Who is a Chicken Farmer

CSmith · Oct 4, 2012

race_jeep said:
What do you do with all the chicken ****?

i sell mine for 15 dollars a ton , and i never have to fool with it.
i got a guy that cleans them out for me.

TOOTHLESSMOONSHINER · Oct 5, 2012

My brother-in-law drives a chicken truck. He told me that 3/4 of the houses that he goes too, the farmers says the same thing csmith is saying. A man in ringold Ga built 3 up to date sate of the art houses and said that if he had to do it all over again that he would have got a job at walmart. He said 6 million in his whole setup and, he still can't break even on anything that his business is going down the drain fast.

TBItoy · Oct 5, 2012

Re: Re: Re: Who is a Chicken Farmer

TOOTHLESSMOONSHINER said:
My brother-in-law drives a chicken truck. He told me that 3/4 of the houses that he goes too, the farmers says the same thing csmith is saying. A man in ringold Ga built 3 up to date sate of the art houses and said that if he had to do it all over again that he would have got a job at walmart. He said 6 million in his whole setup and, he still can't break even on anything that his business is going down the drain fast.

Some people aren't cut out for business.

Neal3000 · Oct 5, 2012

smurfy90 said:
Only update my mom has done in 23 yrs is when she swaped from pilgrim pride to marshall durbin.

Sounds like who you go in business WITH is key

gdf · Oct 5, 2012

B.DRAKE said:
I just wish I woulda got into maintenance instead of machining

I hear ya buddy........we only a few miles apart......cant be a difference in the money !!!

smurfy90 · Oct 5, 2012

TOOTHLESSMOONSHINER said:
My brother-in-law drives a chicken truck. He told me that 3/4 of the houses that he goes too, the farmers says the same thing csmith is saying. A man in ringold Ga built 3 up to date sate of the art houses and said that if he had to do it all over again that he would have got a job at walmart. He said 6 million in his whole setup and, he still can't break even on anything that his business is going down the drain fast.

6mill in 3 houses? He got screwed! BAD!

smurfy90 · Oct 5, 2012

CSmith said:
i sell mine for 15 dollars a ton , and i never have to fool with it.
i got a guy that cleans them out for me.

And thats not extra income. Chris i dont know bout pullet houses but in broilers all that money does is put fresh sawdust back in. Rite?

rookiezuke · Oct 5, 2012

this is a interesting thread but ive always been curious how much does it cost to build just one of the chicken houses from start to finish. :dunno:

smurfy90 · Oct 5, 2012

rookiezuke said:
this is a interesting thread but ive always been curious how much does it cost to build just one of the chicken houses from start to finish.

Bout $315000 per house on average.

TOOTHLESSMOONSHINER · Oct 6, 2012

smurfy90 said:
6mill in 3 houses? He got screwed! BAD!

If i'm not mistaking that is land the whole deal. I'm not real sure though.

Juan_Hong_Loe · Oct 6, 2012

Here in Tuscaloosa, Peco keeps all the growers updating all their houses around the time their loans are at the point if being paid off. Keeps them from ever profiting a lot of money. One of my friends built a couple of houses a couple of years ago and his parents have had houses all his life. The only reason he built his own is because he's going to get his parents farm when they decide to quit and he'll have his own too. So he's hoping by inheriting a farm and having his own he can make it work. He tells me all the time there's no money in chicken farming.

Mortalis5509 · Oct 6, 2012

Re: Re: Re: Who is a Chicken Farmer

Juan_Hong_Loe said:
Here in Tuscaloosa, Peco keeps all the growers updating all their houses around the time their loans are at the point if being paid off. Keeps them from ever profiting a lot of money. One of my friends built a couple of houses a couple of years ago and his parents have had houses all his life. The only reason he built his own is because he's going to get his parents farm when they decide to quit and he'll have his own too. So he's hoping by inheriting a farm and having his own he can make it work. He tells me all the time there's no money in chicken farming.

That's makes me wonder why people get in it or build houses if there is no money. Why not just inherit his parents and do something else. Really makes no sense to do something if you can't be paid. Although no money might have different definitions to some. I call making 100k making money but that's me.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

mrdrinksalil · Oct 6, 2012

Can some of yall educate me on what kind of equipment yall use in the chicken houses and more specifically what kind of tractor you need.

I have been with Kubota for 6 Years and now am the Sales Manager for McCormick in the South East. Im a damn yankee, son of a poor dairy farmer and don't know **** about chickens.

We make some of the best orchard/vinyard equipment in the world in Italy but dont' bring any of it to the US. I've got a higher HP, low profile, straddle mount, isometric 4x4 articulator that is super compact and may be a good chicken house tractor. Only problem is it may be way too different than what people are used to.

What are yall using? What the perfect chicken house tractor

jeepjeep · Oct 6, 2012

Joc said:
I've heard this from other chicken farmers also.

on the other hand i think they say this to keep you out so they can keep all the money to their self

Almost all chicken farmers poor mouth and tell how they cant make any money while they are propped up on there new truck, talking about their new tractor, etc...

ccranch · Oct 7, 2012

My 2 cents worth. My family is in the poultry buisness and has been since 1979. We make a little money since our houses are paid for but since two are 34 years old we constantly are having to do maintenance. That costs $$$$. We also have a cattle operation so the poultry houses help us on cattle feed and fertilizer. If it wasn't for that we would shut 'em down. Not enough profit in them, plus as much as new ones are any buisnessman would tell you you are crazy to invest that much money for the small return and certainly being under control of the poultry company whoever it is! We have a couple of nice trucks and nice tractors but my Dad went for years eating spam and driving junk to be where we are today. Plus it's two hours away to my nearest wheeling place and I can't go unless we are in between flocks. :****:

Neal3000 · Oct 8, 2012

mrdrinksalil said:
Can some of yall educate me on what kind of equipment yall use in the chicken houses and more specifically what kind of tractor you need.

I have been with Kubota for 6 Years and now am the Sales Manager for McCormick in the South East. Im a damn yankee, son of a poor dairy farmer and don't know **** about chickens.

We make some of the best orchard/vinyard equipment in the world in Italy but dont' bring any of it to the US. I've got a higher HP, low profile, straddle mount, isometric 4x4 articulator that is super compact and may be a good chicken house tractor. Only problem is it may be way too different than what people are used to.

What are yall using? What the perfect chicken house tractor

John Deere :flipoff1:

mrdrinksalil · Oct 8, 2012

Neal3000 said:
John Deere

The best tractor company is the one that pays my bills

patooyee · Oct 8, 2012

North GA is known for manufacturing carpet. Like 90% of the nation's carpet comes from north GA. (Or some ridiculous number.) I was driving through north GA once a while back and commented to someone I was with who was from there that there sure are a lot of chicken farms around. They said they weren't chicken farms, they were chicken farms that all went out of business and were sold cheap to the carpet companies who now make carpet where the chickens used to live. (Or some **** like that.) I don't know how much fact there is to it but if true, lends some evidence to what some here are saying.

Budget YJ · Oct 8, 2012

lol
North Ga dont make carpet in chicken houses.
Somebody's pulling your leg.

patooyee · Oct 8, 2012

Budget YJ said:
lol
North Ga dont make carpet in chicken houses.
Somebody's pulling your leg.

It was a long time ago. Maybe I'm not recalling it correctly. Ultimately their point was that property that was once chicken farms was now carpet manufacturing in many cases. Maybe they were pulling my leg but they would have had no reason to do so and there was no snickering or anything like that.

Edit: I googled it. There were a couple references to farmers turning to carpet manufacturing to pay the bills in Dalton, GA during the early days of the rise of textiles there.