Backyard critters as an economic buffer?

[AngieChick]

Quote:
Umm, that's me. I spent over $4.50 a dozen for good local eggs. We go through about 24 eggs a week (we are vegetarians and they fill a gap, and I make my own pasta). I did have a friend with chickens that I could get some from during high production in the spring, but it was hit and miss at best. It was just often enough to spoil me and make it so that I realized how icky store-bought ones taste in comparison

. Hence the chickens. It will take 2 years for them to totally recoup their expenses, but after that the set-up has paid for itself (I also figured in some down time for seasonal slow-downs). So, after doing the math, after 2 years they will be saving me $300 a year (I estimated $150 for feed, which is way high for us). But, we plan on adding more chickens in another year, so we will be selling the extra eggs and hopefully defraying the cost of feed. We would have the same amount of property with or without them, so that won't enter into the math. So yes, in time they will absolutely save us money. But, mostly because we are egg glutons and picky about them.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
500 x 50= 25,000

So you pay $25,000 a year in taxes

Well, my dad does. Once he retires this month... it will be interesting times...

 

[freemotion]

Way back when, people kept chickens alongside a horse or two or oxen, a dairy cow, a few pigs, etc. Often the chickens weren't really fed at all, they would fend for themselves and in the winter ate what the larger animals dropped....those horse-owners out there know how some horses can be messy eaters, and I wonder how much dental care was done on the smaller homesteads. Which would leave plenty for a few chickens to winter over until spring.

Also, people didn't eat the amounts of meat we do today. My father came from a family of 13 mouths to feed, and he speaks of his mother putting >A< chicken in the pot on Sunday morning before church for Sunday lunch....I remember the huge mounds of potatoes, home-made pickles, veggies, and stacks and stacks of buckwheat pancakes (plogues en francais) with butter and/or creton (head cheese....a fatty spiced meat spread made from pig's head....ew.) that were always on her dinner table to fill everyone up.

And....free-ranging. It is a big challenge today for some of us (not me, fortunately!), as I imagine most of us on this forum are in suburban settings and must have the animals confined to an area too small to forage effectively, so we have to bring the food to them.

So a big hurray for us, valuing our chickens and eggs enough to spend the extra bucks. Cruelty-free food is also a HUGE benefit, in my book.

 

[BantyHugger]

Ours are mostly a hobby now, but i like to think they save us money on gas since we don't have to drive out to get them any more. If the economy gets worse the ducks will become a source of food as well. They hatch out about a dozen babies every year so we should stay decently stocked in the duck meat department. If times get real hard some of the old hens may be eaten too.

 

[Wifezilla]

A few of you mentioned the cost of the coops and pens when describing your chickens as being expensive. By that line of thinking, I paid $127,000 for my garden to grow $250 worth of vegetables! LOL

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
That is exactly how it was when I was growing up...

I do free range my chickens but in a fenced in area of almost an acre. We just bought this place three years ago and still haven't gotten very much of the land cleared (DH has been sick this year). The coyotes here are thick as fleas on a dogs back and it's taken my two mastiffs three years to kill enough of them that the others are finally starting to give us some space. I'm hoping to one day be able to let my chickens be truly free range but for now they are going to have to stay inside the fence and I'm going to have to feed them.

 

[greyfields]

I have always told people that if they are farming to produce their food cheaper, then they are sadly mistaken. Very often, you are better buying organic meats from high-end grocery stores when you look at all the costs associated with farming.

I figured it would take me at least three years to 'break even' on the acquisition of breeding stock, tools and equipment.... which entirely excludes labor.

For reference, we raise beef, pork, chicken, duck, goose, broilers, eggs and milk dairy goats.

Considering a single good milking dariy goat may cost you $300, you could buy nearly 100 gallons of milk at the store.

You should only be producing your own meants, eggs, milk and food if you care about the quality and wholesomeness of your food source.

 

[freemotion]

Wow, Betty, maybe I should trade my poodle in for a mastiff....

But he does his share of damage to the rodent population, so I guess he can stay.....wait a minute, let me figure the cost of upkeep of a poodle compared to D-con and a hot-water bottle....

I don't really figure in all the costs, because, let's face it, most of us would have the house and property whether we had a coop and gardens or not.

But again, hooray for us!! I wish more people lived this way. Then the things we need to buy to be healthy wouldn't be so hard to find, and the necessary trips to the grocery store wouldn't be such a sad joke. It is very hard not to look at what other people buy when I am standing in line. And feel pretty virtuous....

 

[lorieMN]

Quote:
500 x 50= 25,000

So you pay $25,000 a year in taxes

Well, my dad does. Once he retires this month... it will be interesting times...

Holy Crap !!! we pay like $160/year...glad I dont live where you do..

 

[Lunachick]

My three birds are strictly pets. Eggs are a bonus. I totally enjoy them, it makes me proud that I can take care of them and let them be their chicken selves. In the Spring, I'm going to have six hens altogether to enjoy.

When the egglaying stops, the chickens will hopefully go on for a long while.

BUT, if I lived where I could have land, that might be a different story.