Article on backyard chickens, false economics?

the cost of the eggs from your backyard truly is not the issue ever for most.

The new 'chickeneers" want to have some chickens, build a coop and pen project, have fresh eggs and enjoy some livestock at their home.

AND DON'T forget everyone, when those laying days are over, into the stew pot that chicken goes.....so more savings! (if they could do it..lol)

within reason--Price per dozen, price per egg doesn't matter to someone wanting fresh food. It doesn't for me.


I found the "comments" at the end of the article interesting mostly..LOL

Yep, in most cases you can run the numbers every which way from Sunday and they don't make economic sense (if people are honest with themselves about their situation).

This kind of thing gets peoples hackles up though because they use economics as one of the justifications for their homesteading pursuits and don't like to admit it when the numbers don't work out.

I say the heck with economics, if people want to raise X livestock because it is healthier or because they like the lifestyle more power to them. I just wish more people would be forthright about the economic downside of some of these endeavors.

You will also find that the people who will crow the loudest about the economic viability are those who have long had the necessary infrastructure in place and don't face true start-up costs to go along with the ongoing operational costs.

Kind of like on the reloading forums where a new person makes a post and asks if you can really save money by reloading. This is usually followed by responses from guys who have been reloading forever and are working off numbers from when they purchased components 10 years ago, and their equipment has also been paid off for 10 years. Can you 'eventually' save money from reloading? Yes of course you can, and the fundamental equation is the same for keeping livestock or just about any other endeavor. Just go into it with eyes wide open and know how long 'eventually' is.

Hobby farming can be an expensive hobby sometimes.

their analysis at the end. my analysis based on 6 years of raising chickens (and I'm danged cheap):

"So let's say a family of four decides to acquire the limit of six hens."

"At $3 a hen, they spend $18 for egg-laying chickens. A chicken lays eggs for about three years."

er, no, $3 a CHICK plus 6 months of feed. according to this site:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...ms/DI1191.html

leghorns eat 16-18 pounds of feed their first 20 weeks, larger layers 20 pounds of feed. lets go with the 20 pounds

10 pounds of chick starter * 6 = 60 pounds. $14.49/50 lb bag = $17.39
10 pounds of grower * 6 = 60 pounds. $12.99/50 lb bag = $15.59

Yes, they will eat more the second half of the 20 weeks than the first but someone else can do THAT math this is good enough for government work as my dad says.

so 6 young hens just starting to produce will cost at least $18 + $17.39 + $15.59 = $50.98 ($8.50 per bird). I think started pullets usually run around $10 in my area so that $10 each figure is probably much more likely.

from the article "To make sure the hens have enough food, they purchase three 50-pound bags for the year. At $15 a bag, that's $45."

laying hens need 1/4 pound of feed a day. 6 hens need 1.5 pounds of feed a day, 548 pounds a year and they bought 150 pounds? they intend to come up with 2/3 of the hens requirements from their subdivision plot?

548 pounds of laying feed: $11.99/50 lb bag around here so thats $127.03 a year. woopsie, they already ate 20 weeks of chick feed so 32 weeks of feed would be 336 pounds for $80.58 to end the first year.

they'll get 6 months of eggs, lets say they bought red sex links and get 6 eggs a week from each (about the best I've ever had). so 36 eggs a week, 1092 eggs in 6 months. I'm figuring they won't lay until 24 weeks old.

so those 1092 eggs cost them $50.98 + 80.58 = $131.56. That's 12 cents per EGG not dozen, $1.44 a dozen NOT 15 cents.

and I'm not counting costs of housing, electricty etc.

I don't even know what my eggs actually cost me (especially as I give them all away, right now) but I'd say each egg is worth about it's weight in gold.

but now that I have all the implements I need (chick waterers, hen size waterers, chick feeders, hen feeders, several dog houses for coops) I figure they just cost me my time which is less than 10 minutes a day plus 1/4 pound feed a day, plus some extra for cold weather so 100 pounds a year or roughly $25. I'll get at best 4 eggs a week for 9 months so I figure my eggs cost me 17.4 cents each or $2.08 a dozen.

mine get no medicated feed at all, just all whole grains and all the grass and bugs they can eat. I don't electrify anything and use dried cut grass for laying boxes. around here I'd have to pay at least $3-3.50 for those eggs IDENTICAL TO MINE and then what would I do for entertainment, manure for my gardens or with all my garbage? they can't be over rated as garbage disposals

oh, as far as housing, I'm down to about 10 hens now and use 2 dog houses which cost me $16. during the winter I use an ice cream bucket for water, a galvanized waterer in the summer. I feed them daily, only what they need right on the ground.

When doing the economics, don't forget that I don't buy any insecticides for my dogs. The chickens eat ticks and fleas and scratch the manure and eat whatever delicasies they find in there. So, I'm saving money in not using any type of insecticide on dogs or gardens. I don't buy pellets, I give them oats, corn, sunflower seeds, and wheat when I can get it. They also explore the compost. As for comparing the cost of my eggs with those at the grocery store, it is only proper to compare same with same, free range organic eggs, which are much more costly than $1 per dozen.

We-ell... people justify keeping and feeding a pet dog that may be eighty+ pounds, shed everywhere, poo in inappropriate places, leave mud in the house, and bark all night.

I love hens. Seriously, a small flock of fat, happy girls scratching the dirt and clucking to each other is balm for my soul.

Too, there have been times that we have suddenly been without a vehicle and really needed groceries. A few veggies from the garden and the hen's contribution meant we had good meals indeed until we had wheels again.

Quiet, clean, and keep the grasshoppers down that would otherwise decimate my garden. Eggs are a bonus.

The first may be a myth but >commercial< chickens are fed antibiotics and arsenic... Both layers and broilers.

Tom

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Tom Lavalette, Garden Farmer
Owner Toms Tractors, Buy, Sell, Trade Garden Tractors and Implements. Custom Built machinery by order.


If Farms were Smaller, Communities would be Closer.

Did anybody actually read the article?
They can keep 6 hens, no roosters....you'll have to buy n replacements.
They got the rules changed which means that there are probably lots of folks keeping an eye on their loopy neighbors just waiting to report some shoddily built coop made from recycled pallets....the 40 dollar coop is out. Free ranging is out as well I'll bet.


Lots of good ideas here...but most do not pertain to the folks in the article.

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Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

I did not read the article but it really does not matter to me. I will continue to keep my 10-15 chickens because I like to watch them and they give me eggs that are better than storebought. There are lots of chicken farms around here and my DS's FIL has one. Yes they are fed antibiotics. If you have never been in a commercial chicken house you would be shocked. Especially as they get close to being caught out of the house. It is unreal how they stink and how nasty they get. When my chickens get about 3 years old they make great stewing hens.

We've been trying for years to get Norfolk to allow backyard chickens. Years. Not even offers of the most stringent conditions will get it past them.

For a lot of us it isn't completely about economics, but the costs here of good free range organic eggs from a local flock is 4.50 to 5.00 a dozen. Makes a bit of difference to the economics there.

For me, I pay it willingly because the taste is so much better, there is far less misery in the making of those eggs and all my baked goods come out way better with those eggs. Better nutrition and far less cholesterol is a factor too.

Not having as many bugs in the yard, particularly the gardens is a point as it means less expensive organic approved pesticides or extra plantings. Having something that can eat the prodigious veggie scraps is good when you always have more green than brown for the compost pile. Having cute fuzzy butted buffs doing chickeny things in the yard is a point. Teaching kids where their food comes from is a huge point. Teaching kids, even in the suburbs, husbandry and animal care is a point.

So, when those of us who are doing or trying to do the backyard chicken thing, all those things go into the equation too.

All those things get compounded to make it economically feasible and desirable.

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Christy
Growing Human
http://growinghuman.blogspot.com

When wearing narrow lenses of hate and ignorance, is it any wonder one finds it difficult to see clearly? - Me

I have never bought a doz eggs from the store. Ive did without whern I didnt have any. Like most I keep them cause they identify me here in Oklaland as a farmer, cause I like fooling with them, watching them, hearing them, careing for them. I would think that people in town could pick up grass cutting in the bag put out for the trashman and feed a bit of this to the chickens, not to mention use it to fill a nest. Im also supprised that I keep hearing about cities leting people have chickens, but I havnt heard of people keeping rabbits.

I am picking up my replacement 19 week old golden comet pullets tomorrow. They will be $6.50 each. I have raised day old chicks before and I am of the opinion this is a good deal. Feed is $7.50 to $8.50 per 50 lb bag. The economics of what these eggs will cost for the home use is unimportant to me. What is important is that each morning when I am having breakfast at home I can eagerly look forward to a first class breakfast with the best of the best in eggs. I once criticized an older gentleman that was lavishingly applying water to his garden in order to get a few good tomatoes and some fresh sweet corn. He quickly put me in my place by responding "If I am going to eat it, it cannot be too ---- good for me". That is about my opinion when it comes to eggs.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

I have chickens because I love to watch them roam the yard, my kids love to collect eggs, we love to eat fresh eggs, and I know my chickens are not suffering in a battery cage. They live free until they are done laying, and then are culled humanely.
I know that my chickens have the best few years of life. I will not buy eggs from the store after learning how the laying hens are treated. Organic- prove it, really.
All of the above is priceless!!!

I would spend just as much on a "pet" cat or dog....and I DO spend just as much on my Pet Cats and Dog between vaccines, feed, flea treatments and yearly vet exams. The chickens don't cost any more than those Pets do after the initial housing costs (fencing, housing, cat litter pans, toys cost money too) and the Chickens actually give back EGGS, MEAT and replacement EGG LAYERS and MEAT.

I figure in the last two years as I got started with the chickens it cost me more than it will in the next several years now that I have built the housing and the fencing for them. And it's kind of like having stored food in the pantry.......I may have spent some TODAY when I could afford to on these chickens......but next year if my husband gets laid off and we find ourselves with no money to buy food.....I'll already have those EGG and MEAT makers in the yard........unlike my dog and my cat who will still be expecting me to feed them even if I don't have a paycheck with no return on that investment.

Fresh eggs here are between $3 and $5 a dozen. No one makes any "money" at it, really. Feed costs are prohibitive since everything must be shipped in.

For example, I spent about $400 on stuff for the coop. That's hiring someone to build it, some used chain link panels, heat lamp, waterers, heated bowl, light, nest boxes. I have a whopping three hens, mind you. Here I am in the middle of January, and I am getting almost 20 eggs a week from them. They get the neighbors' custom concoction for main rations, and I toss in handfuls of corn, sweet feed, sunflower seeds and etc. Plus they get basically all the leftovers from the house. Yep, it costs me electricity for the winter, but spring and fall they are loose to roam as they choose (penned up in summer due to vegetable garden) and all in all, I am happy with the return. What we don't eat ourselves or give away to friends and neighbors, the dogs get as a treat.

This spring, I am going to spend a wad on chicks, which must be ordered in. These will be my replacement layers, and I hope to keep 6 or 8 of them, and a roo, so I can keep the small flock going in coming years. I don't do it to "make money", I do it because I know what they have eaten, and how they are kept.

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A glimpse into my life and thoughts up here in Southcentral Alaska-visit my blog www.suvalley.blogspot.com

You may have inspired me to go ahead and get chicks again.

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US Army veteran, military retiree spouse, and military; civilian; British NHS; and VA doctor.

I've had chickens most of my life and I love the fresh eggs, but you will never grow them cheaper than you can buy them unless you have a source of free feed. As others have said, when you figure in the cost of buying and raising chicks up to layer age, it costs more. Unless you replace your chickens every year, their production will taper off and you also have the molt which will stop or greatly reduce production and increase the costs. That is why the layer barns around here always replaced their leghorn hens yearly. They sent the year old hens to a processing plant in Olney Illinois where they were butchered for what little meat was on them. Campbells Soup bought most of it. There were always a few escapees running around that end of town and the local kids would catch them for you for 50 cents each. I got a few on different occasions. They didn't lay every day like they first year, but were quite suitable for a farm flock.

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Dear Math, it is time you grew up and solved your own problems.

Do you have a house dog?

Chickens produce nice eggs and meat, along with enjoyment.

House dogs produce what? Enjoyment and uh, something else.

I have nothing against dogs; I have two guarding my sheep. But they earn their keep.

If you are pushing a pencil, I'd look elsewhere to cut costs than my poultry.

How much do you spend renting movies a month? Do you smoke? THERE'S a great place to cut costs and improve your health. A few drinks down at the local pub would cover feed costs, I'm sure.

Poultry are very worthwhile, for all the reasons listed.

I think raising chickens can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be and also depends on what you are raising them for. My chicken coop was made from the reclaimed end of a long tool shed so the roof was there already. A neighbor was throwing away a door from her porch which became my door and the sides were made from salvaged materials around the farm or my mother's scrap wood collection. My chickens free range, mostly in the goat pasture. Each morning they make the rounds to all the other critter feeding spots to clean up spilled grain. Each evening they are fed kitchen scraps. When we butcher they get butcher scraps. Fortunately, where I am we have something green all year. Right now the hens are having a field day over the dandelions and burdock. I never buy feed for the chickens and during the winter, they lay every other day and during the summer everyday. My eggs cost me virtually nothing, pennies. Offset that by the extra eggs that I either sell or trade and they are a great deal.

That is what I remended myself when the kids got older and stopped wasting so much food (which was fed to the chickens). I HAD the housing and the birds already, and even though my eggs were no longer costing me 25 cents a dozen did not mean that I was not enjoying the birds.

I decided that the houshold could afford the $5.50 a month the feed was costing us. I was getting perhaps 5-7 dozen eggs out of the deal which was SLIGHTLY more expensive than supermarket costs (It was 10 years ago).

Still, spended an extra $2 a month for a project is really low, and I got some fertilizer out of it as well. And a lot of fun.

Times have changed. My grandparents raised chickens and it was very profitable back then. The chickens had the run of the farm in the daytime and were in the yard as well as the barn lot. They ate bugs and feed wasted by the cows. Hens would disappear for a few weeks and appear from under a bush or a hiding place in the barn with 10 or so chicks. The rooster and old hens went for food, basically free food, and the pullets replaced the old hens. Grandad was home all day and tolerated NO predators of any kind. Few of us have that luxury now. My chickens would be gone in a week if I didn't confine them tightly and that means buying feed. It was a grand old time scouting the barn to gather eggs.

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Dear Math, it is time you grew up and solved your own problems.