brooder and the poop load becomes unmanageable. I spent about 3 bucks (half a bag of shavings total) in bedding for the whole course of their lives.
3. Process yourself!! Just try it. It is not as bad as you think. I love animals and LOVE my layers and honestly, i love my meat birds for the duration of their life. I like being with them in their last moment, whispering to them and guiding them off. Seems less traumatic in my backyard than an abbatoire setting, and connects me to my family's nourishment.

I don't think, unless you are selling meat, that a processor is economically feasible if money is a top concern. (I know it is for me!)

Check out these threads I made on how I raised, and then slaughtered my meat birds. Perhaps it will make it seem more approachable. Hope this helps!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-experience-pic-heavy-only-1-graphic.1407952/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...of-meaties-just-arrived-26-cornish-x.1393220/

 

[amk122284]

What is "quality grocery store meat?" Home raised chciken will be nmore expensive, but not much. My last batch came out to between 1.50-2.00 a pound dressed. Slightly more than the grocery store.

The taste: can't overstate the difference between the homegrown yumminess and that bleachy spongy fecal float tank BS from the supermarket. The quality is exponentially improved compared to the grocery store.
The honor: think about the terrible lives these chickens have at the CAFO. You can be a tool against that terrible industry, for just an extra dollar or so a chicken !!

Tips for keeping costs down: 1.Buy twice as many chicks as you need. Then sell half locally at a slightly inflated price to recoup total cost of chicks. Paying zero dollars for the chicks really helped in keeping my price average down.
2. Raise in a tractor and move it everyday. This saves on bedding once they leave the brooder and the poop load becomes unmanageable. I spent about 3 bucks (half a bag of shavings total) in bedding for the whole course of their lives.
3. Process yourself!! Just try it. It is not as bad as you think. I love animals and LOVE my layers and honestly, i love my meat birds for the duration of their life. I like being with them in their last moment, whispering to them and guiding them off. Seems less traumatic in my backyard than an abbatoire setting, and connects me to my family's nourishment.

I don't think, unless you are selling meat, that a processor is economically feasible if money is a top concern. (I know it is for me!)

Check out these threads I made on how I raised, and then slaughtered my meat birds. Perhaps it will make it seem more approachable. Hope this helps!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-experience-pic-heavy-only-1-graphic.1407952/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...of-meaties-just-arrived-26-cornish-x.1393220/

We pay $2.99 a pound for a whole chicken and $5.69 a pound for boneless skinless chicken breasts...so your prices actually seem to be significantly less than what we pay.....and the homegrown quality is obviously going to be better! I need to call around and find pricing for chicken processing and then run some more numbers.

 

[Tre3hugger]

We pay $2.99 a pound for a whole chicken and $5.69 a pound for boneless skinless chicken breasts...so your prices actually seem to be significantly less than what we pay.....and the homegrown quality is obviously going to be better! I need to call around and find pricing for chicken processing and then run some more numbers.

Oh wow. Walmart over here has chicken for about 2.00 a lb. It was 1.25/lb before covid. I think the breast is about 4.29/lb. Good luck with your research. Anymore questions, just reach out!