Billionaire Bill Gates says people should have chickens

[ejcrist]

This will be in Africa I think..
I wonder if the have enough freerange that won't have to feed much..

I took a quick glance back at it and it looks like he's recommending the idea to all. I think he's spot-on. The rural places overseas I've been to had more than enough free-range food close to the homes so I don't think it's stretch. Of course not all do. If you live in the middle of the Sahara Desert you're probably in worse shape than we are here in AZ, but a lot of places have sufficient natural sources. And, if you're raising some varieties like the Jungle Fowl, they're some of the best foragers around - in fact it's their mainstay and that's what makes them so popular to own.

 

[Rod-T]

Yep. If I remember correctly the article referred to Africa but I thought he was applying the notion to all under-developed countries.

Your probably right... I really don't know enough about there country to say if it will work..
Do the have grain? If the have enough forage I guess be good for free eggs... if they can make 1000 a,year.. who's gonna buy them? To get that 1000..
Said the average family now only makes a 1000 a year.. so who they gonna market them too?

 

[ejcrist]

Eggselent question! Sorry but I've been trying to remember to say that for some time. Most places have grain that I know of, except of course the extreme outliers in extreme climates or where the state owns everything. Also the 1,000 a year I'm sure would depend on each individual circumstance and the laws of supply and demand would prevail. Like here, if you live in a farming area it's very unlikely you could sell backyard eggs for the prices you could in the city. In my opinion the 1,000 figure isn't so much important as is the idea that you could either increase income or decrease living expenses worth a given amount, but that amount figure is variable.

 

[BruceAZ]

Yep. If I remember correctly the article referred to Africa but I thought he was applying the notion to all under-developed countries.

Billionaire Bill Gates says people should have chickens

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ates-donate-100-000-chicks-fight-poverty.html


Africa or any other country.. does it really matter?

why would they think that it's a good idea to give chickens to people who can barely feed themselves? so if i'm already starving i should raise chickens? ? this is the part where i don't get..

maybe he didn't really think it through

i'm bet that most or all of those chickens will be going on the table shortly after


let's face it.. it's cheaper to buy eggs in stores.. $0.68- $0.98 for a dozen of Hickman's eggs

or you can raise 5 chickens that will use about 30lb bag of feed in 45 days.. building a coop/run, supplies,treats. etc.. organic? non-gmo, non-corn/soy/canola? etc..

s

so my question would be why would poor people want to raise chickens ? especially when you can barely getting by ?

so even if i'm using the free lumber and the cheapest feed you can find.. i still don't see how adding on more debt will help ..

 

[ejcrist]

Billionaire Bill Gates says people should have chickens

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ates-donate-100-000-chicks-fight-poverty.html


Africa or any other country.. does it really matter?

why would they think that it's a good idea to give chickens to people who can barely feed themselves? so if i'm already starving i should raise chickens? ? this is the part where i don't get..

maybe he didn't really think it through

i'm bet that most or all of those chickens will be going on the table shortly after


let's face it.. it's cheaper to buy eggs in stores.. $0.68- $0.98 for a dozen of Hickman's eggs

or you can raise 5 chickens that will use about 30lb bag of feed in 45 days.. building a coop/run, supplies,treats. etc.. organic? non-gmo, non-corn/soy/canola? etc..

s

so my question would be why would poor people want to raise chickens ? especially when you can barely getting by ?

so even if i'm using the free lumber and the cheapest feed you can find.. i still don't see how adding on more debt will help ..

Again, I'm not Bill and don't know all the details of his plan. The article said he was looking to send a certain amount of chicks to these countries so I doubt many would be eating chicks. Even if he was sending pullets though, I'm sure some or maybe even most would eat them but some would also keep them because they see the value over time. So whether they eat them right away or not is neither here nor there.

And you're right that it's cheaper to buy eggs "here" than raise chickens for eggs but that is by raising them to our backyard standards. Another reason is because we have an extremely efficient egg-producing industry. That may not be the case in these other countries. Adjusted for inflation eggs are much more expensive in the Philippines than they are here. As far as the feed cost goes, again, that's what we know here but the situation may be different in these other countries. Like I said earlier, I can think of a lot of examples of where free range is the norm and feed costs are really, really minimal.

One last thought - Every poor country I've visited or seen on TV, what is the one common thing you see they all share? Think about it - they all have chickens and ducks. So if they're such a heavy burden or "debt" as you called them, why is everyone raising them?

 

[orpington13]

Well that was interesting. I never even got close to getting a thousand dollars from five chickens.

 

[BruceAZ]

Again, I'm not Bill and don't know all the details of his plan.

sorry.. i quoted your post

but my comment was intended as a general reply


personally, i think the goal is become self sufficient

but unless he is giving the poor.. chickens, housing, supplies and 1 year supply of feed.. so they can start out

i don't see the point of this beside trying to get some attention out of it

i think i can give poor people bags of seeds.. so they can grow their own garden.. but again it's a pointless

starting your own garden is not cheap either..

for example.. can you imagine giving chickens or garden seeds for a homeless person.. so he/she can be self sufficient?

if you are going to help. .then provide enough support for the purpose of help.. if not just buy them lunch.. rather then giving them something that i'll cost them even more in the long run

i think this is nothing more than some media attention from the gates again..

 

[orpington13]

sorry.. i quoted your post

but my comment was intended as a general reply


personally, i think the goal is become self sufficient

but unless he is giving the poor.. chickens, housing, supplies and 1 year supply of feed.. so they can start out

i don't see the point of this beside trying to get some attention out of it

i think i can give poor people bags of seeds.. so they can grow their own garden.. but again it's a pointless

starting your own garden is not cheap either..

for example.. can you imagine giving chickens or garden seeds for a homeless person.. so he/she can be self sufficient?

if you are going to help. .then provide enough support for the purpose of help.. if not just buy them lunch.. rather then giving them something that i'll cost them even more in the long run

i think this is nothing more than some media attention from the gates again..

I agree. Why else would he build a chicken coop IN A SKYSCRAPER!

 

[Rod-T]

Billionaire Bill Gates says people should have chickens

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ates-donate-100-000-chicks-fight-poverty.html Africa or any other country.. does it really matter? why would they think that it's a good idea to give chickens to people who can barely feed themselves? so if i'm already starving i should raise chickens? ? this is the part where i don't get.. maybe he didn't really think it through i'm bet that most or all of those chickens will be going on the table shortly after let's face it.. it's cheaper to buy eggs in stores.. $0.68- $0.98 for a dozen of Hickman's eggs or you can raise 5 chickens that will use about 30lb bag of feed in 45 days.. building a coop/run, supplies,treats. etc.. organic? non-gmo, non-corn/soy/canola? etc.. s so my question would be why would poor people want to raise chickens ? especially when you can barely getting by ? so even if i'm using the free lumber and the cheapest feed you can find.. i still don't see how adding on more debt will help ..

Some of those people only make 700.00 a year...I wonder who he thinks they are gonna be able to sell eggs and meat to? The rich people?

 

[orpington13]

Actually, you could make a decent living with five chickens, if you are living in Venezuela. It is really sad to see how bad their economy is.