Our meat bird project

[The Storyteller]

Well, we finally made the leap. We ordered and purchase locally 275 Cornish Rock Cross meat chickens to raise for the spring season, for sale and consumption.

First, we lined up all of our permits and permissions. The state of Oklahoma allows us to process on our farm and sell up to 1,000 chickens per year, once we have registered with the state. Then, we had to develop a plan and convince our farmers market gurus to let us sell at the market. They wouldn't let us bring processed birds there unless we owned a licensed refrigerated unit, but they will let us set up a booth, sell our eggs, and take preorders for broilers and turkeys.

With all that done, we ordered our first batch of 125 chicks.

770

I had purchased some Salatin broiler pens from my Polyface apprentice friend when he moved back to VA. I moved the birds out to pasture at 3 weeks. They like to eat.

771

We started our market endeavor and pre-sold over $1,700 worth of broilers and turkeys over three Saturdays and a total of 7 hours of effort, on what we were told were slow market days.

Our first batch is due for precessing next week. Both my wife and I work full time and we are the only processors, so we decided to order some professional equipment. Plucking is the most time consuming endeavor, so we decided to order a quality plucker. This baby will pluck 3 birds at one time in 20 seconds.

772

I have also ordered a cheap scalder (supplemented with a bucket warmer), some good knives, and some restraining cones.

773

We are taking off next Friday so we can process over a full three days. My wife is good as eviscerating, I'm so so. We expect this to take a while. Once that is done and they have aged a couple of days, we can begin delivering product, collecting cash, and paying off the equipment. All the while, we will continue to sell at the farmers market and garner yet more customers.

We are selling chickens for $3.00 a pound, turkeys for $2.25. They are all pasture raised, fed on our own mix of local grains with no meds or animal byproducts added. This is a mission to give our community humane, healthy alternatives to industrial meat.

After this one, we have two more batches that end in the first part of June. The seconds are from a local feed store where we bought them out of the 50 they had on hand, and a third order of 100, for a total of 275 for the spring season. We plan to do 500 in the fall.

We'll see how that goes.

[Float On]

I'm so glad to hear a follow up from you.
You certainly jumped in all the way.
A far cry from my 20 I ordered this spring. I've had people ask me to sell them processed birds so I may do as many as 50 in the fall......maybe.

[CathyA]

Sounds good Storyteller!

[lhamo]

This is an amazing service you are offering, Storyteller. Your prices are amazing. I hope you also make a little profit, at least enough to make this sustainable for you long term. Here in Beijing there are very few places you can get a real organic chicken (the "officially certified" ones are probably as organic as the plastic and styrofoam they come wrapped in, given the level of corruption endemic here. See op ed in today's NYT for an elaboration...). Ones that come from real farmers who let you visit and inspect their farms are going for $7-10/lb for a 3-4lb bird, which is more than we are willing to pay in spite of our desire to support what they are doing. I don't think anyone is doing Salatin style chicken farming. I'm somewhat tempted to try, but hard to raise hundreds of chickens in an apartment on the 30th floor! If DH's job ever disappears I am thinking of trying to talk him into experimenting with a small farming operation, maybe here, maybe back in the US. Probably crazy but other crazy things we have done have worked out. Anyway, eager to hear how this turns out for you so please keep coming back and giving us updates!

lhamo

[Gregg]

What a great project! I've never had a hand in any more birds than was needed for our family so will be really curious to see how it goes. I will say your prices sound pretty low. Pastured chickens that are not fully organic, but very close to it, sell for $5/lb. at our farmer's market. Even splitting the difference at $4/lb. could net you an extra $1,000 from that first batch.

I've long had the thought of trying something a little more on the exotic side for this type of business, like pheasants. Ever considered anything that? A local boutique grocer here can get them and sells them for (I think) $14.99/lb. He is always sold out.

[The Storyteller]

I'm somewhat tempted to try, but hard to raise hundreds of chickens in an apartment on the 30th floor! If DH's job ever disappears I am thinking of trying to talk him into experimenting with a small farming operation, maybe here, maybe back in the US. Probably crazy but other crazy things we have done have worked out.

Not so crazy. I'm a librarian in real life, so it can be done. If I can do it, you can.

We just bought our little farm to feed ourselves more sustainably and in a more humane (my big deal) and healthy manner. However, once we learned the ropes and we saw how few such opportunities there were in our community for such alternatives, we began to feel called to fill that need. We don't even come close to it, but we will do as much as the state, time, and money will allow us.

And an operation like ours requires astoundingly little acreage, doing it the Salatin way. We have yet to use a fraction of our eight acres for our goats, layers, and meat chickens.

I have no idea what your situation is, but if meat birds are going for as high as you say, the demand must be very high. You may want to investigate getting a little piece of land now. It might just pay for itself.

[The Storyteller]

I will say your prices sound pretty low. Pastured chickens that are not fully organic, but very close to it, sell for $5/lb. at our farmer's market. Even splitting the difference at $4/lb. could net you an extra $1,000 from that first batch.

Yes, we are low, even for Oklahoma. Prices average around $4.50 a pound around the state, and that is from people who have competitors in their area. We have none.

But this is our learning year. We had no clue what the market would be like or how incredibly easy it would be for us to sell our birds. We wanted to start our cautiously. We will likely raise our prices considerably next year. Our birds will be 5+ pounds, and people are already balking at buying a $15 bird. We want them to taste them, then they will see they are worth it.

As to exotics, we may end up in that direction. However, we are starting out with standard meat chickens and turkeys, then will dabble a bit in heritage breeds to see if it works. Pheasants and such would likely be down the road.

[Gregg]

Ok, I get your marketing strategy and it makes sense. If competition in your area is low or non-existent could restaurants also make up part of your customer base? FWIW, I do know that the pheasant producer here sells most of his birds to a few nice restaurants within a couple hours drive. This is just the coolest project Storyteller, I don't see how it could be anything but a great success for you!

[Float On]

I'd love to give quail a try. An even smaller bird with a fast turn around.
We use to hunt quail all the time growing up (within season of course), it is so good.
Because of changes in farming over the years there are less quail in the wild - in fact this past season my dad had to go to another farm and pay to hunt released quail. You pay for how many quail are released and if you shoot them, great, if you miss, too bad.

I couldn't believe how much they are on a restaurant menu now and I know of two local restaurants that really try to buy local as much as possible so I may give this a go.

We raised phesants a few years in the early 80's for the MO Dept of Conservation. They were trying to re-establish phesants in the wild. Didn't work too well. They either all made their way to Iowa or were eatten by coyotes.

[Gregg]

I forgot to add one of the things that intrigues me about some of the exotic pheasant breeds. In addition to the meat there is (or appears to be) quite a market for the plumage. I tie flies, based on actual fishing patterns, but much more involved that what you would really toss at a fish. To get the colors and markings on feathers we use a multitude of different bird feathers. I also see such things in jewelry and as decoration on all kinds of things. Absolutely no idea where or how you could market something like that, but obviously someone does it.

[Float On]

Dad's a fly tier too. I live on the cliff above a great Trout fishing lake.

Feathers are big in wedding decor and flower arranging right now too, so I agree....lots of options.

[The Storyteller]

This is just the coolest project Storyteller, I don't see how it could be anything but a great success for you!

Thanks! It is a lot of work (I work 2 hours in the morning before my regular job, then another 3 to 4 when I come home in the evening during the week, and pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday), but it is very much a labor of love. I enjoy being around the birds, my dogs, and even enjoy talking to folks and selling at the market.

Some people garden. I raise animals.

[The Storyteller]

I'd love to give quail a try. An even smaller bird with a fast turn around. Quail is a very strong possibility. One of our market customers suggested we sell quail eggs. Apparently very hot on the cooking shows. Folks cook up these tiny eggs sunny side up and top some dishes with them. There are several chicken and duck egg sellers, but no quail except for a brief time last year, and they sold out fast.

We may try some this summer. Although, a tiny quail is equal to a 5 pound chicken as far as the state is concerned where it comes to our annual allowed limit. Selling a quail for $15 may be a stretch. So, we may just raise them for our table.

Or sell them under it.

[The Storyteller]

I just wanted to update. Our entire first batch except 3 have been processed and are either delivered or in the freezer awaiting delivery. We were disappointed with the sizes at 3.5 to 4.5 pounds processed, with an occasional 5 pounder here or there, but have decided the hatchery uses a bad strain of Cornish Cross. The middle batch came from a different source and they are much larger than the first, and the third is lagging just like the first did.

Processing is so easy now that we have kill cones and a good plucker. It almost doesn't seem like work any more. Like we are cheating. My wife and I make a very good team at processing time.

All that to say, we are doing it. We are actually doing it.

[Float On]

Thanks for the update and good to see you've survived this first go around. You know I thought I my cornish were a little smaller weight wise this spring than they were in the fall. I think I'll try a different breed for meat this fall. The turkens were tall and leaner but I actually liked the taste better than the cornish (they were also a much cleaner chicken since they don't spend all their time sitting around). I have decided to give quail a try in the fall as well. I was watching a video on youtube of a quail farm and they had a whole room full of incubators (quail are not really good in captivity at sitting on their own eggs).

[Gregg]

Congratulations Storyteller! I've never tried starting up anything in your particular business, but have in a few others. The one constant is that there is always a learning curve at the beginning. Don't be overly disappointed if one supplier's birds weren't up to snuff, just use a different supplier next time and keep rolling. To me it sounds like you are off to an excellent start!

[Float On]

Couple of questions for you.
Did everyone that pre-ordered follow through with purchase?
Did you have to deliver to everyone's homes or could they pick up from your place?
Each state (and county) is so different in requirements.

[The Storyteller]

Thanks for encouragement, Greg.

Float on,
We had one outright cancellation and one that hasn't returned calls or emails that I am assuming is a cancel, but I already have the birds set aside for them sold. There are a few I haven't been able to reach, but I expect them to follow through, given their original enthusiasm on ordering. People seem outright pleased to even have the option.

An irony is the one cancellation, the lady just pre-ordered 3 days earlier.

We have had a mix of delivery, meet ups, and on farm pickup. Most of the deliveries are frozen. In the future, I think all of them will be. Delivering unfrozen meat in an ice chest makes me nervous. Those will likely be on-farm pickup in the future.

I'm finding this to be the most difficult part of the whole thing. Contacting folks, selecting their birds, figuring the cost, adding sales tax, keeping records, finding locations... definitely something we need to streamline in the future, I think. Hopefully it will get easier as time goes on.

[Gregg]

We've had multiple small businesses and have run them all with Quick Books Pro. Everything you are talking about doing is available in that program. It is HUGELY handy when it comes to things like sales tax tracking and has a great variety of customizable reports to help track expenses, income and basically to help you figure out if you're actually making any money or not. I have only learned the basic report functions, DW is the pro in our family on that one, so don't know exactly what the learning curve is, but I do know Intuit has pretty decent customer service. Worth a look anyway.

[Float On]

Another quickbook pro fan here.
We have multiple tax rates because we travel for art shows.


Thats a really good % on your 'ordered/delivered' list. Congrats!

[awakenedsoul]

What a great story! Congratulations on your sales. That's wonderful that you've got it down to such a good system. I butchered one rooster and it totally traumatized me. I was a wreck. Now I eat far less chicken...and I order it through a local organic farmer.

[CathyA]

I'm sure it traumatized you awakenedsoul! I wonder how many of us would eat far less meat, if we had to actually do it, or see how its done!

[Gregg]

I'm sure it traumatized you awakenedsoul! I wonder how many of us would eat far less meat, if we had to actually do it, or see how its done!

Having grown up on a farm where food comes from was never a question. I was always amazed how many people there are in the world that really don't have any clue what happens between animals or vegetables in a field and all that neatly packaged product in the mega-mart. If everyone had to raise and then kill and then prepare a chicken as a grade school project I suspect there would be quite a bit less meat consumed overall and that conscientious producers like Storyteller would be heroes.

[The Storyteller]

Wow. Thanks, Gregg. :)

We have now processed our first and second batches, and will deliver the latter this weekend. The best feedback to date, a lady who ordered two chickens from the first batch ordered 6 more in the third, and one who ordered 4 first time now wants another 8. Another preordered 30 for the fall.

And people are telling us it is the best chicken and/or eggs they have ever tasted. Makes us feel good about what we are doing.

Awakened one, I am proud of you for trying, and even more proud for turning to your local producer. In many ways, that is even more sustainable than doing it yourself. You are creating a local farm economy that will have a greater impact.

My motivations are somewhat selfish. If I couldn't do what I do or find it locally, I would have to turn vegan.

[Gregg]

Wow. Thanks, Gregg. :)


Lol. Just hoping shameless flattery might score me a free sample! ;)

[The Storyteller]

I'm inspired again, just what I needed during the long, hot, dry summer...

Got this setup on Sunday for $900. Not a great price, but it will look good at my place and certainly do the job. Besides, it came from one of the sustainable broiler pioneers of Oklahoma, so it has a strong legacy and will be put to good use.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5232788/

Pickwick plucker ($8,885 retail) with professional turkey size scalder ($2,295 retail) in the background, along with two turkey frier type scalders in the far back.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5232792/

Big, professional style, four person evisceration table with all the fixins... except her moron sons and grandson ripped off half the fixins to get it through the door, rather than use a wrench. Easy enough to fix, though. Retail $2,495. Very nice.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5232795/

Awesome kill cabinet that can hold 20 birds at a time and uses shackles rather than kill cones. Cabinet $2,850 retail, shackles $95 each.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5232800/

And a 200 gallon chill tank and other assorted processing materials.

I now have two complete processing systems, this one for my home, and one small enough to build a mobile processing unit (MPU) to share with friends. Not bad for a day's work. :)

[simplemama]

we did 100 this spring and hopefully will do another 100 in the fall

[The Storyteller]

we did 100 this spring and hopefully will do another 100 in the fall

:cool:

With that many, I assume you sold a few? How did they turn out?

[The Storyteller]

Just to update...

Our spring meat bird project was a complete financial disaster. Our birds grew much more slowly than advertised, and we butchered at 12 to 14 or even 16 weeks. Yet, they continued to eat the way all Cornish Cross tend to eat, feed that we had to pay for over this extended period. Even then the birds were smaller by up to 2 pounds, which amounted to a $6 per bird loss. Because of the heat and drought, our birds also fared poorly, with many losses. Part of this was beginner's inexperience. I should have tried 50 or so for our own consumption before trying to raise them for profit. Add to these woes the rising grain prices and poor grazing quality of our pastures, both due to the drought and heat, and you have the recipe for disaster.

The extended growing period was also not good for customer relations. Waiting up to a month to two months for the promised product put a strain on patience. These are good people willing to go the extra mile, but sitll, it was rough.

We are trying a fall batch, trying to apply the lessons learned. We have received 276 for our fall project. We have switched hatcheries (Welps in Iowa) and feeds (20% to 24% meat bird and/or game bird rations). We are also not advertising a definite due date. Instead, a more nebulous "end of October or first part of November" is offered, which is weeks after our expected due dates. Better early than late, we figure.

We are also doing all delivery, and only delivering frozen out of safety concerns. This is simpler and more efficient. We don't expect to sell all of them in the fall, which means we can get a head start in the spring. I look forward to a day when we can take an order at the market in the morning, and deliver product that afternoon.

Turkeys have been something of a different story. Being the tough critters they are, most survived the brutal heat wave, and now that it is near turkey day, orders have been brisk. Most of them are already in the freezer, so we can deliver whenever the customer wants them. I'm taking a big tom to strut his stuff at the market, and that is drawing crowds to our booth and leads to good conversations. He is about 25 to 30 pounds and people are amazed he is still just a teenager at 8 months and will grown to 2 or 3 times that size if I let him.

Turkeys will buy us some time and let us tread water for a while, allowing us to continue on for a bit. However, if we don't do better with this fall batch over coming months, I don't see how we survive beyond next spring. We will have to just throw in the towel.

Farming is rough business.

[Gregg]

So sorry to hear about your tough year Storyteller, but you're right, farming is a tough business. For what little it's worth to hear, this is the kind of year that tests the most experienced and well heeled in the business. If you can hang in there you should at least be able to count on most years being easier.

The equipment you posted above is impressive. I would think that would at least make you efficient at processing even if the birds aren't currently efficient at growing.

It sounds like the turkeys are a bright spot. Could you do enough of them for income and just do chickens for personal consumption in the worst case? I do know turkeys for profit really only have one payday per year so that is far less than ideal. Is their feed cost per pound of bird better than with the chickens? Have you considered geese that get finished around Christmas? Know there was mention of quail or pheasants at one time. Any more thoughts along those lines?

With the cost of gas going up as well is delivery still worth doing or just something your customers have come to expect?

The thought of a 60 or 70 pound tom made me smile. That would be a show stopper at the market!

[Float On]

It is tough. I know big production chicken farms around here (Tyson territory) complained about low weights/high death rates....etc. It was a tough summer all the way around.
With my broken ankle, I'm having to pass on doing my fall run of chickens. Last year's fall run did much better than this spring's run.
I love it that you are taking your big tom turkey to farmer's market - great advertizing.
I begged and begged to do turkey's one year in high school (big time 4H girl). I had the most trouble with my 12 turkeys, one night they got out and roosted on one of the farm trucks. Their poo ruined the paint job. My dad was super glad to have me sell them all at the fair and never let me try them again.

I sure hope your fall chickens do better. Post when you can - love your updates.