How many chickens would you need to keep to supply all the meat and eggs your family eats?

[ValerieJ]

My it must feel terrible to be told that your conclusions are just outright wrong and terrible.

You literally made up a bunch of numbers that we've seen don't reflect reality, and then drew a conclusion from them.
In a world where incubators don't exist, people eat 2-4Xs the amount of chicken and 5Xs the number of eggs they do, where broodies can only have one clutch of four chicks per year, and where companies don't change... You're correct.

But that's literally not reality. So you're not.

(Amusingly, the OP quote is ad hominem - attacking the person. And mine is attacking the argument and is not.)

Wow. I think everyone is entitled to their opinions, and there are many ways to look at things. I think you could disagree without being disagreeable. Name calling and absolute superiority is very unnecessary and not the spirit I normally encounter on this platform.

Time for me to move on out of here...

 

[CindyinSD]

I would just like to chime in on the unofficial egg survey... Eggs are (contrary to any government propaganda (based on George McGovern’s having attended a Pritikin seminar) which you may have had stuffed down your throat) an exceptional source of protein. The perfect food, they called them. That was before the big smear campaign predicated on the fashionable pseudo-science of that time happened.

(BTW, George was a hypocrite. DH sat at the next table to him at a local restaurant and assures me the great man was murdering a juicy prime rib. )

Because eggs are nature’s perfect food, I eat four every morning scrambled, with cream, in ghee or coconut oil. I feed my mother two, same recipe. DH is allergic, poor man. Despite this conspicuous consumption, we are still swimming in eggs. Production does ease off considerably on/after cold, icky days... like today..., though.

 

[igorsMistress]

/SNIP/
I stand by the statement that by keeping back yard chickens one is not going to make a dent in the commercial chicken production so if that is your goal then I have produced some numbers to support my point.
Argue with the numbers

The problem with the numbers is that ONE can't make a dent. More and more people are raising their own food, whether it's eggs and a garden, eggs and meat, or all 3. Millions of people HAVE changed the egg industry to some degree in the US; it's not perfect but it has definitely changed. As more people come on board to raise their own meat, or buy from local sources where the animals are treated well, it will drive change too. So no, ONE can't really make a dent, but millions can and do.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Wow. I think everyone is entitled to their opinions, and there are many ways to look at things. I think you could disagree without being disagreeable. Name calling and absolute superiority is very unnecessary and not the spirit I normally encounter on this platform.

Time for me to move on out of here...

OP led off with the statement that people who disagree with him are inherently wrong, self righteous, delusional and nonsensical though.

Since you quoted me with this comment, I'd like to point out I haven't said anything about the poster himself or insulted him, only his argument after posting plenty of citations for real discussion which were handwaved away. I do firmly think his idea is not based in reality and therefore bad. If it were based on real numbers, or he were using it as a thought experiment instead of trying to draw insulting conclusions about chicken keepers I wouldn't care. It might be superfluous... But not bothersome.

I am sorry you're upset. I am also just confused as to why you weren't upset with the first and later posts by the OP which contained plenty of hostile language.

 

[TopazMaster91]

I get Shadrach's point, and generally agree with it.
One person cannot dent the industry, yet -many- together can.
It isn't the point he is making though, really the title of the thread spells out the point he was making, and as far as I can see, it's accurate. Any arguments about it are pretty much unnecessary...I also cringe a little when I read posts about people "becoming a farmer" (in a backyard), or becoming "self-sustaining" (with five chickens and a goat), because both those situations involve a cash loss, usually, and they still have to buy most of the rest of their food from -somewhere-. That said, I get the point of other people on this thread as well, even if they are slightly off point with what this thread was originally about. I keep chickens just because they're fun, hilarious, and the eggs are delicious. No delusions about self-sustainability here, just happiness from not having to buy flat, tasteless store eggs, and happiness from interacting with and watching the chickens prance around the yard; and that is fine. If that's your goal, it's fine, nothing wrong with it, nothing to feel bad about. It's not a huge change, but at least it's not money going to the people housing thousands of chickens in a warehouse.

 

[ValerieJ]

OP led off with the statement that people who disagree with him are inherently wrong, self righteous, delusional and nonsensical though.

Since you quoted me with this comment, I'd like to point out I haven't said anything about the poster himself or insulted him, only his argument after posting plenty of citations for real discussion which were handwaved away. I do firmly think his idea is not based in reality and therefore bad. If it were based on real numbers, or he were using it as a thought experiment instead of trying to draw insulting conclusions about chicken keepers I wouldn't care. It might be superfluous... But not bothersome.

I am sorry you're upset. I am also just confused as to why you weren't upset with the first and later posts by the OP which contained plenty of hostile language.

When I read what OP says, it sounds like a discussion. When I read what you say it sounds argumentative and rude. I'm not sure why you came into his thread just to argue in such a negative way. That's what social media does I guess. I'm not sure you would talk to him that way face to face. We don't need that. It's just an interesting discussion he wanted to have. Disagree agreeably. But, you are right, I dropped out of this discussion on page four, so I have not read everything OP has said on the subject. I will be dropping out of the conversation again, because it's not my cup of tea, but no need to be sorry. I'm not upset.

 

[CindyinSD]

You know, the biggest “tell” for me is the extreme lobbying the US ag industry big boys (chicken producers, egg producers, dairy, etc.) engage in. They work so hard to prevent sales of raw milk & un-aged cheeses, small-scale egg sales to local restaurants & groceries, direct sales of poultry and other meats to consumers or to restaurants & other retailer outlets. Add to this the meaningless yet draconian requirements to be permitted to label one’s products as organic, free-range or other terms co-opted by big ag. We are noticed... but why? What possible threat could we be to them?

The industry clearly (and to me, strangely) sees small producers as a challenge to their monopoly. Why? We are *nothing* compared to them. Maybe it’s the tiny crack in the dam? Ants undermining the foundation, not even knowing what they do... They seem to think that’s a possibility, or why expend so much effort and throw money around buying politicians? What are they worried about?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

When I read what OP says, it sounds like a discussion. When I read what you say it sounds argumentative and rude. I'm not sure why you came into his thread just to argue in such a negative way. That's what social media does I guess. I'm not sure you would talk to him that way face to face. We don't need that. It's just an interesting discussion he wanted to have. Disagree agreeably. But, you are right, I dropped out of this discussion on page four, so I have not read everything OP has said on the subject. I will be dropping out of the conversation again, because it's not my cup of tea, but no need to be sorry. I'm not upset.

It didn't to me. It sounded like he thought people who disagreed with him were delusional and self righteous. Since he said so in his opening post.
I came in curious about real numbers about feeding families with ones own chickens and instead saw someone drawing broad and derogatory conclusions (that the effort is nonsensical, delusional, irrelevant, pointless and self righteous) based on some real wildly inaccurate numbers. I feel like it's appropriate to challenge that with accurate and real numbers to draw conclusions from. (And yes I'd do that IRL too if someone asked publicly for opinions under similarly hostile circumstances.)

But hey, you do you.

 

[123RedBeard]

I’ve taken 140 grams of protein per bird as a reasonable estimate if the entire chicken is eaten.

This I'm guessing is based on very small chickens, or bantams?

My numbers say 140 grams of chicken protein comes from roughly 500 grams of actual chicken meat, or about one (1) pound ...

Here in the USA ... a one pound dressed chicken carcass is kinda puny ... 4-5 pounds is more like it ...

 

[Chickassan]

Americans eat an average of 89 pounds a year of chickens with a broiler weighing lets say 4lbs.
That would be 22 and a quarter chickens per person.
Not as big as I thought it might be but you throw pigs and cows in too and suddenly that is a lot of chickens.