We recently published a video on the economics of growing and preserving your own food (in jars). You can find that video here for reference: https://youtu.be/eR9PAfV9KqQ Many of you pointed out in the comments of that video “What about all the MEAT?” Today, we’re going to answer that question for you – specifically isn’t it more affordable to grow your own meat. We’ll breakdown the cost to raise and process pigs, chickens, and turkeys. And just for fun, the goats we raised on properly for nearly 5 years (hint – they were very expensive). If you have other topics like this you want us to cover in future videos, just leave a comment down below and we’ll see what we can do. Our goal is to help guide you guys in any way we can.
**Post edit note: I don’t know why I kept saying $700 to raise our pig. The cost for the pig+feed+processing was $608 divided by 170 lbs of pork is the $3.50 a pound.
—————
๐ Shop Our Merch: https://www.bonfire.com/store/1870smerch/
๐ป HOSS Garden Tools & Seeds: https://shrsl.com/33ehp (Promo Code SHOP1870 for free seeds!)
๐ฑMIGardener: https://migardener.com/?ref=RvfqYBHzoxkfzG (Promo Code 1870 for 10% off!)
๐บ GREENSTALK Vertical Planter: https://lddy.no/kpa6 (Promo Code SHOP1870 for $10 off!)
๐ฅซ FORJARS Canning Lids: https://forjars.co/?sca_ref=1911228.45BY9FFxdg (Promo Code SHOP1870 to get 10% off)
๐ HARVEST Right Freeze Dryers: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1182.html
๐ Our Favorite AMAZON Finds: https://amzn.to/3ihSgZP
—————
Mailing Address:
That 1870’s Homestead
P.O. Box 179
Newport, MI 48166
—————
โ
Connect with Us ๐
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1870sHomestead/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/that_1870s_homestead/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/that1870s/
EMAIL: that1870shomestead@gmail.com
—————
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links – at no additional cost to you. We will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, after clicking through the links. โฅ Todd & Rachel
—————
37 Comments
I think for us personally, it is the processing that will cost you too much. We butcher our own and that saves you almost half the cost of the price for the meat. We grass feed our butcher calves we prefer that type. If you can butcher it yourself that would be a huge cost saving.
Compost !!! Compost alone around here for 1/4 of the amount I would need is well over 400$ not including the travel costs that they add on ๐ขpretty sure they quoted me 600$ last spring and that would only fill 6 of my raised beds. So yesโฆ.. all that compost alone is worth it to me lol!!
Do you have a video showing your chicken tractor? Maybe that style would be better for me. And how many do you put in?
In WV I pay $36 for hunting license which includes a doe stamp. If I get a deer that gets me about 50lbs of meat that makes it about 72 cents/lb. If I spend $12 for another doe stamp and get another doe that gives me another 50lbs then it makes it about 48 cents/lb if the total license cost is $48. I'm only counting two does and no buck because I rarely see bucks and get does most of the time. I butcher the deer myself.
I just canโt kill an animal after raising it. Call me a hypocrite, but Iโd rather buy chicken at the store.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful info! You produce great food & stay fit & happy while doing this. Many blessings to your family ๐ค๐๐จ๐ฆ
Great overview. It's definitely been worthwhile for us with chickens & rabbits, and next spring we'll be adding turkeys. If a person had to rely solely on bags of feed it might be different, but pasturing/tractors etc are a giant bonus. It helps a lot if you can grow an extra garden plot just for the animals, too. And our rabbits also eat a lot of grass, clover, comfrey, herbs, etc in season even though we don't pasture them. We just gather some up every day all spring and summer; it only takes a few minutes.
And YES it's about the money, as well as quality and not relying on the system. If budget is no object, that's great, but the plain fact is a lot of people these days (including us) really do have to raise as much food as we can just because prices are so out of control. And heck yeah, the manure/compost you get has to be figured in as a gain, because that stuff is getting more and more expensive too. I even heard recently that people are paying ten dollars for a gallon bag of rabbit poop to fertilize their gardens with… that could help if you sell on online markets or your local farmers' market.
Thank you for the realistic breakdown. The true value of raising your own food is knowing where it comes from and how it was treated, I think that is invaluable.
Great video and really good info. Thanks! I agree with you on space needed. We have a total of 60 acres and we live, grow most of our food and raise 20 chickens and a few pigs at a time on only 1.5 acres of our land. Very important to plan for aging too, and by not spreading out so much, we feel this is something we can do long term. Again, great video. The USDA link is very helpful – I had not found that before.
We rent out grazing land to a "friend", to put his cows on. My husband used to raise some, to earn money to cover our property tax, and to HELP each of of four kids with college costs. We gave them each $5,000 a year, and they came up with the rest, through scholarships, grants, and two of them were in ROTC-Air force, which paid mostly everything, for a 4-year commitment in the Air Force, once they graduated. We felt it's important for them to pay most of their college themselves, because we've seen that students work harder, don't skip class, and appreciate their education, if they pay for it, or work towards scholarships themselves. These days, I would HIGHLY recommend that young people go to a community college or technical college, unless they have a specific career that requires a 4-year education. Even then, they could see what classes would transfer from a community college to their specific degree program, at the college of their choice. In high school, many schools allow juniors and seniors to take certain community college classes, and count them towards their HS graduation requirements AND they would transfer to their 4-year college general Ed requirement, even if they decide to go straight into that program, skipping the 2-years at community college. Why am I talking about this in a cost of meat video? It started with why we raised cows for awhile, and I felt there may be those out there, who are clueless about how to manage college costs, like we were, and since you need to start investigating options, as soon as your child enters HS, so they can start looking into signing up for these programs. We did not allow our children to be in more than one sport or after school club a semester, and we didn't want them to get after school or summer jobs. Studying hard to get great grades, was their job, and I felt strongly that they'll be working the rest of their lives, once they graduate college. They did 4-H in the spring and summer, which I HIGHLY recommend, for learning about animals and life skills. There are projects on about everything one could think of. Since schools have taken out home ec and shop, 4-H helps in those areas.
Back to the cows. We never had a cow butchered. My husband hunts, and we've always had venison, which I have grown to prefer. Around us, you can get one cut off the bone and processed and pkgd for $135! He hasn't gotten a deer so we decided to buy a calf, around 10-12 months old, from that "friend", who we charge next to nothing to graze on our land. He charged us $2100!!! Then the butcher and packing fees (processing), cost another $750! And we had to buy a freezer! We were shocked and hurt that he would charge that much. Especially after I watched a video about two calves that were sold, for $800 each! It's not like he had to pay a place to "finish" them on grain. He did that himself. I have a feeling we paid the grain costs for him to finish his entire group of about 24 cows, for around 30 days! It's just my husband and me at home now, so the beef will last us at least 3 years…but does anyone else feel that's a high price for a calf?
rs
Ok wait .. did I just see you using a plucker on a live bird????
this is fantastic break down information. thank you so much!
We have a local farm selling whole chickens now. They are good sized birds, organic and pasture raised, but they are $29 each! For many people, this quality of meat will only be available if they do it themselves. My husband is a grain farmer. We go together with his brother and a friend. We buy 3 calves, one each. The friend physically feeds them and looks after them daily on his property. His brother provides the hay, and we provide the corn. It works out so well.
I don't know why I kept saying $700 to raise our pig. The cost for the pig+feed+processing was $608 divided by 170 lbs of pork is the $3.50 a pound.
Gardens are also good for my mental health. I have no cares while in the garden. I can't raise animals to eat, if I feed an animal it is my pet ( yea I know dumb but I just couldn't) however, I do eat meat and buy from local farmers when possible.
Thank you for sharing. I appreciate your transparency and willingness to share.
After all my garden was shaded by trees I was unable to garden. Then our pool came down, because of house update got ride of a water bed and made that into a raised garden in the pool space. Then added a Ruth Stout garden, and bought another raised. It has been a fun and fruitful journey.
Maybe it is an addiction, now a dehydrator, water bath canner, pressure canner. All in all about 40 years of doing this with maybe 3 years off. Well worth it all to know what you are eating.
What about eggs? They are a protein source.
One thing that you can't put a price on is the quality of homegrown food.
For us that is something you can't get at the store . It makes it all worth it.
Consider raising rabbits for food. Great quality meat that can be raised in a backyard in a neighborhood. Smoked rabbit tastes superior to chicken.
How many hours per week goes into caring for the animals? I try to consider my time as a resource, as well.
A lot of money saved plus self substantial. Most important. Thank you
The initial costs are there, and I'd advise anyone starting out to buy the best quality you can afford so you aren't replacing things so often, particularly any fencing you need. We also process all of our meat ourselves, and we keep breeding animals. We raise Pot Belly pigs for meat (which is what they were originally bred for) and that makes processing much easier. We've raised hogs in the past, and the difference in time for care, fencing, not to mention wear and tear on the land is like night and day. A pair of Pot Belly pigs or KuneKune pigs will add a certain amount to the yearly budget, but you also don't have to purchase young ones each year. We keep roosters with our hens, and we're fortunate enough to have a few broody hens in our flock, so we don't have to purchase chicks each year. We also raise meat rabbits and Muscovy ducks (which provide red meat). They are harder to process, but that red meat considerably cuts down the amount we spend for pasture raised beef. Our chickens are a mixed flock. We do ferment the commercial feed we buy, along with growing a pasture mix that we keep them in tractors on during the summer and fall months. We do the same with the rabbits. I only breed them 3 times a year and space that out so that feed is managed. The only thing we purchase for them is hay and one bag of calf manna per year. I've added that to the doe's feed a week before kindling and during the nursing and weaning process (just a few tablespoons per day) and have never lost any kits to weaning enteritis.
I can say that raising our own, processing our own, and knowing that they have good healthy lives is more than worth the effort. Just like with a garden, there are some very busy and tiring weeks … all worth it when you see your shelves filled.
Hi… love these videos. We'll probably move when I retire in 4 years. I want to start a small homestead on a very simple level. What is the simplest meat to grow? I'm guessing poultry & turkey. What's the cost in equipment for processing the poultry? And what do you do if you travel? We'll be moving away from kids, so traveling will be inevitable. Gosh, I wish I could sit and chat for hours… so many questions! But I'm grateful for the videos. Thanks
You had a slip of the tongue that was PERFECT! We "raised money". Yes, you kinda did. Good job guys.
Also, in a true dairy goat situation, you would still cull those older goats but have had the benefit of their offspring as well. They end up being almost a biproduct of the dairy. So, don't negate that possibility. It didn't work out that way for you, but keeping them for that long and not breeding them wasn't your intention from the start. I bet that meat is fantastic too!
Do you happen to know / have any chicken egg math? I want to get chickens but i live in a suburb and we can now have 3 to 5 hens max.
Us common folk get our meat at the grocery stores. And itโs not from animals, OK? Itโs somehow magically manufactured and placed in these styrofoam shrink wrapped trays. ๐Store brand Turkey at Meijers and Krogers was $0.49 and $0.55/lb. recently, and readily available.
Maybe on cost, it should be what do you pay at the store? But your numbers on your costs to raise/harvest should be good.
Thatโs where the deer hunting thing comes in. FREE meat! You just need the things to attract them to be there. Apple, oak trees, food lots, corn, decoys.
Thanks for sharing.
Donโt forget to add in saving on healthcare costs. Eating organic food lowers your exposure to pesticides and illnesses like salmonella and listeria. It is so worth the time and effort, to me.
The big plus is taste
My brother n law got 3 deer this year. I processed the first one and gave him and his wife all the meat. Then I processed the other 2 and filled my freezer, made jerky, pressure canned venison for stew. I also gifted my brother some roast. Love the free meat. Also harvested 2 roosters, tiny little things but grateful for the food to nourish our bodies.
can you expand on cost of housing and machines to feed and clean the animals
We are currently in the learning/planning stage of homesteading while we wait for a house with land to come available. I do have a garden that provides us with so much food, but can't wait to grow our own meat. My husband and I enjoy your videos, they provide us an abundance of information! Thank you for everything
Even IF it was marginal, cost wise, think of the health benefits, both physical/mental, of having animals around as well as knowing just how healthy your meat is – knowing all the inputs you've been responsible for. Way too many animals pumped with antibiotics for example these days….
Still looking hungrily at your fully stacked shelves behind you!
๐
A video on how to preserve and can Salmon would be fan dabby dosey!!
Unless you've done one before ๐
Can you do a video on the topic you stated of when you buy the animals, when to butcher and how soon to buyer another batch of animals for the second butcher. Thank you for all of your content!
in the cost of the chicken feed, do you have an idea how many pounds of feed you went through? I raised them this past summer and had high death rates because I over fed. Trying to get a better sense to get them to get at full term for harvest.
I want to know about your chicken plucker, that looks awesome.
Hi Rachel, $3.50 lb. is amazing for that quality of pig. We buy a Berkshire pig processed every two years here local and we are around the $4.75 per lb. Around 150 lbs. total. We don't want to raise animals here, We travel all the time and are blessed to be financially in a good place. We do get fresh eggs from friends and meat as well. Beef we get local as well every other year. We also hunt, deer, turkey, duck, and dove and already have a deer in the freezer. We do pay for processing, we just don't have time and it's only $120 per animal. Thanks so much for this video, lot's of good information. God Bless, Mike
Very interesting.
Self sufficiency is like anything else you can get into – hiking & camping, for instance, Christmas decorations. You just keep adding a few items every year & after years of doing it, you have a nice collection of equipment.
All you need to process a chicken is a sharp knife & a big pot of boiling water. Then you can improve the set-up as time goes along. You don't have to buy $1000 worth of equipment the 1st year.