One of the biggest arguments against raising your own meat chickens is that it’s “cheaper to just buy chicken at the grocery store.” That sure was a statement that I heard a few times from my husband, my mother, and a few other people.
Honestly? I wasn’t sure. I did the math. I ran the numbers a few times, but while I’m amazing at organizing events at work, I am equally as good at forgetting or leaving out important or unexpected costs with home projects.
This was our very first batch of Cornish Cross chickens, and while I knew we weren’t going to do everything perfectly, I wanted to know the real numbers. Not a rough estimate. Not “it felt cheaper.” The actual cost.
So now that processing day is over, the freezer is stocked, and the kitchen is finally clean again (just took out the last jars of stock from the pressure canner), I put together all of the numbers I could remember and started adding everything up.
The Cost Breakdown
Chicks – 25 Cornish Cross chicks from Meyer Hatchery – $104.00
Feed – 7½ bags of Dumor Start-to-Finish 24% feed from Tractor Supply – $165.00
Bedding – Two bags of pine shavings from Tractor Supply – $14.00
Processing Supplies
Thankfully, we were able to borrow a chicken plucker, which saved us a significant expense ANNNNND a ton of time. We already owned our boning and fillet knives, and I had zip ties on hand.
The only processing supplies we needed to purchase were five Home Depot buckets. Two became kill cones, two became blood/guts buckets, and one was for necks and feet. 5 buckets × $3.98 = $19.90
Packaging
Our old vacuum sealer was close to 40 years old, and a few weeks ago, when we tried to use it, it decided that it was time to retire. So I we ended up buying a new one. I also bought premade bags, and while they were a luxury and not necessary, they made packing so much easier!
- Vacuum sealer – $144.66
- 50 shrink bags – $22.99
- 120 pre-made vacuum seal bags – $24.99
Total Cost
When I add everything together, we spent:
$491.54
Now before my husband points it out… Yes, we also built a chicken tractor. No, I’m not including that cost.
The tractor wasn’t built just for these chickens. It’ll be used for our laying hens so they can be out on grass, our rooster (Dooster), who is currently by himself in another coop and run, and hopefully some turkeys in the very near future. Since it’ll serve our homestead for years, I consider it an investment, not an expense tied to this one event. (He’ll probably still tell me I’m doing the math wrong.)
What We Ended Up With
Out of our original 25 chicks, we processed 23 birds.
We decided to keep 10 whole for smoking, roasting, and easy family dinners, while the other 13 were cut into individual pieces.
And when I say “we pieced them out,” I should probably add that our/my knife skills could use a little work. I’m sure if I were in the kitchen and able to just take my time, I would have been a lot better with the breasts. My wing, thigh/leg game was on point! I’m confident we’ll get more meat off the bones next time, but that’s part of learning.
Even so, we ended up with a little under 110 pounds of chicken in the freezer. We had just under 50 pounds of parted out chicken and over 56 pounds of whole chicken.
But we didn’t stop there.
Instead of throwing away all of the necks, feet, and carcasses, we saved them. The heads/necks and feet went to friends who feed their dogs raw food, and the four carcasses were turned into homemade chicken stock.
Those four carcasses became 13 pint jars of rich, homemade chicken stock that are now sitting in my pantry waiting for soups and whatever I need it for this fall and winter.
I consider that a bonus.
So…What Did It Cost Per Pound?
If I include every single expense, including the brand new vacuum sealer we’ll use for years to come, and for whatever we need it for in the kitchen, our chicken worked out to about:
$4.47 per pound.
If I take the vacuum sealer out of the equation, since it’s reusable equipment and an investment just like the chicken tractor, that number drops to about:
$3.15 per pound.
If I only use the chicken feed and cost of chickens and count everything else as an investment to be used for other things, that number drops further to about:
$2.52 per pound
How Does That Compare to the Grocery Store?
Depending on the week, you can usually find chicken on sale for less than my first two numbers. Boneless, skinless chicken breast often goes on sale for around $2.99 per pound, while regular prices can range from $3.99 to $5.99 per pound depending on the cut and brand.
So if you’re looking only at the price tag, raising your own meat chickens isn’t always dramatically cheaper, especially your very first time.
But I also don’t think that’s a completely fair comparison.
The chicken in our freezer wasn’t shipped across the country. I know exactly how those birds were raised because I was there every single day. And unlike buying a package of chicken breasts from the store, we didn’t just get one cut of meat.
We have whole chickens ready for the smoker, breasts for meal prep, thighs and drumsticks for dinners, wings for parties, and enough homemade stock to last us quite a while.
For me, that’s value you can’t really put into a spreadsheet.
Would We Do It Again?
Absolutely!
Was it a lot of work?
A little more than I expected.
There were long days of keeping them cool in the early summer heat or worrying about torrential downpours in summer rains, plenty of learning moments, and a few things I’d definitely do differently next time.
But that’s kind of the point.
The first batch wasn’t just about filling the freezer. It was about learning a new skill, building confidence in something that is outside of my realm, and figuring out a system that will only get better with time.
Next time we’ll be faster. We’ll waste less. We’ll get a little more meat off the bones.
We already own the vacuum sealer, the buckets, and now the experience that only comes from actually doing it.
So yes, I could probably buy chicken for less some weeks. But every time I open the freezer now, I see nearly 110 pounds of chicken that we raised ourselves. Every time I grab a jar of homemade stock off the shelf, I know we used as much of those birds as we possibly could. And to me, that’s worth a whole lot more than a few cents per pound.
This first batch filled our freezer, but it did more than that…it gave us something even more valuable. We, especially me, gained the confidence to do it again. We learned what worked, what I’d change, and that raising our own food is something that I genuinely enjoy. And if this first batch taught me anything, it’s that we’re just getting started.
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