How many acres of land do you need?

[Katy]

We've got a thousand acres and I have, depending on the time of year between 50 and 100 chickens. I don't think my hubby is going to let me expand my pens tho.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

The place I purchased was 5 acres. The hen house is a 65x65 foot equipment shed that was converted to hold 2500 floor-raised layers. In addition to the building there is about a 1/3 of acre of pasture set aside for the birds. In good weather several overhead doors are wide open and the birds are allowed in and out as they wish. They have been running on this same pasture for about 4 years and we are planning on expanding the pasture and rotating them to another area next year. About 3 out that 5 acres is now in grain crops planted as part of a 20 acre field.

That alone is not very sustainable though. An organic system would include the cropland required to grow the feed for the birds and to spread their manure. The 5 acres I bought was part of a 34 acre plat with about 20 acres in organic grains. The fellow I bought it from grew a large portion of the hens' organic feed there and spread the manure there. Due to certain circumstances he wanted to sell the home and barns, but keep the rest of the plat. He will continue to grow organic grains and spread the manure from the layer operation we now own.

Those 2500 hens will lay close to 60,000 dozen eggs a year, grossing $110,000 in eggs. I am hoping to make at least $20,000 a year in profit.

Regardless of the aversion here to "commercial" laying operations, this country still needs farms to feed it's people. Many lament the loss of family farms, yet will sneer at those who have a dream of making a living this way. I went off on a gal in another thread the other day who made snide comments about the "large farm down the road" and how they supposedly treated their laying flock. This was a place that sounded like a large family farm to me. She said they raised their hens cage-free , yet she was convinced they were somehow evil because they had large buildings, were trying to make a profit, and didn't raise their hens like she raised her small flock in her backyard.

So far, I consider this small organic operation I have purchased to be a fine example of an alternative production model for commercial hens. Perhaps we could educate the original poster on such options instead of running him off...

 

[dacjohns]

Chickenred,

I'm sorry you have met such opposition in response to your question. Yes, many people look at chickens as pets but many others look at chickens as livestock. There are many ways of raising chickens, some more humane than others. You will find opinions ranging from vegans having chickens as pets, house chickens, 1 or 2 in the backyard, all the way up to larger scale operations. Don't take the opposition personally.

mac in abilene has given some good information. Some others that are involved in larger scale chicken raising are greyfields and colored egg farmer. They might be able to help you.

Good luck.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Quote:
My apologies for being logical. I am just pointing out how illogical the original poster is to think he would find the kind of information he needs on a forum dedicated to BACKYARD chickens. There are 20,000+ posters on here and MAYBE 2-3 are making a living from their chickens. The scope of information this poster needs will likely only be found on sites devoted to actual egg/poultry production.

So far, I consider this small organic operation I have purchased to be a fine example of an alternative production model for commercial hens. Perhaps we could educate the original poster on such options instead of running him off...

And so far you are the only person on here (that I am aware of) who has such an operation and might be qualified to discuss such an operation. I still think there are WAY better places than here to find good, solid information based on operations that are actually turning a profit. Hopes are all well and good, but someone building a new business needs to create their business plan based on solid experiences of already profitable businesses. From what you've written, it doesn't sound like you are there yet. Yours does sound plenty interesting, though, and I do wish you good luck with it.



Rusty​

 

[digitS']

The Original Poster has removed his/her signature line which read: "Down with PETA. burn, burn, burn."

. . . . old but still have a memory

I am not a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) but that was a highly provocative line.

Initially, it probably wasn't wise for me to have even responded. And, I'm all finished now . . .

Steve

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I still think there are WAY better places than here to find good, solid information based on operations that are actually turning a profit. Hopes are all well and good, but someone building a new business needs to create their business plan based on solid experiences of already profitable businesses. From what you've written, it doesn't sound like you are there yet.

Do you really think he was looking to put together a business plan from a simple internet query? More likely he is just a young guy fishing for ideas, planting the seeds for a dream. I was trying to figure out the scope of what he was thinking about, and perhaps put him on the right track, but several basically told him that he wasn't welcome here.​

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Do you really think he was looking to put together a business plan from a simple internet query?

Honestly? After seeing the PETA burn stuff, I wondered if he was a troll and considered reporting the post. Instead I tried to give chickenred the benefit of the doubt and offered what I thought was a realistic suggestion of where he would find appropriate information for what he seemed to be wanting to do.

Now that I've read his profile page, I'm back to wondering if he's a troll.

Rusty​

 

[dacjohns]

My backyard is 100 acres or maybe it is my frontyard. A certain size of yard isn't a requirement for Backyard Chickens.

 

[FarmerChick]

I liked your post Mac in Abiline.

I have 300 chickens on just under 3/4 acre. Big old converted hog building for shelter, some fenced runs for outside use. Not crammed, not individually caged.

I have 120 acres....and it is my "country backyard". And I have these chickens for profit solely. Small farmer making a living off my land. But being they are mine, I handle them better than huge commercial operations and there are needs for small farms to supply food to our local communities.

If every person was a hobbyist and didn't believe in food operations on a farm, then there would be no roast chickens in the ovens.

I don't know if the original poster was legit or not but for me, I will answer 300 chickens on 3/4 acre out of 120 acres....minimal cages and you make money. (I have other operations in effect also...100 hogs we process for sausage and such)---but hubby is thinking of buying about 250 more birds....oh boy! LOL


you sure have a big operation compared to me at this point and I commend you for your dedication to improving the food sources in your area and the running of your business.

 

[chickenred]

wow guys.... you have to understand that not everybody has chickens in there back yard, where do you think they get there eggs from? I simply came on here, and many other sites to see what people said. you guys are the only site who think all chicken farmers are bad.
oh, and Steve, they removed my signature because there are rules about saying the cursed word.....PETA!