Billionaire Bill Gates says people should have chickens

[Beer can]

I bet Gate's has givin no thought to his plan being he is uneducated on the subject. I bet he can't figure it out even if he hires good help. Probably how he's stumbled through most his life...

 

[Robert M]

Bill Gates should take a long walk off a short pier, Carrying a sack of cannon balls!

 

[Robert M]

I bet Gate's has givin no thought to his plan being he is uneducated on the subject. I bet he can't figure it out even if he hires good help. Probably how he's stumbled through most his life...

Amen!

 

[Robert M]

they probably own a few factory farms ??

i can't imagine them spending time on raising backyard chickens..

filthy rich people often don't really care for these things

They don't do the work, either!

 

[Robert M]

I'm really not trying to argue. . This is just interesting. . And I'm trying to figure out how they could? 5 hens. 3 eggs a,day? Average.
Maybe 900 eggs a year?.. I guess if you hatched the eggs.. 700 hatch?
People that only make a 1000 a year what could they pay for those chicks? 25cents?.. I have no clue how things work in there country..

It costs $150 to buy a dozen eggs in Venezuela right now - LA Times

 

[DIGGIN CHICKEN]

I suppose he has a point .... if the poor aren't using the land ..they could plant crops to sustain small scale chicken production and keep em free range - would not be that costly at all.... but chances are .. going straight to the dinner table !!!

 

[Carin]

I live in South Africa and maybe able to give some insight in chickens and the good of the Bill Gates foundation. "Disclaimer- I bought my chickens out of my own pocket ;-) "

All livestock in Africa are in high demand and usually treated well as it is the livelihood of many. Chickens are raised for food and for eggs and will have an impact on the protein intake of rural poor families. Some will probably end up in the pot straight away but even if only 30% carry on and use the chickens the way it is intended by the Gates foundation it will make a difference. It is cheap to keep chickens as they will free range and have the table scraps. Chickens sleep most likely either high up in a tree or get locked in a coop at night. I breed show chickens and I have a waiting list at times for Roosters. They are not cheap and I keep in touch with the buyers. As long as the Gates foundation get the correct type of breed for the local area it should be a good idea and will make a difference in the livelihood of many. The saying of teach a man to fish is really true

A chicken can feed an extended family and can be slaughtered by most people. To kill a fully grown chicken takes maybe two people and one sharp knife or axe. The chicken can be processed and eaten on the same day. No special equipment is needed . To slaughter a 300kg pig is a lot more effort and then you need to process the meat and prevent it from getting spoiled. Electricity and cold rooms is a luxury not every body has access to.
An aggressive chicken is not as much of a problem as an aggressive pig, especially as there will be kids around. An egg a day keeps Famine away!

 

[DIGGIN CHICKEN]

@ Carin ... jy weet dan mos ... daai hoenders is klaar in die pot !!!

 

[ChicKat]

@ Carin ... jy weet dan mos ... daai hoenders is klaar in die pot !!!

Is this translation correct?


y Know wine ... those chickens are already in the pot

 

[ChicKat]

As others have said -- having a flock of chickens, a goat, a calf -- can change lives:

http://www.heifer.org/

For 20 or is it $25 any individual can provide a flock of chickens (chicks) to needy people. -- the business model has been proven to work. The perspective that they would raise and use their chickens in the exacty way USA backyard owners do -- misses the mark.

Thanks for the interesting conversation.

That the Gates foundation didn't channel their donation through Heifer international doesn't make the idea less of value IMO.