The Fight

I'm getting excited about raising chickens again this year.  Last year was really a trial run for us.  We did a small batch (well I guess that's relative....100 chicks in our basement did not feel like a small batch!) for a small group of people, mostly to see if we could pull it off.  As many of you know, we did "pull it off" with an enormous amount of grace from God AND lots of help from friends and family.  So, we're ready to go again this year!

I've been working through pricing structures for the products.  We're introducing turkeys into our mix this year, but since I don't have a baseline for them, they're a bit harder.  But I'm REALLY excited about the chickens.  I have a couple of things I've thought through.  They go something like this:

• We're not in this things for money.  Although I would like to make a go of a home/family based business, the truth is that we want to see a community built around a vision from God.  We believe we can meet needs for those around us through a network of folks brought together by the leading of the Spirit...even if they don't know Him!
• We want to meet people where they are.  Isn't it interesting that most health food stores, stores conscious of natural food sources and sustainable farming practices, are typically located outside wealthier suburbs?  There are some who are fighting the fight in Wayne and Monroe counties, but they are in the minority.  
• That said, we need to be competitive in our pricing structure.  We are trying to figure out a cost that will allow people of moderate incomes (like ourselves) to purchase high quality chicken.  
• People in our area are often on a budget.  It's hard to say "Well, we don't exactly know what they'll weigh in at so just be ready." when we're talking about purchasing the chicken.  It might be easier to charge a flat rate. 

That said, I THINK WE CAN DO IT!!!  I've been doing some research at local stores, trying to understand the pricing.  I've checked out Sam's club, Foodtown, and Kroger thus far.  Now, we will likely never be able to price our chickens like your average bottom line Tyson chicken.  They're too cheap.  But they're cheap for a reason.  Their chickens typically live in a giant warehouse styled coop with little to no light and air.  They have a few inches per bird for mobility (they need about 2 feet!) and they are fed things that we might not recognize as "food".  So they get a production line business model together and they can do them cheap.

While the production line worked great for cars, it has depleted the average chicken of any sort of nutrients when it hits your local freezer. Even those chickens labled as "Natural" have several drawbacks which I won't get into here.  But, as I price out the "natural" chickens in the freezer, I think we can beat them. I think we have a shot at selling chicken at a reasonable price competative with the big guys.  Check this out!

Here you can see a Perdue whole chicken for $1.99/pound.  While I can't get a per pound price that low, I can charge less than $15.02 for 7.55 pounds of chicken.  WE CAN SELL FOR LESS THAN THE STORE!

Okay, yeah, I'm pretty excited about that.  Plus, I can promise that our chickens will indeed be all natural, free range, and anti-biotic free.

So what are your thoughts?  Does that excite you?  Let me know.  We'd love to hear back from you!!  Leave your comments here, or check out our Facebook page!