Is free range chicken farming very proffitable?

Question

Is free range chicken farming very proffitable?

Answer 1

I wouldn't say so... Not now anyway.  Free range chicken is much more costly than regular chicken (eggs, too) so your buyers will be mostly restricted to "animal rights" types.

Answer 2

Not if you are the chicken lol

Answer 3

I definitely think it is.

Nowadays people are more and more concerned about the quality of what they are eating.

A free range chicken can be advertised as so and be sold at a much higher price.

In Europe, the "organic" and "bio" labels are been very very praised for several years now, and it's coming to the US.

Answer 4

In the small rural town where my folks live several dozen free range eggs show up every other day at the local cafe - for the customers and for the cafe bakery.  This little sale could  & does easily pay the expenses for the whole flock of chickens in mobile cages built with largely recycled materials just outside of town.  The cafe owner provides the transportation as he believes in quality foods sustainably produced.  

The chicken farmer guy raises crickets for feeding them in trash cans with several inches of sand at the bottom, some cover ( stacked old egg cartons), and a old dinner plate with a wet sponge and a little bit of boiled potato and a spinkle of nutritional yeast.  The chickens really pay attention to live food!   Worms from the compost pile are also devoured by them.  A little ingenuity replaces much chicken food expense.

Check out ( or Google) the Journey to Forever website - esp. aquaculture foods search.  Ocean Arks Intl. has for years been developing sustainable food system ideas.

Lots of people are eager to support foods which have little fossil fuel imputs and no antibiotics.  The free range eggs have nice healthy richly colored yolks and stand up a bit more than the pale flat yolks of factory produced eggs.  In larger cities organic free range eggs sell for $3.50/dozen which is about twice the industrial egg bank stored eggs.  Lots of factory chicken die in the heat of summer - this guys free range chickens are doing fine in the afternoon shade under the fruit trees.  If I get a chance to eat those chickens I'll be able to profit from a good diet.

Answer 5

There would be less start up costs as there would be less infrastructure to build all you need is a store for feed a small shed and a well fenced off field

Answer 6

Apart from the fact that no method of farming is currently 'that' profitable in the UK at the moment, out of Free range chicken farming and battery farming, battery farming is by far the most profitable

Below is a table of profits in the two different sectors of the industry up to 2006. Scroll down to Table 2.1

http://www.apd.reading.ac.uk/AgEcon/rese...

Free range chicken farms tend to have a smaller set up than battery farms. Obviously you need more space for free range so less chickens in the area you have.

Battery farming you need minimal space so for the same amount of land you can have a considerably larger amount of chickens.

It's the same story in pretty much every industry - people want to buy a cheap product and lots of it. If you can mass produce a huge number of eggs in a very short space of time, you can afford to sell them cheaper and your outlay is going to be a lot less than the farmer than sells fewer eggs in the same amount of time for a higher price, therefore your profit is going to be a lot higher.

The demand for cheap battery farmed eggs is increasing and has been for a few years and the profits of the free range farmer has taken a big drop.

Although there is a lot more people buying free range and organic, the costs still far outweigh the turnover compared to battery farming.

Hope that helps

Answer 7

free range farming can be profitable if you live in a populated area but it can be bad because of all the virus going around think about the good and bad options first

Answer 8

probably, you get to keep them in similar conditions to battery or barn hens yet you get a much higher price in the shops

Answer 9

Well with the rising wheat prices I don't think any animal production is going to be very profitable for a few years.

Answer 10

Just like most agricultural businesses, in order to make it profitable you need to run a rather large operation to take advantage of the economy of scale.

Other than niche farmers market type operations, sadly, the mom and pop farming and ranching  operation has major barriers to competing with the huge multi million dollar operations.

Answer 11

Can be so if there is huge demand for free-range chickens to the effect that the price increase will outweigh the higher cost of production. Most battery farmed chicks are ready for harvest from somewhere between 28-40 days depending on the breed and program. Free ranging chickens will probably need at least double the time. So consider the amount of feed and the opportunity costs on money invested, the price that consumers can pay must be a hefty premium over the battery farmed chicken. A more interesting option would be to ask what is being sought after - ie leaner meat, lower fat & cholesterol ? And then look for an alternative way to achieve that. There are possibilities that broilers with very lean meat and low cholesterol & fat content can be reared by special feed programming, maturing early and can be sold at a lower premium.

Answer 12

it depends if the foxes get them

Answer 13

Depends on who you're selling to and what kind of quantities you're talking about.

If you're planning on selling to the big supermarkets, they'll set the price they want to pay which could mean no profit or even a loss on a chicken / egg.

You're more likely to do well if you sell on a market stall to the general public.

Or, you could just follow the lead of The Real Hustle and pretend you're selling free range and instead just sell the cheapest stuff you can buy for a high "free range" price.

ps.  Don't do this.  It's highly illegal and you'll get in a lot of trouble if you get caught.

Answer 14

it should be.but the farmers are jumping on the healthy food bandwagon to get the extra cash.

Answer 15

Keep it small and have fun.  Find out if you have a market!  Then if it works out get bigger as you find the markets.

Answer 16

Free range chicken can be very profitable.  Your investment and costs are going to be much less than raising the caged chickens.  It is all going to depend on your marketing.  You are going to have to go out and  create your own market.  Find steady costumers that appreciate good eggs and are willing to pay a little more for them.  Restaurants should be good costumers if you can guarantee them a steady supply.  Farmers markets are good and even local supermarkets may be willing feature your local eggs.  Your production costs are less and you have a superior product.  The market is there if you seek it out.

Answer 17

Not hugely i would say,like any type of farming you do it because you love it rather than the money.But,depending on the setup and closeness to markets it is profitable-if it wasn't no one would do it(the laws of business i'm afraid).

P.s the money does matter though!

Answer 18

only if you can find the eggs and catch the chickens .lol

Answer 19

You can see by the answers you have already received that there is a lot to consider. As far as I am concerned there is only one consideration. Would you subject any animal to the cruelties of factory farming? Can you do that in your heart? You WILL make a profit because there are a huge number of people who will not support the factory farm horror. We WILL pay more for your product. You WILL make a profit. I don't go to church every Sunday but I take to heart the wisdom that God gives us all the planet to live and grow and be happy, it is ours to husband, to care for and nurture. It is not ours to squander and pillage and abuse, especially the animals that we share this planet with. One does not have to be a believer in God to appreciate that wisdom. You WILL sleep better at night and you WILL do well in this life if you take care in what you do and how you live. So if you grow free range hens and if you market them and their eggs if you choose, you will always have a market. Your product will be better because you follow nature, your food will taste better, be better and you will command a higher price.

Answer 20

Well, farming isn't the buisness to get into to get rich, but farms of this sort are about more than just profits - small scale, sustainable agriculture is something that, I think, is going to become increasingly needed, not just from an ecological point of view. Doing something the right way has it's own rewards. All the encouragement in the world, and the best of luck.