Above: Wings, breasts, drumsticks and thighs from 28 birds. We kept carcasses for bone broth and livers/hearts/tails/necks/feet for dogs (I can't bring myself to cook with the feet yet). We cleaned and froze gizzards for a friend. Just a half bucket of guts and heads left over!

Least expensive/most healthy way to do meat birds that worked for us

• Chicken tractor: $200 parts (we used this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoXEs5X_CMQ)
• Buckets and PVC for feed: $20
• Chickens: 25 Freedom Rangers from Polaris Poultry cost around $180
• Brooder: Scraps and parts to make walls, heat lamp ($15)
• 3-4 bags Scratch and Peck Starter: $55/each
• 11-15 bags layer feed from Tiana (Delta): $11-12/each
• Free range for last 6-ish weeks
• Rent slaughter equipment: $175-$200 (we bought a plucker this year!)
• 13 weeks to butcher, 1 all-day butchering
• 4.35lb bird average