meat birds vs laying hens which is more profitable

[jk47]

Im thinking of raising meat birds and want to know from personal experience if I would make a bigger profit selling meat birds vs selling eggs and what do live ready to process birds go for in your area

 

[cppeace]

Well in my experience there's more people trying to sell eggs than meat. I think if you process the chickens yourself for people you will make more, but that does involve more work for you. If you are talking about just raising up the birds and selling them as meat birds for others to process I don't think you'll make near as much and would be better off trying to sell eggs.

 

[jk47]

I already sell eggs and I do make a profit of $80 every month but meat birds seem like it would be a quicker return. I was thinking of preselling them getting a despot before I get the birds then selling them live then processing and wrapping them as a favor in return to avoid any legal trouble

 

[slingshotandLAR]

I already sell eggs and I do make a profit of $80 every month but meat birds seem like it would be a quicker return. I was thinking of preselling them getting a despot before I get the birds then selling them live then processing and wrapping them as a favor in return to avoid any legal trouble

Most states have maximum number of birds you can sell ready to eat, Wehave a 1000 bird limit for on farm processing....

I sell both eggs and meat, and with out a doubt there's more money in the meat birds. The issue is volume, eggs are an easy sell.

We have a monthly buying club for chickens and it works pretty well. We currently sell our birds frozen for $4lb. The biggest thing standing in your way is selling chickens like you sell eggs, I'm working on it and it's doable just takes more time.

I would love to raise 2-3000 a year!

 

[jk47]

I think im going to start with a few meat birds to test my local market and then build a rep. In the community as a reliable and quality producer. Like what I did with my eggs and livestock sales . Which breed do people like best ranger or cornish

 

[cppeace]

I think im going to start with a few meat birds to test my local market and then build a rep. In the community as a reliable and quality producer. Like what I did with my eggs and livestock sales . Which breed do people like best ranger or cornish

Most people like the cornish cross best but some will past extra for heritage breeds

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Most people like the cornish cross best but some will past extra for heritage breeds

If you want to build a business do CX, if you have enough interest you could try the Rangers.....

I wouldn't even consider heritage breeds, it limits your customer base and raises the cost of production to a ridiculous level.

Our CX are really, really excellent and they look like people expect them to. I raise them in tractors and they do extremely well. We use a processor mostly because they are 8 miles away. I love unloading my crates and seeing how much better the birds look than the others. They are clean, white and shiny, they always do my birds first because I always have the most.

One thing to add would be turkeys, if your doing eggs and other stock turkeys are a natural fit, plus they are the most profitable animal you can have on the farm.

 

[CrazyTalk]

I already sell eggs and I do make a profit of $80 every month but meat birds seem like it would be a quicker return. I was thinking of preselling them getting a despot before I get the birds then selling them live then processing and wrapping them as a favor in return to avoid any legal trouble

This is the sort of stuff that gets people into legal trouble - if you're selling birds and handing them to the customer wrapped, then you're selling butchered birds. Moving the costs around doesn't absolve you of any legal responsibilities.

If you're going to sell meat - do it right. It's safer for you, and your customers. Check your state (and federal laws) - there are usually some exemptions that make things easier for small processors - once you get above 1000 or so birds/year, you're gonna need real facilities to keep up - so the regulations aren't really restrictive.

Cornies are the best, the rangers and such are interesting, but you need to hit a much higher pricepoint because the food conversion is worse, and they fill your pens much longer. Heritage birds are a waste of time unless your market can carry $8+/lb. Too long, too poor food conversion.

Have you set up a business entity yet? It's a bit pricey when you're only clearing $80/month at this point, but it only takes one improperly stored bird to get into real trouble - which means people going after your assets..

 

[enola]

Don't forget to have insurance to cover you if a customer gets injured on your property. Most homeowners insurance policies will not cover a claim if you are running a business on your property.

 

[cppeace]

This is the sort of stuff that gets people into legal trouble - if you're selling birds and handing them to the customer wrapped, then you're selling butchered birds. Moving the costs around doesn't absolve you of any legal responsibilities.

If you're going to sell meat - do it right. It's safer for you, and your customers. Check your state (and federal laws) - there are usually some exemptions that make things easier for small processors - once you get above 1000 or so birds/year, you're gonna need real facilities to keep up - so the regulations aren't really restrictive.

Cornies are the best, the rangers and such are interesting, but you need to hit a much higher pricepoint because the food conversion is worse, and they fill your pens much longer. Heritage birds are a waste of time unless your market can carry $8+/lb. Too long, too poor food conversion.

Have you set up a business entity yet? It's a bit pricey when you're only clearing $80/month at this point, but it only takes one improperly stored bird to get into real trouble - which means people going after your assets..

Actually, in my state, not sure about the OP, what they are doing is legal. You are selling the bird as a live bird and then processing for free. Usually totally legal. And If you are already raising the heritage birds for eggs and can sell the extra roosters as meat you aren't "losing" money on raising them. I'm not arguing that in most cases you will make more profit on Cornish Cross but in certain areas people will pay far more for heritage chickens so they will not lose money if they are already raising some for eggs or selling hens or whatever.