Financially speaking, is it worth it?

[SeramaLife]

Quote:
I win

 

[me&thegals]

I think it depends on your set up. We can do chickens very cheaply since we use an old barn, so no coop expense. And, we're on a farm so the ground corn is free. My husband grinds and mixes our own feed mix, again much cheaper. They free range 9 months out of the year, the straw for their nests is free, etc. If you have to pay for everything out of pocket, that will be much harder. Have fun either way

 

[Peeplperson]

My husband figures we'll have to sell the eggs for about $15 a piece in order to recover our costs. So we consider it a hobby and they are pets (with benefits)

 

[jjparke]

I totally think it's possible to make money. BUT you have to figure whatever you invest in facilities it will probably take many years to get in the black. I am with some of the earlier posts though- you have ornamentals which seem to be a pretty slim market. I sell layer chics for $1.00 each straight run and I sell out every hatch. It's not much but it buys a lot of feed for layers and meats. Now if I could only get my hatch numbers up.

 

[Whispering Winds]

I just want to be more self-sufficient, even if it means it costs a little bit to do it. If it costs me $5 to raise a dozen eggs that I KNOW are healthier for me and my family, then so be it. Because . . . I know that if I run into the store or the hated Wal-Mart money pit, I won't even pick up a dozen OLD factory inspired eggs, I will spend another $20 on stuff I don't really need . . . I order all my cleaning supplies and want to try the laundry detergent and softner recipes this week to see if they will work for me, get most of my paper products at DG, and do my darnest to stay out of WM, and shop at the local IGA (which sad to say is the only other store where we are at) and at least help support a family owned business instead of a corporation. . .I buy clothes at yard sales, do have to break down and buy myself a couple new things every season because I work in a Real Estate office and need to look presentable . . .I think we need to step back and look at the big picture about raising chickens, ducks, or whatever . . .if it brings you joy, peace and just general contentment knowing YOU did this all by yourself, I don't think it matters if you make a lot of money. . .I can't afford to go in deep, but I definitely will use cash off coupons and shop thrifty just to be able to raise my own eggs, and I am not too proud to make my kids pay me at least 75 cents a dozen for fresh eggs, I have a couple of older friends who will get the extras for free. . .the Alpacas are going to take a little time, but they are very economical to raise, and the love and pleasure they are going to bring us as a family makes it worth every single sacrifice I am going to make to do this. . .I did it again . . . that darn ADD, makes me hop, skip, and jump all over the place, but I think you all know where I am coming from . . .

 

[russ_t]

I am new to this too. I never expect these hobbies to pay for them selves. I have been gardening for 30 years. I have raise hundreds of tomatoes that had to have cost three times what they would have at the grocery. But they taste better. So does the lettuce that I go pick right before dinner for my salad, etcetera. I am looking forward to gathering eggs right before they hit the pan.

Its all part of fresher, no preservative, no pesticides, and now organic fresh eggs.

 

[nnbreeder]

I've read that the industry figures .10 cents per bird profit in a broiler operation after all expenses are taken out. But when you are dealing with millions of birds yearly that's a pretty good chunk of change!

I try to just break even with egg and chick sales but more important as many have said is that I know where my eggs come from. I know the health of the birds and what they ate to make those eggs. And they are some pretty nice friends too.

 

[msrma7670]

We have thought about the basics on how to keep cost down such as egg selling and chick selling, but I belive alot of that is location. After our first two run in with animals that basicly ate the flock, we decided to try diffrent breeds that were more interesting harder to find but yet gave us enough eggs for my family. As far as making money on birds It would nice to put money back into the birds from eggs/chicks but I would raise them regardless at this point. Watching my daughter strut off to check for eggs is well worth the price.

 

[Debi214]

I got into chickens not as a way to make money but to have some pets and to help me get over a horrific tragedy in my life. I don't think I would have made it if it weren't for my chickens. Most of them follow me all over the yard, hang out on the back porch if I go inside for a minute and I know I just plain ole spoil them. I am still looking for a leash sort of thing so I can take a few out in public and see if I get any attention - hee hee!

 

[fargosmom]

It seems to me that any time you try to make a profit off of living creatures, the only way to do it is on such a huge economy of scale that they cease to "be" living creatures and become a commodity like anything else. Ultimately this can lead to taking shortcuts, like it or not, that can compromise their quality of life. Not to say that farming and ranching are wrong - I eat meat and understand that in my community I can't grow my own - but I think it would be difficult to combine a pleasurable hobby involving pets with raising livestock for a living. At some point you have to decide which camp you're in, and the business side involves a lot of work and heartache; I'd rather spoil the 4 hens we have and know that they're happy pets who happen to give me fresher, healthier eggs once in a while. Plus, the moment you try to make a hobby pay its keep, it becomes work, and ceases to be a pleasurable hobby at all (in my experience). Just my two cents.