tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post4091376333143268267..comments2024-03-23T02:51:24.594-07:00Comments on A Life Unprocessed: The Economics Of Keeping ChickensMellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-68921871287096841502015-11-13T05:13:52.387-08:002015-11-13T05:13:52.387-08:00Sounds great! In our smaller yard, it wasn't p...Sounds great! In our smaller yard, it wasn't practical to have both a a garden and lots of fruit bearing plants everywhere, and free ranging chickens, unfortunately. But we did give the chickens tons of weeds every day, and any plants that were covered in bugs! I know it would have been better for them to be on the loose, though.Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-32292749117244994302015-11-10T22:54:19.947-08:002015-11-10T22:54:19.947-08:00When I had chickens (and I will again), we did not...When I had chickens (and I will again), we did not go organic, but naturally raised. We will an above the ground chicken coop so that the droppings were collected in a special frame below, to which we added local dirt. After several months, we added those contents to our compost. Talk about beautiful rich compost in a few months! MEOW! The ease of care was astounding! (My own design, thank you!)<br /><br />It is best to let your chickens eat naturally and roam if possible. This builds muscle, and they will find plenty to eat. It also makes your eggs taste better. We eradicated the use of any pesticides or synthetic fertilizers - but I cannot vouch for the neighbors. Given that I have 5 acres and am a good 200 ft from the neighbors, I feel good about our exposure. <br /><br />Our chickens are not "fed" - they are provided with a homemade scratch in their coop during the day to entice the hens to lay in the coop. My scratch was not organic. And the chickens ate very little scratch. We started with std chicken food, and because our chickens got to eat all day in the "wild" - they were picky and threw a good deal away. We figured out what they liked, and made our own:<br /><br />- Solid base of cracked corn (20#)<br />- 5# of sunflower seeds<br />- half a horse scoop of oyster shells<br />- 1 or so scoops of 17% game bird food<br /><br />Adding that high protein game bird food makes a HUGE difference in the quality of your shells and integrity, color, and flavor of your yolks. Use it very sparingly, as the high protein can cause bone problems in chickens over time. A 20-25% ratio is good, if your birds are roaming most of the daylight hours every day. <br /><br />I never tracked the economics; we sold our excess eggs for 4.00 / dz as naturally raised. I miss them so very very much. I am looking forward to raising them again! Next time, I want to have chicken tractors!<br />Xenon Darrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01975973124494348452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-46474999889505720162015-06-22T22:11:23.754-07:002015-06-22T22:11:23.754-07:00I may need to calculate better, but based on my nu...I may need to calculate better, but based on my number I spend $20-$25 a year on each bird and get nearly 250 eggs per each. If I'm off a little, that's still under $2 a dozen for the eggs.Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15624920152490794121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-52651746106718985472014-08-04T12:44:13.419-07:002014-08-04T12:44:13.419-07:00Hi,
Am re-thinking our own situation. Fortunately,...Hi,<br />Am re-thinking our own situation. Fortunately, we have five acres, free-ranging chickens, and can keep roos. Still, I see more and more money going into chicken feed (DH not happy . . .). So I am thinking of getting more productive hybrids similar to the gold sex-link. Was thinking we could keep a leghorn roo, and some RIR hens, then cross them? Would like to be able to raise our own layer replacements, but need them to be more productive than some of the heritage breeds. Has anyone had experience with this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-42550873367921205312013-07-23T14:02:42.970-07:002013-07-23T14:02:42.970-07:00Thank you so much for sharing your thoughtful post...Thank you so much for sharing your thoughtful post on the Home Acre Hop. We have a small flock of chickens which we enjoy however we came to the same conclusion about keeping bees as you did about keeping chickens. We'd much rather support a local beekeeper than have the expense of bees. Haven't given up our chickens yet though! Hope to see you back at the Home Acre Hop this week! Nancy - http://homefront.prudentliving.comNancy Whttp://homefront.prudentliving.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-68901295825854837852013-07-12T17:09:56.572-07:002013-07-12T17:09:56.572-07:00Free ranging them, feeding them kitchen scraps and...Free ranging them, feeding them kitchen scraps and whatever they dig up in the yard, was always our plan- but you can read my "hens & the garden" article to see why that didn't work out for us. Basically, they've destroyed my garden, time and again, and I can't prevent it besides keeping the hens in their run. If we had a different yard, with a space for the hens separate from the garden, that would be ideal!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-28938597038226903992013-07-11T20:36:48.457-07:002013-07-11T20:36:48.457-07:00We have only a few backyard hens. We've been ...We have only a few backyard hens. We've been letting them free range and hardly ever buying feed. Our family of 10 produces plenty of kitchen scraps to keep them scratching and occupied. So, whatever they lay, we feel, is profit, because we really haven't spent anything on them.<br /><br />Not sure if a smaller family could free range their birds if they don't produce enough scraps for them to eat. Would be an interesting experiment.The Provision Roomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368915745404217340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-76219037444495627552013-06-27T12:41:37.185-07:002013-06-27T12:41:37.185-07:00I really needed to read this! My husband and I ar...I really needed to read this! My husband and I are considering raising chickens and while I've been really excited about it, I want to see all sides of it--good and bad. <br /><br />Thanks for sharing!Tanya @ Kentucky Sketcheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09689326662447099946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-50225630251151586332013-06-23T04:33:34.538-07:002013-06-23T04:33:34.538-07:00I would agree that the expense is higher for what ...I would agree that the expense is higher for what you get back. We're not allowed to have Roosters either and my 14 yo son just received 25 baby chicks that he wants to raise and then breed so he can sell the eggs on Ebay (some special breeds that do really well on Ebay). We'll see how that works out. He's using his own money to front the costs and keep track of his expenses...a little side business of his! We also have 7 regular egg layers. We are right outside the city and luckily have 1 acre of land. When I see the chickens free-ranging in our back yard, I feel like we live in the country. I LOVE it!!!<br /><br />Margaret @ <a href="http://www.LiveLikeNoOneElse.com" rel="nofollow">Live Like No One Else</a>Margaret @ Live Like No One Elsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09407182443460902580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-83217026945076924132013-06-04T06:01:08.895-07:002013-06-04T06:01:08.895-07:00Great post! I agree, you really do need a rooster ...Great post! I agree, you really do need a rooster to make keeping chickens worth the $$. If you can raise your own plus sell excess chicks the amount of money they generate increases greatly. You might be able to get fertile eggs from a local farmer whenever ones of your hens go broody. It also depends just how broody your hens are!<br /><br />Glad you had so much fun with it while it lasted though!<br /><br />~L LA Muranohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00827994015402999638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-51054239967307122322013-06-03T17:55:12.574-07:002013-06-03T17:55:12.574-07:00I wandered over from Kathe With an E and am captiv...I wandered over from Kathe With an E and am captivated by your blog. Some recent health issues have had me re-evaluting what I put in my body and how to get back to a more natural life style. I'm now following with GFC.Al@PolkaDotsandPaisleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01122452943922065673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-4145849424345038202013-03-05T17:00:16.292-08:002013-03-05T17:00:16.292-08:00Oh wow. Here, eggs at the farmer's market are ...Oh wow. Here, eggs at the farmer's market are easily $5, and the same with the high end ones at the grocery store. I bet we pay more for feed in this area, though! When we had enough to sell, I started out asking $3.50, and then moved up to $5.00 when I realized my eggs really held more value than anything people could get at the store- plus, they're more expensive to produce. I always had buyers, though I never had so many hens as your kids have. You definitely don't want to be selling them at a loss, though I suppose it's a good kid project!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-86354452782663350972013-03-05T13:43:42.911-08:002013-03-05T13:43:42.911-08:00My mom ordered the chicks we have now from McMurra...My mom ordered the chicks we have now from McMurray Hatcheries. I'm not sure but I "think" if you order 25 or more the shipping is free. Maybe you could split with someone if you ever decided to get more. <br /><br />We're probably at the top of our price for eggs. They sell them for $3 a dozen, each child get a $1 and $1 goes back into feed. Everyone else that we know that sells eggs sells for $2-$2.50dz. I think that's too low. Our grocery price for "free range" eggs is $3dz. So I think we're on track.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12920970250264488574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-41731968980883698202013-03-05T12:53:44.245-08:002013-03-05T12:53:44.245-08:00I think getting chicks in the fall is a great idea...I think getting chicks in the fall is a great idea. I actually tried it last fall though, and NO ONE carried them locally that time of year. Shipping would have been expensive to get them by mail, and the hatcheries weren't offering any bulk deals like they do during prime chick season, so we decided to wait a few months... but by then we'd made the decision not to replace them. I also like the idea of getting 6 free chicks with a bag of feed!<br />Can your kids sell the eggs for more money, and double what they put back into paying for feed? I think a lot of people don't ask enough for their local, healthy homegrown eggs. They should at least cost as much as the best "naturally nested" eggs from the store. Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-75315203068246941082013-03-05T09:47:09.911-08:002013-03-05T09:47:09.911-08:00This is something I've thought about quite a b...This is something I've thought about quite a bit. Two of my children have an egg business. We have about 30 hens and since they take care of them they get to sell the extra and keep all but $1 of the money. That $1 goes back to buying feed. It works great in the spring and summer. Not so great in the winter. I think that if we put that entire amound aside it would pay for all of our feed all year. <br /><br />My mom just bought my kids 25 chicks so we don't have to worry about replacing just yet. When we do we will either purchase them in the fall so we can let them grow during the winter when they're not laying anyways. Or get them from a local feed store at Easter when they give you 6 free chicks when you buy a 25lb bag of starter feed. We did this originally and it worked well. There's not much variety but the price was right. <br /><br />Maybe you can find someone to barter your veggies for eggs...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12920970250264488574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-62710714764247264382013-03-04T20:23:55.324-08:002013-03-04T20:23:55.324-08:00I really enjoyed your forthright article on the ec...I really enjoyed your forthright article on the economics of keeping chickens. I think it will help people evaluate whether it makes sense for them to keep chickens.Aleahttp://premeditatedleftovers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-40723660848498501132013-02-26T10:18:58.703-08:002013-02-26T10:18:58.703-08:00Well, not everyone has a yard, so there will alway...Well, not everyone has a yard, so there will always be people who have to pay/trade for eggs. I do prefer to be as self-sustainable as possible, but the fact was chickens just weren't sustainable without being able to have a rooster :( Hopefully it will work out for you someday, Rachael!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-41350681251690429382013-02-26T09:25:12.587-08:002013-02-26T09:25:12.587-08:00This was an interesting read. Although I dream of ...This was an interesting read. Although I dream of my chicken laying days, it's good to see that it might not be perfect for everyone or really very financially feasible.<br /><br />I was actually thinking about it last night. If we all have chickens and we all have our own eggs, there would be no business selling them. Which is okay if you want to be entirely sustainable, but doesn't really help promote that barter/exchange of goods and services local communities really need.<br /><br />Plenty to think about here. Thanks for sharing!Rachaelhttp://thealisokitchen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-28444525182006020162013-02-24T04:14:59.877-08:002013-02-24T04:14:59.877-08:00True, and chocolate ones!True, and chocolate ones!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-19522909148346291722013-02-24T03:07:45.469-08:002013-02-24T03:07:45.469-08:00SOrry to hear your chicken ranch isn't working...SOrry to hear your chicken ranch isn't working out. You know I live vicariously through yours and Nik's chickens. Isn't squelching my plans on having a few birds when I retire, but I will definitely consider breeds. BTW The Cadbury Bunny lays eggs...FYIRobj98168https://www.blogger.com/profile/12449968557883132353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-61352980719866504502013-02-22T06:15:21.815-08:002013-02-22T06:15:21.815-08:00Yes, we really will have chickens again when we li...Yes, we really will have chickens again when we live somewhere that allows roosters, and someplace where the yard is big enough for a chicken tractor to work. I wish we could do those here!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-7947328038376000872013-02-22T05:25:18.201-08:002013-02-22T05:25:18.201-08:00I agree that chickens seem to be the hardest to ge...I agree that chickens seem to be the hardest to get to a cost effective point. But hete are some things we learned over the years. First off you have to buy the right bird. There are a lot of birds who will lay almost every day and still be good for meat. Then you must get a rooster. That way you can incubate eggs to hatch new birds. Hatch new birds at the right time so that they will mature before old birds stop laying at their prime. Cull older chickens for meat while near the end of their prime. If timed right you will have younger ones laying well. This also helps with meat as the older the chicken is the tougher the meat. This way there is no cost for new chicks. Also if you have a broody hen dont cull her and let her raise some incubated babies. To forgo some feed cost without having chickens running around pooping all over your porch and digging up mulch, (yes, speaking from experience) build a chicken tractor or two and move around the yard. This also helps with insects wich is always cool. And always have a light in inter so production doesnt slow. We all have to make decisions as to what works for our homestead and congratulate youon keeping track of cost, ect. and making the changes you need to. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-6101799503783075172013-02-20T10:41:07.510-08:002013-02-20T10:41:07.510-08:00Thanks Steph!Thanks Steph!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-16168714694628643662013-02-20T08:54:14.602-08:002013-02-20T08:54:14.602-08:00This was great! Very practical, good pros and cons...This was great! Very practical, good pros and cons on both sides. They are kind cute at first,... the novelty certainly wears off! Thanks for linking at Healthy 2day Wednesday!Steph (The Cheapskate Cook)http://thecheapskatecook.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846822951017254806.post-57756356987901803182013-02-19T21:49:22.685-08:002013-02-19T21:49:22.685-08:00They are wonderful! We'll definitely have them...They are wonderful! We'll definitely have them again when the conditions are more favorable ;)<br />I hope your city laws change soon!Mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320881197482295606noreply@blogger.com