Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[stonykill]

This is how I do my accounting. I shove all the money I get from egg buyers into an old blue vase on top of the fridge. When I go to buy feed or anything regarding chickens, I just dip into the blue vase for the money. If ever I reach my hand in that vase and there isn't enough money to purchase feed, then I get out of keeping chickens.

I like it!

 

[JulieNKC]

Perfect! I respectfully suggest we additionally breed for lavender-colored eggs with real chocolate yolks.
And they have to be organic.

Or choc under that lavender shell and a cream center? Pretty please? Easter is a long ways away and I miss my cadbury eggs.

 

[Kassaundra]

I am not an oldtimer, do not make money on my chickens, don't sell my eggs just have never gotten around to it. But here is my thinking anyway if you are attempting to make money w/ your chickens. All these numbers are just for arguments sake off the top of my head w/o any research into them just to make an observation. You have 24 utilitarian chickens laying 24 eggs a day for 6 months which you sell for $2 a dozen that is $168 dollars in 6 months take away 68 for feed you made $100. Now you have 24 fancy dancy "pet" breeds that all the OT's on this thread just LOVE laying 12 eggs a day for 6 months which you can charge $40 a dozen for as hatching eggs you have made $960 and take out the same 68 for feed you have made $898 .......................... Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[stonykill]

I am not an oldtimer, do not make money on my chickens, don't sell my eggs just have never gotten around to it. But here is my thinking anyway if you are attempting to make money w/ your chickens. All these numbers are just for arguments sake off the top of my head w/o any research into them just to make an observation. You have 24 utilitarian chickens laying 24 eggs a day for 6 months which you sell for $2 a dozen that is $168 dollars in 6 months take away 68 for feed you made $100. Now you have 24 fancy dancy "pet" breeds that all the OT's on this thread just LOVE laying 12 eggs a day for 6 months which you can charge $40 a dozen for as hatching eggs you have made $960 and take out the same 68 for feed you have made $898 .......................... Seems like a no brainer to me.

MUCH easier to sell eating eggs than hatching eggs. Now take into account that some of those "fancy" chickens spend 1/2 of the peak laying season broody and you have less eggs yet.
$40 a dozen. Not very often. Heck, I'm happy as Gallagher at a farmers market to get $6 a dozen for hatching eggs. But Sumatra's aren't "Fancy". But still........

 

[Beekissed]

I am not an oldtimer, do not make money on my chickens, don't sell my eggs just have never gotten around to it. But here is my thinking anyway if you are attempting to make money w/ your chickens. All these numbers are just for arguments sake off the top of my head w/o any research into them just to make an observation. You have 24 utilitarian chickens laying 24 eggs a day for 6 months which you sell for $2 a dozen that is $168 dollars in 6 months take away 68 for feed you made $100. Now you have 24 fancy dancy "pet" breeds that all the OT's on this thread just LOVE laying 12 eggs a day for 6 months which you can charge $40 a dozen for as hatching eggs you have made $960 and take out the same 68 for feed you have made $898 .......................... Seems like a no brainer to me.

Ah...but the typical backyarder isn't looking to "make money"...they are mostly complaining about their first egg costing them $1000 and moaning how they will never recoup the cost of getting into chickens, no matter how many eggs they sell.

I don't think too many people get into chickens to "make money", unless it's with a commercially sponsored outfit. I know plenty of folks who make a living on that, though they will swear they never turn a profit.

The key here is to make enough money to even justify having the chickens on your land. If that amount is just to return your feed and start up costs, hurray! You've broke even. Most are stating they cannot even do that. I'm saying, if you really worked at it, not only can you break even but you can have a few bucks to tide you over in the leaner egg producing months.

It's really all in how you look at it. Do I feel like I'm "making money" off my chickens? Decidedly not. I feel like I have a profitable venture in my backyard because I'm operating in the black instead of constantly in the red. I imagine that would be any backyard chicken keeper's goal, wouldn't it?

 

[Fred's Hens]

I am not an oldtimer, do not make money on my chickens, don't sell my eggs just have never gotten around to it. But here is my thinking anyway if you are attempting to make money w/ your chickens. All these numbers are just for arguments sake off the top of my head w/o any research into them just to make an observation. You have 24 utilitarian chickens laying 24 eggs a day for 6 months which you sell for $2 a dozen that is $168 dollars in 6 months take away 68 for feed you made $100. Now you have 24 fancy dancy "pet" breeds that all the OT's on this thread just LOVE laying 12 eggs a day for 6 months which you can charge $40 a dozen for as hatching eggs you have made $960 and take out the same 68 for feed you have made $898 .......................... Seems like a no brainer to me.

Your point is well taken, Kassaundra, though the math is off, but you yourself said they were just figures tossed out for sake of comparison. Fair enough.
Just wouldn't want anyone taking those figures too seriously.

 

[Kassaundra]

Ah...but the typical backyarder isn't looking to "make money"...they are mostly complaining about their first egg costing them $1000 and moaning how they will never recoup the cost of getting into chickens, no matter how many eggs they sell.

I don't think too many people get into chickens to "make money", unless it's with a commercially sponsored outfit. I know plenty of folks who make a living on that, though they will swear they never turn a profit.

The key here is to make enough money to even justify having the chickens on your land. If that amount is just to return your feed and start up costs, hurray! You've broke even. Most are stating they cannot even do that. I'm saying, if you really worked at it, not only can you break even but you can have a few bucks to tide you over in the leaner egg producing months.

It's really all in how you look at it. Do I feel like I'm "making money" off my chickens? Decidedly not. I feel like I have a profitable venture in my backyard because I'm operating in the black instead of constantly in the red. I imagine that would be any backyard chicken keeper's goal, wouldn't it?

Making money isn't my goal, breaking even would be awesome. I raise them to help w/ gardening w/o chemicals, and healthy food source (both eggs and meat). I figure if I can harvest healthy chemical free meat, eggs, and veggies and break even doing it I'm ahead of the game.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Making money isn't my goal, breaking even would be awesome. I raise them to help w/ gardening w/o chemicals, and healthy food source (both eggs and meat). I figure if I can harvest healthy chemical free meat, eggs, and veggies and break even doing it I'm ahead of the game.

There ya go!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:Kassaundra:


***********
That's me too...and the reason I first was interested in chickens. That and the idea that I could possibly try to be a little more self-sufficient and provide at least some of our food without having to depend so much on others.

I DO already have a line-up of folks waiting for the chickens to produce enough they can buy them...they want to know their eggs are fresh and that the chickens are eating a more natural diet as well. Right now, based on the line-up, I could probably sell every egg I could produce but I started WAY SMALL, thinking of only producing for our family and also wanting to learn small-scale!

 

[flagirl]

I have learned so much from this thread. I am among those who want good natural food. i use 3 to 4 raw eggs a day in my morning shake and am happy just knowing where my eggs come from in order to have them raw. I too have people waiting for eggs. But , I need them all

i figure, if i had enough eggs to sell at $2 doz I could break even, but that has not happened and that is fine a long as I have my eggs.
I also have gardened organically for over 20 years and this is a win win situation, so break even is in fertilizer and relaxation is watching the antics of my chickens, even if my 13 yr old lab hates them