[BPowell]

What kind of money is involved in being a commercial chicken producer for a company like Perdue or Tyson?  How much does it cost to put up the houses and get started?  How hard is it to get started?  Just wondering if a good living can be made by running chicken houses.  Any info would be great.

[Victorian Farmer]

Very hard try 50 birds from chicks sext cost of feed etc ,I naw sell 3 or 4 weeks old £3 or  4 pound no fuss legbars marrans etc and don't go threw the winter whith stock . 25 to 50 hens could cost £300 to keep november till march no income heat lamps £2 a day for 2, 2 pens 25 chicks in each pen

[BPowell]

Very hard try 50 birds from chicks sext cost of feed etc ,I naw sell 3 or 4 weeks old £3 or  4 pound no fuss legbars marrans etc and don't go threw the winter whith stock . 25 to 50 hens could cost £300 to keep november till march no income heat lamps £2 a day for 2, 2 pens 25 chicks in each pen

I'm talking about commercial poultry farming with 40x500 houses, not a backyard hobby.

[chrismahon]

I think it likely that these large Companies started on the scale of Victorian Farmer (keeping a careful eye on the economics) back in the 1950's and after decades of re-investment have grown to the size they are today BPowell. If that is the case there isn't a simple answer to your question.

[lord flynn]

Very hard try 50 birds from chicks sext cost of feed etc ,I naw sell 3 or 4 weeks old £3 or  4 pound no fuss legbars marrans etc and don't go threw the winter whith stock . 25 to 50 hens could cost £300 to keep november till march no income heat lamps £2 a day for 2, 2 pens 25 chicks in each pen

I'm talking about commercial poultry farming with 40x500 houses, not a backyard hobby.

maybe try a forum thats not a smallholding one then.

[henchard]

I'm talking about commercial poultry farming with 40x500 houses, not a backyard hobby.

Around £300,000 for one house which holds 30,000 broilers

[BPowell]

I'm talking about commercial poultry farming with 40x500 houses, not a backyard hobby.

Around £300,000 for one house which holds 30,000 broilers

That's what I'm looking for, thanks!

[Kimbo]

CRIKEY!!!! 
How many smallholders have that sort of money?
Mind you, how many smallholders want that many birds?

[devonlady]

Or to keep them intensively

[BPowell]

Sorry, didn't realize this was just a hobby forum.  Just a bunch of wannabes on here acting like they actually know something about chicken farming.  Forgive me poor boys.

[Clarebelle]

I'll also forgive you for your obvious inability to read. The name of the website is 'The Accidental Smallholder'. Don't worry, it sounds like your going to go far playing with the 'big boys'. 

[RPF]

It's a shame that someone has to be so misguided as to enter our forum with such banal queries on large scale commercial poultry farming and deface it with a short volley of juvenile comments. Perhaps if this person knew what they were doing with their own operation, they would not be seeking counsel here in the first place?!

[chrismahon]

Worth pointing out that in the world of broiler production 40x500 is tiny. When a commercial vet came to our place to blood sample our little flock of 28 he bought with him three trainees. He explained that they were with him for the day and he was going to show them the extremes of chicken keeping. Their next visit was to a broiler plant that had 200,000 on the site!


So by my calculations, to be competitive with economy of scale, you would need 8 of those houses (one empty being prepared). Add to that the processing facilities (slaughter, packing and freezing), plus the cost of the land and the total investment needed may be around the £4 million mark.

[Kimbo]

  Someone actually likes Mr Powell's abusive post??

[Dan]

Someone actually likes Mr Powell's abusive post??

Nowt so queer as folk.

Nice to see the irony of the mighty commercially-minded BPowell seeking advice from a bunch of hobby-know-nothing-wannabes has been duly recognised.