Cornish Cross Broilers - 6 Ways to Keep Your Meat Cost Low

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Cornish Cross broilers are our family’s meat bird of choice for stocking our freezer. For our last 5 batches of meat birds, we’ve kept a detailed log of the cost going into each batch in order to find out how much we we’re actually paying per bird. In this blog post, we’ll go over why we love Cornish Crosses, share the expense log with you, and note some ways we’ve found to save money and bring down the total cost per bird. Then, we’ll take a look at how raising your own meat birds compares to buying chicken at the grocery store.

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What Are Cornish Cross Meat Birds?

Cornish Cross broiler chickens are a breed of meat chickens that’s specially bred to gain weight quickly and be ready to process in just 6-8 short weeks. They’re a hybrid between Cornish and White Rock. Because of their rapid growth weight, these economical birds are commonly used for industrial meat production.

If you go to the local grocery store for meat, this is the type of bird you’ll find in the cooler!

Not only are they most often used on an industrial scale, but these white broilers are also an excellent choice for the backyard chicken owner who wants to put some of his or her own meat in the freezer.

For the last 5 seasons of raising our meat birds, we’ve kept track of our broiler production costs to see how they compare to buying meat from the grocery store. And looking back, we’ve noticed some interesting trends!

Below, we’ll break down the costs of each season, and include the best ways we’ve found for keeping the price low per bird and per pound.

Benefits of Raising Cornish Cross Broilers

Here are a few of the benefits of these meat birds and reasons why we choose to raise Cornish Cross chickens:

Fast growing. If you want meat quickly, Cornish Crosses are they best choice! These birds reach 6-8 lbs within about 6-8 weeks of age. With their broad breasts and large drumsticks, buying Cornish Cross chicks is a great way to put your own homegrown chicken dinner on the table in just a couple of months.
Inexpensive to raise. Largely because of their fast growth, Cornish Crosses are inexpensive to raise compared to other types of meat birds. Overall, they don’t seem to eat as much as other breeds of broilers, bringing down the overall cost. (We included the costs of a batch of Freedom Rangers – batch #1 – in the cost breakdown below. As you’ll see, they went through quite a bit more feed!)
Low commitment. If you’re not sure you’re ready for the daily responsibility of chickens, Cornish Cross broilers are a great way to ease into chicken raising. Since they only take two months to raise, it’s a very short time to commit to caring for your birds. We do two batches per summer, but it’s still easy to plan trips or vacations around our meat bird schedule! Keep in mind that these birds do require more careful care than your average laying hen.
High quality meat. They might be the most inexpensive meat to raise (at least when it comes to chicken meat), but Cornish Crosses produce high quality and delicious meat! They’re tender, flavorful, and juicy. We raise ours on grass in a moveable chicken tractor, which might contribute to the delicious flavor.

Downsides of Cornish Cross Broilers

While there are many benefits to these remarkable birds, there are a few downsides, too.

Potential health issues. Because of their fast growth rate, Cornish Crosses tend to be more prone to health issues than other types of meat birds. Heart attacks and leg problems are especially common due to their rapid growth. To avoid this, it’s important to not wait too long to butcher your birds. After about 8 weeks, health problems become much more common. (If you’re taking your birds to a processor or renting equipment, make sure you have it scheduled before you even order your baby chicks – if at all possible!) In addition, it’s wise to limit feed to a 12-hours-on, 12-hours-off special feeding schedule starting around 3 weeks.
They can be messy. Because they eat plenty of feed (they will pretty much never stop eating if you don’t stop them!), Cornish Crosses also produce a lot of waste. If you’re not on top of it, this can create a smelly mess and more cleaning responsibilities than your average chicken. Since we keep our birds in a moveable chicken coop and move them every 1-2 days (at least during the later weeks), this (thankfully!) isn’t a problem we have to deal with. In fact, they are amazing at fertilizing the grass – leaving green, luscious growth behind them!
They’re not cute. Although it seems silly to say, this type of chicken can be downright ugly after a bit. Although they make cute chicks for the first couple weeks, once they start to get their feathers, they tend to show a lot of skin and just be overall a bit gross looking. Remember – they’re for meat production, not for looks!
They’re sensitive. Because they grow so fast, it’s important to be a bit more on top of these birds than you would for other chickens. They’re not especially heat hardy, and they eat a lot. Before raising them, make sure you read up on feed requirements. In addition, we like to avoid raising our birds during the hottest part of the summer.

Costs of Raising Our Cornish Cross Broilers

We kept track of the expenses of our last 5 batches of meat birds. Interestingly, although they were raised using the same equipment and feed (which can vary by ~$1 per bag) we found that the final price per bird actually spanned a range of over $5! While our least expensive birds cost only $8.07 per bird, our most expensive batch was $13.21 per bird.

In this graphic, you’ll notice that the first batch went through significantly more feed than the others. That’s because batch #1 was Freedom Rangers, while the rest were Cornish Crosses.

Curious what other one-time and ongoing costs go into raising your own broiler chickens? Read a more detailed breakdown about The Cost of Raising Meat Chickens on the blog!

6 Ways to Keep Your Meat Cost Low When Raising Cornish Cross Broilers

After pouring over the difference in cost for our last five batches of meat birds, we found a few trends that made a significant impact on the cost. We were really surprised at what a big impact some of the seemingly small differences can make overall. For the small flock owner, every little bit counts when it comes to keeping your overall cost per bird as low as possible.

1. Shop Around for Birds

The most significant difference in the final price per bird came from the price of the chicks. We’ve bought chicks from a variety of sources – Tractor Supply Co. (in store), Hoover Hatchery through TSC’s website, directly through Hoover Hatchery, and Townline Hatchery.

Prices vary by year, of course, but finding the lowest price made a surprising impact on our cost. Each batch has ranged from $1.80-$3 per bird. When you’re talking about a difference of only $5 from our most expensive to least expensive batch, that $1 counts!

Check around online (considering shipping prices, which usually vary by region) and at your local feed stores. Sometimes local stores will give you a better deal, especially if it’s the end of the week and they need to clear chicks out before the next batch comes in.

Of course, if you’re processing your own birds, you can be more flexible with the date you get your chicks, which also allows you more freedom to find the best deal.

2. Buy Chicks as Locally As Possible – And Buy in Bulk!

Along with shopping around for a good price, consider buying chicks as locally as you can. The less time those day old chicks can spend in a box or sitting at the post office, often, the more will survive!

If you can find them in a local store inexpensively, this is often the best option. Usually by this point, they’re at least a couple of days old and have successfully made it through the shipping process.

If not, consider buying from a company that’s in or near your state if possible. If you can buy them close, they may only be in a box for one day instead of 2-3 days, and there’s a better chance of them all surviving. It’s no fun to pay for chicks that are already dead upon arrival.

Sometimes you’ll also get free shipping if the company is in the same region as you are.

Buying in bulk is another way to cut down on the cost per chick. Almost every supplier will give you bulk discounts that increase as the number of chicks you buy increase. Consider pairing up with friends to buy a larger batch for a better price!

3. Wait for an Inexpensive Chicken Tractor – Or Make Your Own!

Although we didn’t calculate the cost of equipment in our price per batch, one way we were able to lower our overall cost was by saving money on our chicken tractors. The first tractor we bought we found for a great deal on Facebook Marketplace.

It lasted for a couple of years before some of the boards started to rot out. After that, we transformed it into a garden archway and made a new chicken tractor more affordably than we could buy one. At this point, we also cut the cost by making three new tractors and selling two of them, which helped absorb the cost of the one we kept.

A moveable chicken tractor allows your birds to live in basically a free-range environment, enjoying bugs and grass while also staying cleaner and fertilizing your yard, too!

4. Don’t Skimp on Feed

This may seem counterintuitive, but buying the right feed is important so that your birds can gain weight effectively. For both meat bird production and laying hens, it can be temping to skimp on feed and try to fill them up with kitchen scraps instead. While it doesn’t hurt to give your birds scraps sometimes (in fact, it can be really good for them!), you don’t want to give them treats too often.

Other foods can fill them up too much and they’ll miss out on the nutrients that they really need. Cornish Cross chickens have a voracious appetite! We give ours 20% broiler feed for effective weight gain.

5. Build Your Own Feeder to Prevent Waste

…at the same time, every bag of feed you buy also makes a significant impact on your bottom line – so don’t waste it! Unfortunately, with a lot of traditional feeders, chickens can scratch at the feed and end up with a lot of it on the ground.

We made a 5-gallon, DIY chicken feeder that virtually eliminates waste, is protected from rain, and lasts our flock for about 2-5 days (depending on their age). Maybe the best part is that it only costs $25 to make – no more than any other decent chicken feeder you’ll find!

We also made a DIY gravity water – which doesn’t affect the cost so much, but it does make chores easier for sure! A large gravity water also helps ensure that chickens always have clean water available. This is important for hydration and protecting against overheating, as well as for digestion.

6. Process Them Yourself

Lastly, processing your birds yourself can cut down on the cost a lot. Currently, the local processor that most people go to near us costs a whopping $7 per chicken! Everyone has to make a buck, and operating costs are high, so it’s more than likely a fair price. Still, you can save a lot by processing your birds on your own.

In the above batches, we processed four out of five batches. We did rent some equipment and split the cost with family for a big processing day. Renting a plucker as well as other processing equipment added to the cost some, but saved us a lot of time.

For our last batch, we found a smaller local processor that charged $5 per bird. However, we chose to cut most of our birds up and vacuum seal them ourselves at home. Since the processor didn’t have to do this, he brought the price down to $4.50 per bird.

How Does Raising Meat Birds Compare to Buying Grocery Store Chicken?

Overall, we averaged $10.75 per chicken.

Our average, processed freezer bird weighs about 8 pounds.

That’s about $1.34 per pound.

While we didn’t use organic feed, they were antibiotic-free, hormone-free chickens raised on fresh grass in the sunshine.

There’s not really a good comparison in regards to grocery store chicken. But, if you want to go by the price of your average chicken at the grocery store…

Our two nearest grocery stores (Meijer and Walmart) currently sell whole chickens for $1.49 per pound.

All in all – we spent less than we would have at the grocery store for a way higher quality of meat!

(Of course, that doesn’t take into account our time… but it’s all worth it, right?!) It’s hard to put a price on good, high-quality food that you raise on your own property!