Do your animals pay for themselves?

[Nicholie Olie]

As in at the end of the year you break even in terms of money? Is it possible to do that sort of thing with only a couple animals? As in 2-3 of each animal and selling it's offspring (or possibly butchering offspring?)



Hope this all makes sense!

[chickenista]

We just had to pare down the animals (risk vs sure profit etc...)
but yes.
For years we have actually cleared a wee bit of profit on our farm animals.

And the animals we have left pay for themselves, plus a little left over.
As it is now I only sell eggs, but that does totally cover the feed bill.

Before we sold butchered chickens (to just one family) at $20 a bird and about 60 birds a year.
And the Thanksgiving/Christmas turkeys at $5/lb-Average weight between 10-15 lbs.
And Muscovies for meat at $7/lb or more.

And this is the first year we aren't doing turkey poults (inserting crying, yet relieved face here)
We were about the only producers of farm hatched, hand raised Bourbon Reds in the western part of 4 states.
We had good stock and I became very, very good at raising poults.
I didn't sell until they were at least a month old and thriving well.

Some of my customers ordered 50, 60 or 70 poults at a time.

The house is very quiet this year.
It is usually filled with the 3 note call of the poult.. bee boo boop.

But we cleared small profits on those endeavors and maybe, if things stabilize, we can get back into it.
But choosing to radically cut back has been the right decision. Absolutely.
I would lose my freaking MIND if I had to deal with all that I am dealing with AND do chicks, ducklings and turkey poults.

[Callieslamb]

It depends on the year for us. Last year's drought with an extra long, extra cold winter- they didn't even come close. We fed all the hay we baled from our own field by November. It would help if I would learn some salesmanship skills.

[fffarmergirl]

My goat is more than paying for herself by providing baby formula my grandson. The laying hens probably earn their keep. The horses.......not so much heehee

[Nicholie Olie]

Very interesting! I was reading the book "The Backyard Homestead" and was curious with the information given. Sometimes they make it easier said than done xD

Curious if majority can say they do break even.

[highlands]

Yes, but that's what we do, we farm.

The pigs bring home the bacon - they pay the mortgage and all our bills. It's pastured pork we sell. All the rest of the animals are support staff. Important but we don't sell them.

The chickens are organic pest control and provide tens of thousands of eggs which get fed to smaller pigs. The eggs are pastured since we don't buy any commercial hen food. In the winter the hens eat pigs.

The ducks stir up the ponds, eat mosquito larva, slugs and grass.

The dogs herd and guard the animals.

The geese do something. Not quite sure what. But they don't take much of any effort on our part so their cost is about nil. They do raise the alarm which brings the dogs running to kill predators so there is that function.

We fix fences, build stuff, etc.

Everyone pays their way. Everyone works.

[Alice In TX/MO]

For small holdings, the answer is yes and no. I get milk and cheese and yogurt from the goats. Fertilizer for the garden. I don't do the math or figure in my time. The rewards are more than enough.

Most folks I know who have chickens for eggs and meat say that they might break even. The reward is having clean food.

[V-NH]

I definitely do not break even. My feed bill for 20 chickens and 4 goats runs about $200/month and I maybe make $20 a month selling extra eggs to friends.

[Old Vet]

I am sure they would if they had pockets full of money.

[karenp]

I don't sell anything at this point, but I couldn't buy the quality of food that I produce myself at any price. So does that mean they pay for themselves, yes, but not in money.

[95bravo]

And then some, I was spending around 300$ a year in bush hogging and lawn mower gas. I spend less than half of that now in winter hay, and that lawn mower does not put lamb chops on the grill. I still take the mower over it to level it off from time to time. Leveling it off goes in no time, so there is my time and mower wear and tear to factor in. I also had three mini donkeys over winter and they eat more than dozen sheep could.
My place get's 40 inches plus of rain a year. That grows the grass like crazy. So your mileage may vary. Dog food is a cost I want to get rid of. I know there are sweet potato based dog foods, so I want to try and make my own. Can't be worse than the crap from the store.

[gweny]

I just got 4 chickens so it really is to soon to know for sure, but if my calculations are accurate then they will pay for themselves. Free range eggs are going for $5 a dozen here. Not cheap.
I won't sell the eggs though... I bake with them and sell the baked goods. I only bake with fresh, local, in-season foods with no preservatives (unless there's lemon juice in the recipe or something like that) with a preference for that which I grew myself.
I have cut my egg cost in half. Since just about everything I bake has got eggs in it I'm getting $1-$1.50 an egg depending on the recipe.
It helps to bake in small quantities. I aim for $5 or $10 sales , though some things cost more to make depending on ingredients. It also helps to buy flour and sugar in bulk.

[idigbeets]

Yep, our animals totally pay for themselves. They are grass fed, so pasture costs are very low, hay fed in winter, production cost is around $12-15 per round bale.

The chickens pay for themselves via eggs and meat, with soybeans being our biggest cost at $25/bushel.

Over all we are profitable, otherwise.... how could we still farm?

[Alice In TX/MO]

We have outside jobs.

[Cornhusker]

Nope
Our Border Collies were paying their own way (barely) when they were young enough to have pups, but now they are on their own version of Social Security.
Chickens eat more than they give back, horse is just an underachieving weed eater, and there are 3 times more cats than needed to keep the pests down.
Also have an elderly greyhound who eats more than the rest put together and spends his days moldering on the lawn.
ON the other hand, they do keep me company and are always glad to see me when I come home or just walk out of the house.

[watcher]

ARE YOU KIDDING? Every time I take them to the movies I have to pay for all the tickets!

[CIW]

The milk cow makes us the most. She will raise 8 or 9 calves a year. The Jack settles about 20 mare annually, which more than pays for any cost for the other equines. The mares raise a foal annually sold. The draft mares are provide wagon rides during the holidays, which more than pays their way.
I guess that the answer is yes, they do pay their way.

[iamkingtim01]

Two Pygmy goats, 10 hens, and 10 quail all live outside. 3 dogs and a cat live inside with the two humans. The outside critters more than pay for theirselves, but it is not near enough to carry the weight of the inside critters.

[brosil]

I don't care. It's got to be cheaper than a shrink.

[CountryWannabe]

I probably break just about even nowadays for feed and hay - depending on the method of accounting (mine can be pretty creative, LOL!) I don't buy any meat because I eat what I butcher so the savings are as good as income plus I know where my meat came from, how it was fed and raised. I raise a fair garden, canning and freezing excess so more savings. I sell a few lambs, a few kids now and then. The sheep graze for several months, we butcher in fall so only have to feed the breeding flock. The goats forage and graze but need feeding and alfalfa when in milk - so if they break even it is barely so. But I get great milk and make yoghurt and cheese from it. We do still need another income to pay property taxes and a few bills, but we live on very little actual cash.

Mary