The average size of our birds range from 15-35 pounds. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee a specific size, however we will try to accommodate as best we can. The cost for our birds will be $4.25 per pound. Please send me an email if interested at [email protected] or call/text at 517-294-1271.
Article About Pasture Raised Turkeys:
Why is Pasture Raised Turkey More Expensive?
You may like the idea of buying local and having a pasture-raised bird for your Thanksgiving but then you see the price tag and are immediately taken back. Let me show you some of the TRUE costs of farming.
Last year the price of conventionally grown turkey peaked at $2.40/lb. For a 20 pound bird, you can expect to pay around $48.
Why then are pasture raised birds so much more expensive at $5 to even $7 per pound? That puts the average price for ONE bird at $100, minimum. Some people will stop right there and not pass go. But I’m going to tell you why it’s worth every penny and why there’s a big difference in cost. Labor & LandTurkeys take somewhere around 18 weeks to grow out. On a small pasture-based farm like ours, the chicks will be inside for the first 3-4 weeks or until the weather is nice and they have most of their feathers in. They are then moved to pasture where they can roam in a quarter to half acre pastures that are moved according to the rate they consume the pasture.
This method takes up a considerable amount of time and land resources.
In the conventional method of raising turkeys in a house, they will live their entire life inside. The turkeys will most likely never see a cricket or blade of grass. They can raise thousands of birds per house with very little labor expense because everything is automated: water, feed, and climate. Because of the large number of birds combined with the decreased need labor the cost per hour per bird is spread out much further. But these houses are still very expensive. The last number I heard was $1 million per house!
Chicks
The cost of chicks for small farmer is 10x higher. When a farmer places an order for chicks the price per chick goes down with the number of chicks ordered. If a small scale farmer orders chicks it could be as much as $9 per turkey poult.
The large scale farmer most likely has an arrangement with a bigger company who sends the chicks and inevitably owns the chicks.
Better for Your Health
Pasture-raised poultry have been studied to have fat that will provide fat-soluble vitamins in abundance. Your body can more readily absorb these nutrients. Poultry raised on pasture will have more omega-3 fatty acids in their skin than poultry fed exclusively grain.
In a conventional system, antibiotics and other drugs are fed to keep them alive until the moment of slaughter and steroids are used to get them to that point as soon as possible. (Athletes consuming meat from hormone-treated chickens have actually failed their urine tests for drugs!)
Better for the Bird
It’s not surprising that when you put animals of any kind indoors in very tight spaces in high numbers, the areas that these animals live in becoming very unhealthy very fast. For conventionally raised birds, living conditions are known for being nothing short of gross and highly disturbing.
Better Taste
Contrary to popular belief our pasture-raised turkeys are not gamey at all, and not pumped with watery-salt solutions like grocery store birds are. This allows you to truly taste turkey and not filler.
Did you know that the poultry industry actually accounts for and expects a weight gain in their meat after chilling down in a chlorine bath or being injected with a salt brine?
It’s important to keep our eyes on the larger context of the world we live in, not just simply short term decisions based on financial gain. I want to pass on an environment to our next generation that they don’t have to worry about being able to support them.
Why is Pasture Raised Turkey More Expensive?
You may like the idea of buying local and having a pasture-raised bird for your Thanksgiving but then you see the price tag and are immediately taken back. Let me show you some of the TRUE costs of farming.
Last year the price of conventionally grown turkey peaked at $2.40/lb. For a 20 pound bird, you can expect to pay around $48.
Why then are pasture raised birds so much more expensive at $5 to even $7 per pound? That puts the average price for ONE bird at $100, minimum. Some people will stop right there and not pass go. But I’m going to tell you why it’s worth every penny and why there’s a big difference in cost. Labor & LandTurkeys take somewhere around 18 weeks to grow out. On a small pasture-based farm like ours, the chicks will be inside for the first 3-4 weeks or until the weather is nice and they have most of their feathers in. They are then moved to pasture where they can roam in a quarter to half acre pastures that are moved according to the rate they consume the pasture.
This method takes up a considerable amount of time and land resources.
In the conventional method of raising turkeys in a house, they will live their entire life inside. The turkeys will most likely never see a cricket or blade of grass. They can raise thousands of birds per house with very little labor expense because everything is automated: water, feed, and climate. Because of the large number of birds combined with the decreased need labor the cost per hour per bird is spread out much further. But these houses are still very expensive. The last number I heard was $1 million per house!
Chicks
The cost of chicks for small farmer is 10x higher. When a farmer places an order for chicks the price per chick goes down with the number of chicks ordered. If a small scale farmer orders chicks it could be as much as $9 per turkey poult.
The large scale farmer most likely has an arrangement with a bigger company who sends the chicks and inevitably owns the chicks.
Better for Your Health
Pasture-raised poultry have been studied to have fat that will provide fat-soluble vitamins in abundance. Your body can more readily absorb these nutrients. Poultry raised on pasture will have more omega-3 fatty acids in their skin than poultry fed exclusively grain.
In a conventional system, antibiotics and other drugs are fed to keep them alive until the moment of slaughter and steroids are used to get them to that point as soon as possible. (Athletes consuming meat from hormone-treated chickens have actually failed their urine tests for drugs!)
Better for the Bird
It’s not surprising that when you put animals of any kind indoors in very tight spaces in high numbers, the areas that these animals live in becoming very unhealthy very fast. For conventionally raised birds, living conditions are known for being nothing short of gross and highly disturbing.
Better Taste
Contrary to popular belief our pasture-raised turkeys are not gamey at all, and not pumped with watery-salt solutions like grocery store birds are. This allows you to truly taste turkey and not filler.
Did you know that the poultry industry actually accounts for and expects a weight gain in their meat after chilling down in a chlorine bath or being injected with a salt brine?
It’s important to keep our eyes on the larger context of the world we live in, not just simply short term decisions based on financial gain. I want to pass on an environment to our next generation that they don’t have to worry about being able to support them.