How We Raised a YEARS WORTH of Meat! (Beef, Chicken, & Pork)

What if... you could raise your own meat and never have to buy it at the grocery store again?? That's exactly what we have done for years, and I'll explain exactly how in this video!
Doing This Gave Us the BEST Meat Chickens Ever: • Doing THIS Gave Us the...
We Had a Custom Freezer Built and It Was a NIGHTMARE: • 4000 lbs of BEEF and N...
How We Butcher (BIG) Turkeys: • Butchering Turkeys (an...
💵 Create a Homestead that Actually Pays the Bills! selffundedhomestead.com​
👕 Old-Fashioned on Purpose Shirts: homesteadswag.com​
🐓 LIVE OLD-FASHIONED ON PURPOSE:
+ The Prairie Homestead Cookbook: homesteadcookbook.com​​​​​​
+ Learn How to Cook Like a Homesteader: heritagecookingclass.com​​​​​​
+ Learn How to Can (Safely!): learnhowtocan.com/
+ Prairie Homestead Merch! homesteadswag.com​​​​​​
+ The Homestead Mercantile: theprairiehomestead.com/shop​​...
🌎 OTHER PLACES WE HANG OUT:
+ The Old-Fashioned on Purpose Podcast: oldfashionedonpurpose.com​​​​​​
+ The Prairie Homestead Blog: theprairiehomestead.com​​​​​​
+ Follow Along on Instagram: / theprairiehomestead

[@theprairiehomestead]

Thanks for watching! Here's our video with more info on how we raise and process our meat birds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXeroIClmM52Y8k

[@yoshisaidit7250]

Thanks for this video. I want to raise animals, but still looking for the place to do it. WY is beautiful, and cheap, but there's no way I can deal with that wind 11 months out of the year.

[@lindawigelsworth822]

Love your life, so glad I found you, helping me learn a lot. Thank you

[@r.d.9399]

$5.00 a pound Grass raised and finished ground beef in supermarkets now.

[@amandataylor682]

For those of you on less than an acre. I grew out 50 meat chickens this year just in a chicken tractor. I moved them along where I was wanting to put a garden. That garden did AMAZING this year. I can't grow out any bigger animals so I buy grass-fed beef from a local dairy. They grow out their males and sell the meat to their local community.

[@justforfun4623]

You can grow out bigger animals, I know people that do it just in stalls and they are still grass fed because they give the hay. But nothing honestly beats grain finished

[@TJgrebdnul]

We've pretty much always processed our own hogs and beef, and my dad has always said, it's expensive hamburger, but super cheap steaks! We got around the need for a freezer by looking at the weather window and killing beef when there's going to be freezing temperatures at night to hang for a couple weeks. It's always been a bit of a headache though finding that weather window so this year we have actually built our own freezer with a rail, and we're so excited to use it and not have to worry about the weather any more!!

[@samwinter8655]

Thanks for the video! We raise almost all our own meats, the exception being the occasional steak, we haven't ventured into cows yet. We do the dual purpose birds, we sell our chicks/eggs and always end up with extra roosters, so we started doing our own meat as a side effect to being chicken farmers. We then got into meat rabbits. We live in NM and have no pasture, just sandy lots, so the meat rabbits were a good transition animal for us since they don't require a ton of roughage and have a really good turn around time compared to many animals. We just did our first set of pigs this spring, and it was certainly a learning experience, a do-again, but with some changes. I love being able to raise our own meat and not purchase from the store. Especially with COVID, having a reliable source of ethically-raised meat was a tremendous relief.

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Sam 👋

[@KateH296]

Thank you so much! It's so hard to find out about the costs of raising and slaughtering animals and this was a really concise explanation.

[@greenvalkyrie45]

I appreciate your videos so much. It's like getting advice from a trusted neighbor. You make things so accessible and REAL. I've tried to convince my husband to raise meat chickens (we already raise chickens and ducks for eggs) and cows...I'm going to make him watch this video. Cross your fingers!

[@cherylpresleigh6403]

Such practical, easy to understand information and I appreciate that you covered multiple meat sources. Thank you, this was a great video!

[@PohlBarnProductions]

we did raise and process our own chickens this year, same birds as you, we purchased half cow and a pig locally, pig cost was on point with your brake down not sure on the beef though I think it ended up being $3.50 a pound for Angus, I think we did well by your video, Deer season is right around the corner also. Great video !

[@cheyennegerih5937]

🤣🤣🤣 deer season is how a planed on filling my freezer fast this year!

[@lanak.fromnewmexico1143]

Thank you Jill and Christian for the great educational videos!! God bless!!

[@ceepark114]

We've only raised two pigs once and had a lot of apples in Fall. I would make a slop out of oats, apples and goat milk. They loved it and we loved the meat when we harvested them.

[@madogllewellyn]

Nice presentation to get people thinking about the benefits of homesteading!!!! We've found that the KuneKune pigs actually do very well on pasture here in Indiana....but they take 18 months to grow out like grass beef....but that's just fine it's worth the wait in the taste difference!

[@mamasherbalkitchen9045]

Thank you so much for taking the time to break everything down. I've been looking into raising our own meat for years, we finally have the land!! Now just need great fences and we're on our way. So seeing the breakdown like this is SUPER DUPER HELPFUL!!! You're awesome. Thank you.

[@centraltexashomestead-mike4956]

Great video!!!!!! We split a heifer with a family member every year and it's worth it. Thanks Jill! God Bless

[@adonica1]

OMG, so glad that I found your page. I am learning do much. I have 5 acres; I'm still prepping the land so that I can move on it. I want to homestead, and your page and information is a GOD send.

[@saywhat8850]

Amazing video! Our first year we started with turkeys. We found out the next year if our Cornish cross get to big for the reg chicken size freezer bags. They fit really good in a turkey size bag. In case anyone else gets a really big bird or two lol

[@elizabeththequeen943]

Wow... beef calves are so much cheaper where you live. In the northeast, they sell for $600 - 800 per calf. I don't know why that is but milk cows are expensive, too. Hay is way more, too, but some years we struggle to grow hay.

[@robbylake3784]

I heard around here in South Dakota people are paying $315 a ton for hay. It been awful for a lot of folks who can't cut hay, or even worse for grazing.

[@fsbjewellery]

Lots of NZ dairy beef (friesians, beef x dairy etc) is exported to the states and is grass fed. So I bet loads of Americans are eating grass fed not even knowing it! It's so good. All we do here.

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Nikita 👋 How are you doing?

[@urbanhomesteadingchannel1813]

Thank you for the great information. We raised our first Cornish cross chickens this year. In our area here in Western Central PA your cost break down is about average for the cheap meats and of course you don't know what they've been fed. Thank you for your videos. You are a terrific teacher and I learn a lot from you 💚

[@bradmoyer9737]

Excellent content as always, there is a huge quality difference as you mentioned, the one thing that stands out in my opinion when buying from a producer/locker you know is how much better the flavor is than box store meat!

[@drubradley8821]

If a person has never had chicken or eggs from the chickens that eat bugs naturally grazing.. They have no clue what they are missing.. Your dippy eggs are to dream about. The flavor of the yoke is amazing... Then, if you have the factory produced eggs, it is like they have no flavor... Just saying...

[@teresawebster3498]

Mass raised chickens and eggs are very watery in my opinion.

[@edwardzarnowski5558]

And pale yellow when scrambled 😝

[@drubradley8821]

@@edwardzarnowski5558 AHHHhhhhh YES.. the color of the bug eatin chickens is so inviting as well.. I am glad you mentioned that. .I am ashamed of myself, How could I have forgotten to make a proud statement about the vibrant color of the yokes. The fact that you can cook the egg, and not need to add a single thing to it, NO SALT, NO PEPPER, NO BUTTER, etc., and the egg still is so delightfully tasty with out anything toppings.. God sure does have a funny way of showing us how much he loves us, by simply eating a natural grazed chicken and or the eggs and packing it so full of greatness..

[@hirashamsi7323]

I agree we have a local farm ,we buy our eggs from them they are so different from store bought eggs.

[@haggismuncher735]

It's the same for chicken meat . I remember the first time I tried truly farm fresh chicken and it blew me away how much better it was - it's not even comparable. The eggs are another one as well.

[@cindynielson4231]

Jill thanks for all the info. I get what your showing about cost, I like to by organic meat when I can. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@hirashamsi7323]

Thank you Jill for breaking down everything forr us, very Helpful information .

[@lindapetersen1800]

Jill what I am think of is Beef with the room in the freezer you can hang that beef in a smaller part of it one that is going to be used for something that you haven't killed yet it is easy to do this SAW THE LARGE BLACK PLASTIC TUBS they can come on out for a small time and tarps can be laid on the floor in that area,,, then it is the hooks from the ceiling that will help hold the beef until time for cutting it up I have done a cow pig 7 deer all in a week end plus making sausage also ring bologna that is what I have done Thanksgiving weekend cooler on out side but cold than all heck in the room I was working in!!!

[@trulylyn2325]

My favorite young lady! I have grown my own food for years. I don't know why more people do it?

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Truly 👋 How are you doing?

[@megangoodall545]

Great informative video thank you! We have been learning how to do meat poultry and rabbits. Interested in moving toward a year of meat as we gain experience and knowledge.

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Megan 👋

[@One29Homestead]

Good info Mrs Jill! Thank you for sharing the cost

[@mrskaren1469]

My husband's, we used to kill about 100 chickens because it was 3 boys and the wives, and then about 3 hogs a year. We did the chickens on July 4th weekend. Get the fire good and hot for plucking feathers 🪶 🔥 and then killed the hogs the day after Christmas 🎄. I have to say it was fun doing it. Kinda didn't think so then but kinda miss doing it. He's parents have passed on and his older brother too. His middle brother and wife divorced and its just me and him and our 2 girls. But I do want chickens for eggs 🥚 and we do do a garden. Just haven't done one in 3 yrs because I have had a foot problem with my diabetes and then I had the foot amputated this past Thanksgiving week. So hopefully we will have a garden this summer. Enjoy your videos. Love from Virginia

[@ema8909]

I'm learning so much from your videos thank you! Do you have a tour video? I'm curious how many acres you own and the layout of your homestead. Or if you recommend any companies to help plan homestead layouts. Thank you!

[@FlamingBasketballClub]

Google Podcast recommended me her podcast earlier today. However, I originally heard about Jill Winger through a episode of Essential Oil Solutions with doTerra podcast on April 7, 2020. The episode was about homesteading.

[@Maranatha_Homestead]

We’ve always known that raising your own is best, but I am SO impressed by your cow math!!

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Tammy 👋 How are you doing?

[@sorelyanlie2784]

I don't really plan to raise beef, cause we but from our neighbors who already do, but I am wanting to learn to do chicken or pork. And I definitely want a dairy cow, but I don't think we really have enough land to make even a single dairy cow a real possibility

[@jessiekennis1536]

We raised our own meat birds this year. We did feed them high quality feed, plus lots of kitchen scraps. We did process ourselves and when we did the math, it came out to about $5 per bird!!! We were so excited and loved filling our freezer with home raised, high quality food.

[@randysretired2020]

Serious question from a city dweller and wannabe homesteader someday. Would it help costs if you planted root crops (potatoes, yams, carrots, turnip, etc.) in the pig pen before bringing in the pigs? They could root around and eat the planted crops as is their nature, but still get feed from the feeder. You’d be out the cost of seed and have to water the plants to get them to grow, but wouldn’t that be a low cost way to feed for a short while?

[@CamppattonFamilyCompound]

We are still setting up our place here in Idaho, but we plan to have a couple head of cattle to harvest every year or so. We have a five acre parcel that my daughter is renting the house on and we are in the house on the one acre lot across the street. Right now my daughter is raising chickens (for eggs and a couple for meat) and a couple of turkeys (actually she just harvested the turkeys but will get more chicks in the spring) and some rabbits. She did several geese in 2020, and says never again, she'll stick to chickens, turkeys and rabbits. In 2020 she bought a steer ready for butchering and they still have a quarter of it left. My wife is think of raising rabbits and a few chickens for eggs and poop for the garden when she retires. The one acre lot came with a nice pig pen and shelter, but we're not sure about raising them.

[@chrismorse2096]

Wonderful explanation of the process! Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge! Subscribed/Liked

[@lindalagarce8996]

Great brake down to understand the cost, investment and turn around on meat.

[@lindao1364]

I ordered ground beef from you're company. It was so great, better than the stores in Ohio. My kids even noticed. Now I'm just waiting to get chicken and other things that aren't available right now. I love to buy from small business. Thanks for the hard work!

[@bowenfamilyfarm9776]

We grow our own meat. We raise 150 chickens a year, 7 pigs, 1 cow. We do sell our meats except our cow. They are no hormones, no soy, non-GMO. We love the taste of the meats. Sometimes it does cost more . But the end result is so much better for you. I'm thankful we are able to do this for our family.

[@ruthbowen2530]

I am just curious about the decision to not feed soy? I've heard about many folks deciding against it, and I am curious as to why. Is soy bad for the animals?

[@rodneyproctor9003]

@@ruthbowen2530 Just a guess but may be because non GMO soy is very hard to find and is more expensive.

[@gulldaw272]

Great video as always! I expected chickens to be more profitable so interesting too!

[@iwanttotelltheworld1564]

Brilliant Jill, thank you so much.

[@madisontaylor8368]

My dad had a friend he bought some grass-fed beef off of and it was the most delicious roast we've ever had. We've actually been talking about if we get some land growing our own.

[@EggFeathersHomestead]

These feed breakdowns for pigs and chickens are really on the low end from our experience. Even pasturing and home scraps, we buy a lot more feed than $200/pig and 15 bags for broilers. I think a lot depends on your location and feed costs. It is still way worth it, though.

[@sueallen7750]

This video is amazing. So much information. The Meat birds caught my attention for sure. Process own birds works best too.

[@annarautavuoma8553]

Love this video! So much good info! 👌

[@aprilsparks1111]

04:42 loved this price breakdown 💥 thank you

[@repunzalrepunzal6063]

What an educational video! Thank you!

[@supergirlsadventure6700]

Thanks for all the great info! Your videos are always the best!!

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Supergirl 👋 How are you doing?

[@bradmawson2010]

....and the dog is loving the meat freezer lol

[@lani26lani]

you'd make a great teacher, never lost my focus even though this topic is unrelated to me *thumbs up*

[@diggingwithdavid5732]

When you get any area that weeds move in that is when you should deploy pig in the paster to get the weeds out then plant pastor grass

[@beerbuzz62]

Very interesting Jill thank you very much

[@chellehollon7679]

I just had a whole steer processed and it cost nearly $1000 just for the processing.

[@southernwanderer7912]

I've never seen someone give such down-to-earth, useful information of how much it costs to own a cow. I've always wondered how much land I would need and what the costs would be to own at least one cow.

[@chasingmoonlightfarm]

Good info! Thanks!

[@donaldasayers]

Tearing up the pasture is what pigs do best. If you have a spot of land that needs clearing, then pigs do it really well.

[@joanneganon7157]

Hi Jill, you are doing such a great job with all that you have going on 🙌🐦💥. JO JO IN VT 💕😄

[@lorihunsaker1810]

Good information.

[@renamaemcdonald2075]

Great information! The more natural/organic way is always better. I agree that if you can butcher your own animals it saves so much money too.

[@dhansonranch]

Good video! Yes, when you look at individual cuts, the price of home raised can be more, but one needs to add up the price of all the individual cuts from the store, then break it down to price per pound to accurately compare. Rest assured, home raised should be cheaper. Biggest thing that people have to realize is there is only so many of a certain cut and so utilizing the other cuts must be done as well vs the store where you can buy that cut 365 days a year...You will pay big time for that convenience though and so it will cost more than buying a half or raising your own.. Jill, have you looked into the Idaho Pasture Pigs so you can graze them out?

[@MoneypitHomestead]

Love how you broke this all down. Enjoyed this, have a super blessed day, lisa@moneypit homestead

[@brandybaldwin4939]

this is amazing thanks for the inspiration

[@brentderksen]

I bet those chickens have a great life out in the grass anyways!

[@iamanovercomer3253]

Not sure about that....they are on death row ❗🤣

[@dugchris2009]

Thanks, a lot of good info!

[@susandixon3970]

Grass fed is best fed! Love your vlogs.

[@nancystewart2063]

We caught some wild pigs earlier this year, most of them were very young. We kept two small females to try and raise and plan on harvesting them ourselves.

[@grdelawter4266]

You need to check if it’s legal. In my state it is illegal to catch wild game and keep it in a pen.

[@JESUSsaves2345]

Lol the cow was like ugh no I don't want to come over there as the dog goes over and tells the brown and white cows your time is up lol

[@zozo411]

Freezer tour?!

[@ravenbrown74]

It’s higher at most stores. I tried to get a cow and they wanted 2500.00 for a calf.

[@ashtongorzell8247]

Are you still wanting to try dual purpose birds? I'm hoping to raise out some Orpingtons for butcher and would love to see you do a trail run on your birds!

[@tinafisher]

so beautiful, by the work of your sweat and hands, you have provided for your family, God is good.

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello Tinkerbell 👋 How are you doing today?

[@jennlynch121]

This is aweseome. Do you have a price break down like this for your milk cows?

[@merrillstahura3174]

Could you add a list of the other costs of owning & processing? Cost of freezer packages & machine, plucking machine, walk in freezer, chicken tractor, etc. I know those things (except for the freezer packaging) will last for several seasons but they do contribute to the cost of the meat. Especially important to understand when you are first starting and budgeting.

[@waterkohn2810]

Great video!!! Thank you sooooooo much!!!

[@magma9138]

Thank you!!!

[@wergardengals3242]

Thanks for the info 🤟🏻

[@robbylake3784]

I used to cut meat in the past. I agree that Herford beef are good if you hang it just right in the cooler. Lot of people would rather have black Angus. They have way more fat and people don't realized how much is wasted to get marbling steaks. Of course the prices have gone up. I like how you break it down on the cost of feeding and processing. Yeah, $4.50 a pound for really good meat that you raised vs who know what in the meat at Walmart for $15 a pound for steak.

[@nancylynn7614]

We bought a half cow that was only grass fed which was really different taste for us but our 2 dogs wouldn't eat any scraps

[@joannemiller1162]

wish we could do this in the uk

[@joanneaschenbach3590]

Can you link your freezer build thank you

[@JEHomestead]

Great info, Jill! We don’t do any of this but we do purchase from friends who do. Getting 1/2 of a pig this week. I think I would have a real hard time killing a chicken:( I have a small flock, 4 hens and rooster, and they are like pets:( How did you get past that? Thanks, Judy

[@Thisisit120]

That dog was just dreaming in that freezer. 😄😆

[@judydrouhard2651]

Very interesting 🥰

[@MichaelBransonCoach]

What's your average dressed weight of the cows? Would like to know what you'll get per cow. Thanks!

[@dgk4268]

I just came upon your videos. Where are located?

[@sobersportsman]

Hamburger is the same price as fillets. It evens out.

[@violetopal6264]

Golly, beef must be cheaper there. East KS cheap stuff is going for $5 a pound now. My Mom grew up in the 70s/80s. Says her family had a deal with - don't remember if was the local store or butcher - that if they would butcher the chickens to sell they could keep however many they needed for the year. Downside to that was butchering chickens every day after school. Said they would go through 60 or 70 at a time. They would also buy a calf to hand raise every year. But didn't have a trailer. So would push it in back of station wagon to drive it home.

[@l2iowacowgirl893]

Do you have a video of building a chicken tractor? Or can you tell me where you got your plans?

[@moone924]

Do you ever use Atlas to process your beefs ?

[@marge3863]

I just had flashbacks to helping my kids with their 4h record books. 🤣

[@lazguevara151]

awesome channel!

[@Greens5511]

SUCH IMPORTANT INFO!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH JILL CAN YOU TELL ME; CAN I FEED A GOOD "GRASS" HAY IN THE WINTER OR DOES IT NEED TO BE "ALFALFA" HAY??

[@sheilam4964]

@Vivian - Just a good quality hay is all you need, lots of leaf and little stalk (not much nutrition in the stalk). What the hay is composed of, whether it has alfalfa in it or not is not too critical, although alfalfa is high in nutrients. Some individuals in a herd my not digest it very well. Although I suspect it might be because it contains too much stalk from the plant. When alfalfa is left to grow too tall before cutting the plants main stalk is almost strong enough to use as a walking stick. Nutritionally, that is too much fibre and not enough greens, as well. The stalks shouldn't be more than a 1/4" or .75 cm in diameter. And watch out for mold. If the grasses are not dry enough before baling, the moisture will mold the inner parts of the bale. Mold will give your animals a definite cough and sometimes more or they just won;t eat it , leaving you with a bunch of moldy hay sitting around. There is a fine line between grasses that are dry enough to bale and too dry when most of the leaves are going to fall off as it is being baled. You won't know that unless you saw the hay after cutting and before baling.

[@CharityTiffee]

this is my dreammm

[@608standrews]

You might like Gregg Judy @ green pasture farms

[@thebannings6176]

Hi, for getting your cows to the processing plant do you have to transport them yourself or are they picked up in the farm? That is one logistic that concerns me financially since we don't have a large trailer. Love this video, very helpful.

[@nourishingbutterfly6017]

Great question!

[@littlelomaricafarm7302]

Where I live there is a mobile butcher who comes out, dispatches and removes head and hide then takes to the butcher shop. I’m in Loma Rica CA.

[@Truue_Rarity]

inb4 dexter cow conversion

[@wpl8275]

With beef you also get, roasts, liver, tongue, beef bones etc...Even for regular store beef, $4.50 a pound is cheap for all of those cuts. Pasture raised beef grass fed and finished for a steak would easily cost $15 a pound.

[@auntievoldster9355]

I hope you didn’t leave Jed in freezer.

[@kentaylor3319]

Hello AuntieV 👋

[@alzathoth]

how long does it take for a pig to mature from weened to slaughter?

[@ford4life069]

Can you do a video on how you cure your own bacon and ham? I ordered my first half hog today and they sugar cure which I really don't want the extra sugar but everything I looked up for ham was so intimidating! I'd love a real perspective on that. I also don't have a smoker so I opted to allow them to cure my bacon too because they smoke it also and I want to avoid the chemicals if possible.

[@nourishingbutterfly6017]

I hope she makes a video!

[@bamnguyen7903]

I would perish if I was homesteading. Much respect