Cost vs. benefit analysis

[Pele]

The difference between expensive hobby and money saving flock is a matter of land. If you have sufficient acreage, your land can turn chickens into a sustainable money-saving resource via the ways mentioned above. Also, I have friends with over an acre of land who save a parcel every year for growing grains for their hens. It doesn't take much space for modern crops to yeild massive amounts of food. If properly processed (like my friends do), you can create your own filler feed out of soybeans and various grains.

Also, you have to have a good initial investment. A good incubator is a must, so that you can replace your laying flock when they get roughly two years of age, and slow production. Though to be honest, a lot of people just find it easier to go to a local rural hatchery and pick up laying chicks for like 2 dollars each every two years. I know that even without land space available in our yard, our hens definitely paid the cost of their own feed for the first two years of their lives. Now they're just pets that occassionally feed us.

I agree as well that a seperate meat flock must be maintained. If you want a truely sustainable one, you can't go the easiest route here (unfortunately). The cornish crosses that hatcheries sell cannot breed. So here is where you'd have to decide if you would like to buy chicks every spring, or if you'd like to buy something that is self-sustaining like Freedom Rangers. They have a lower feed conversion, so again, unless you have land for foraging, that increases cost to feed them. But the flip-side is that you aren't chained to hatcheries to produce them.

Just some items for thought. I definitely plan to move to a self-sustaining model once we get more land.

 

[Fred's Hens]

We're a farm, not just a hobby thing, but of course, there is a hobby or interest element.

We keep complete and thorough records. Last year, we spent $710 on feed. The birds also ate X amount of free ranging/garden produce surplus. We sold 210 dozen eggs and charged ourselves another 62 dozen which we consumed or gave as gifts. 272 dozen @ $2.50 = $680 in egg sales. We sold 24 pullets @ $14 for $336 in live bird sales.

Our "net" was thus; $1016 in sales minus $710 in feed resulting in a small margin of $306, if I hit all the correct computer keys.

The manure bonus for the gardens (we market garden) far, far exceeded the cost of 20 bales of straw for bedding. The benefit of that manure cannot be measured purely against the chemical fertilizer costs, as the manure is organic, a requirement for our gardening enterprise.

Perhaps you can evaluate this in terms of the labor involved. Get rich? Not very likely. Break even or at least be purposeful? We believe so.

 

[tick22]

As Fred said. With my egg money I am able to buy Dog, cat, horse (not counting winter hay) as well as chicken feed and still have some left over. Of course during the winter they slow down but still produce enough eggs for family and slower sales... Also note that mine free range during the day which cuts down the chicken feed, the cats are great hunters, so again, less food. The horse gives us pleasure and free manure as well as the chickens so our veggie gardens produce well and on the cheap. mmm, the only ones that does not produce some sort of income or cost benefit are the dogs, but they are protection, detectors and all round good buddies....

 

[Smoochie]

It would be really difficult to match the price of eggs at the supermarket. Today I bought eggs for a future bake sale and it was 2.39 a dozen. Keeping chickens is not just about food, water and shelter but what about your own time cleaning the coop, feeding, watering... Repairs. I just put a $400 roof on one of my coops for 5 chickens ( it should be full by spring though ) and I provided the shingles and wood!

 

[katsdar]

Course if you don't want to take care of your non productive girls go sell them at a flea market, or find some Mexicans/Guatemalans they love fresh chicken and you can sell them walking and squawking. Around here we get 10 dollars a bird, this is what my neighbor sells his girls at, I have not gotten to this point yet. But I am looking into meat birds.
Kat

 

[QChickieMama]

We do process our own non-productive birds here. Last week, 2 roosters provided 2 dinners for 9 people! Not too shabby. And delicious. (We just have to make sure no one says "rooster" at the table or the squeamish kids won't eat.)

 

[katsdar]

Thats funny

 

[Smoochie]

We do process our own non-productive birds here. Last week, 2 roosters provided 2 dinners for 9 people! Not too shabby. And delicious. (We just have to make sure no one says "rooster" at the table or the squeamish kids won't eat.)

This is where roosters named " Dinner" and " Delicious" would come in handy... Vicious is delicious!

 

[wsmith]

Cost analysis...

I have to remind myself that there were startup costs for equipment, bird purchases, facilities, etc. Then there is feed and upkeep, bedding, etc. For me, I consider the startup costs as a writeoff. it would take me years to break even. If you subtract those costs from my expenses, and add in the extra bird sales, egg sales, eggs consumed value, meat in the fridge (average super-duper chicken for sale at the various market X wieght of the meat we processed) etc; at this point we are only about $175 in the hole. And my pullets have only been laying for about 2 months. Feed bills are high whole the chickens are growing. Some breeds are less efficient than others. If I break even, I will be pleased; but right now, it looks like I will be estatic! that doesn't even take into account the entertainment values, the lack of gym membership because you are working and waling more, or the general health and satisfaction benefits from raising your own food. We run our chicken operation as a "must support itsself" farm. If there is a bird that becomes a financial liability, she goes. They have to earn their keep. Our chickens aren't really pets, they are livestock. We have also sold hackle feathers to fly tieing folks and that helps earn their keep as well.

We keep track of weight gain in growing birds, daily egg production, weekly feed consumption, etc. We do our best not to buy straw, rather, we make trades with other local folks who have sttraw, hay, raked up leaves, etc for eggs. I currently have enough bedding on hand to last at least through until spring. Suppliment feed with stuff people throw away these days, like jack-o-lanterns. Our chickens are just getting to the last of the 20 some pumkins we fed to them. Fallen apples, weeds, etc are all yummy treats that offset feed costs. Of course, they range around all day too.

 

[smilingcat]

Think many have forgotten the hidden benefits of raising your own. That is your health. Cost of health care is well ya know.

If you are looking strictly on financial side without the health cost benefits in terms of dollar saved by not having to see a doctor, you really need to think in terms of doing it on the cheap. My coop was constructed from thrown away ply wood scraps from a neighbor's place. I had to go over and haul it over to my place... We grew fast growing chards for the chicken and for ourselves... Excess sweet corn went to the chicken with any excess grown vegetables. And things like turnip tops, which are good eats, occasionally goes to the chicken...

And because of the chicken, we do not buy expensive fertilizers nor insecticide. They poop plenty and help our compost pile. they eat bugs of all sort. yeww!!! Eggs comes from chicken eating bugs? We must save several hundred dollars worth of fertilizers and insecticide. Only thing I had to buy were green sand, epsom salt, and bit of fungacide for my fruit trees.

I also consider the fact that if you were to buy organic and truly free ranging chicken and eggs, you will be paying a lot. The dozen "organic" eggs you buy at $5.00 is a lot when you grow your own at $2-$3 per dozen. The organic free ranging chicken you buy at $3-$5/lb, you might be spending $1.5 to $3/lb. You can't compare to the ones grown by big chicken producers. I think we are down to five or is it down to three or so. Sure you can buy them at $.99/lb.

Now if you don't care what kind of chicken you are eating $.99 versus the "organic" ones at $5.00/lb. then growing your own may not be the thing for you.

If you want to grow chicken for meat, really should be growing "meaties" and look at the conversion rate. You shouldn't be growing laying birds as a meaties. It would cost too much!! If you insist, at least grow a dual purpose bird. Brahama is considered dual purpose, but they grow too slow.

Think of how you could reduce your cost. Repurpose whenever possible.