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The reason this post came to mind was I've been asked to advice on a project that intends to supply chickens (dead ones) to a few select restaurants. The selling point is that the chicken you get on your plate is truly free range and with your chicken meal this company will supply a small brochure detailing the keeping and processing conditions of the chicken on the plate.
This made me think about the feasibility of supplying a years meat protein based solely on chicken meat for a family of four.
I mention in my first post that I am talking about backyard chicken keepers. This point is probably worth a thread of it's own. How does one define a backyard chicken keeper?
I have on occasions been told I don't understand something because I'm not a backyard chicken keeper. Interestingly the people who leveled this accusation are not what I would call backyard chicken keepers either.
I'll suggest an arbitrary definition of a backyard. I'll be generous and allow an acre of land in total, front back and sides.
To fit my definition of a yard the area needs to be enclosed by a fence of some type.
The next step up is what gets called in the UK a smallholding. I believe in the USA this is called a homestead. I've not come across a definition of land area for a smallholding.
Next step up is a farm, or estate.
My OP is based on the above definition of a backyard. There isn't much point in mentioning that if one kept other animals as well as chickens in what would be less than and acre at the back of the house given my OP deals with chicken only.
You could possibly adapt @Ridgerunner s model in a back yard but what you would be doing is running a small hatchery, not really keeping chickens. Even then you still have to have the chicken throughput to meet the protein requirements mentioned in the OP.
Say you have one rooster and six hens as in ridgerunners arrangement and you eat 45 chickens a year. That is roughly one eight of the protein contribution I set out as being reasonable to be considered as a meat eater. Bear in mind that at 45 chickens a year you will get 45 x 140 grams equaling 6300 grams of protein a year. Dividing that by 365 gives 17 grams of protein a day which spread over a family of four equals about 4 grams of meat protein per person. Given an adult human needs between 50 and 60 grams a day 4 grams is a negligible contribution.
I would want a lot more than 4 grams of protein a day to run a double incubator system, pullet pens (remember it's a back yard) and have hopefully a free range flock of the initial rooster and six hens.
This made me think about the feasibility of supplying a years meat protein based solely on chicken meat for a family of four.
I mention in my first post that I am talking about backyard chicken keepers. This point is probably worth a thread of it's own. How does one define a backyard chicken keeper?
I have on occasions been told I don't understand something because I'm not a backyard chicken keeper. Interestingly the people who leveled this accusation are not what I would call backyard chicken keepers either.
I'll suggest an arbitrary definition of a backyard. I'll be generous and allow an acre of land in total, front back and sides.
To fit my definition of a yard the area needs to be enclosed by a fence of some type.
The next step up is what gets called in the UK a smallholding. I believe in the USA this is called a homestead. I've not come across a definition of land area for a smallholding.
Next step up is a farm, or estate.
My OP is based on the above definition of a backyard. There isn't much point in mentioning that if one kept other animals as well as chickens in what would be less than and acre at the back of the house given my OP deals with chicken only.
You could possibly adapt @Ridgerunner s model in a back yard but what you would be doing is running a small hatchery, not really keeping chickens. Even then you still have to have the chicken throughput to meet the protein requirements mentioned in the OP.
Say you have one rooster and six hens as in ridgerunners arrangement and you eat 45 chickens a year. That is roughly one eight of the protein contribution I set out as being reasonable to be considered as a meat eater. Bear in mind that at 45 chickens a year you will get 45 x 140 grams equaling 6300 grams of protein a year. Dividing that by 365 gives 17 grams of protein a day which spread over a family of four equals about 4 grams of meat protein per person. Given an adult human needs between 50 and 60 grams a day 4 grams is a negligible contribution.
I would want a lot more than 4 grams of protein a day to run a double incubator system, pullet pens (remember it's a back yard) and have hopefully a free range flock of the initial rooster and six hens.
Sorry! My son is interested in “surviving the zombie apocalypse” scenarios. It is a fun discussion, but realistically, I think we all get eaten in the end!
