How We Raise and Store a Year's Supply of Chicken for a Family of 6 (start to finish)

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3.5 GALLON WATERER: https://amzn.to/3zpEiji
RAINBOW RANGER CHICKS: https://meyerhatchery.com/products/Fr...

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Cost Breakdown for Raising Rainbow Rangers:
There is a farm around here that sells their pastured whole birds for $5.35/lb. The total weight from our 56 birds was 330 pounds. Now that’s an average of 5.9 lbs, which is pretty high.. There was water in with them from being in the ice water, and I’m not sure if I trust the bathroom scale 😊 So let’s go with 300 pounds. That would cost $1,605 to buy them locally.

I started with 58 chicks (we lost a couple along the way), and those cost me $228. (Note that you can get them cheaper if you buy over 100)

The Non-GMO feed I get is $16 for Starter and about $14 for Grower. I’m gonna do some rounding here, because I did buy some feed at the feed store at the beginning, and I was also feeding 6 ducks and 16 layers at the same time. Let’s say I use 4 bags of Starter and 20 bags of Grower, that’s $344.

Bedding was $16, apple cider vinegar was $3, ice was $27, freezer bags were about $16, and gas to take them for processing was probably about $15. That’s $77, so we’ll round up to $100 to include electricity for the heat lamps.

The cost for processing will vary depending on what you have available. Let’s say you pay $4 per bird, that’s $224.

Total cost is $896 = $709 in savings. Obviously there are a lot of variables here. It will also cost something to get started, but those costs will be spread out for years to come. Everything can be multipurpose as well. Feeders, drinkers, heat lamps, and pens can also be used for laying hens, ducks, or whatever other kinds of birds you want to raise 😊

A lot of the worth here is knowing what’s in your food, and having the security of not relying on someone else.

A note about the processing: We could do it ourselves (we have in the past), but it’s a lot of work without the proper equipment. We actually get our birds processed for $2 each, and I just don’t feel like it’s worth it to buy the expensive equipment (that we would also have to store) and spend an entire day processing when we can get it done for that price. We have the skills though if we would ever need to do it ourselves 😊

I hope this was helpful for you!

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We want to share our passion for efficient, sustainable homesteading that brings the family together. On our homestead we do chemical-free gardening, grass-fed milk and beef, pastured eggs and broiler chickens, and free range children :) We love to go on adventures as a family, so if we're not workin on the farm, we're probably hiking or out getting ice cream. We're all into DIY, and being inventive and creative. We believe in homesteading that's sustainable, not just sustainable homesteading. In other words, we want to show you that homesteading doesn't have to wear you out to the point that you give it up. We've seen it happen, and almost came to that point ourselves. So go ahead and take a whack at that subscribe button if you'd like to join us on this crazy ride. Get ready to learn and be inspired!