We keep track of everything, mainly to make sure that we are doing things the most efficient way and that something is not getting out of control by not paying close enough attention.
There are people that keep detailed records and there are people that buy a bag of feed because they just ran out -- and all kinds of people in between. Not going to change them either.
I've often found that many we've actually helped and even those we've had discussions with that don't keep track of the feed usage, weights of birds before /after butcher, etc... usually think it costs too much. You've got to keep track of more than just expenses.
We put our software together that originated from spreadsheets. Once we realized that the spreadsheets couldn't give the details and comparisons as easily as software we started working on it. We want something that only required a few minutes each month. One of my favorite reports to look at and review is the monthly summary. It lets me see everything about out chickens, goats, rabbits, etc... It helps a great deal to have facts in front of you while trying to make decisions.
Our meat and eggs are free or close to it when you consider that we sell enough eggs, animals, meat and milk to pay for what we eat -- it's not just an expense. To do this we use milled feed, sometimes we even do this ourselves.
There are intangibles that you cannot assign a value to such as food independence. It's nice being able to provide a meal almost entirely from your own property.
I believe that the one of the best choices is to by feed local -- ground at a local mill. It a good way to provide very fresh feed and 1/2 the cost.
Old saying: "profit is an opinion and cash is a fact"
You have to compare apples to apples too. An "organic" chicken costs more than commercial chicken.
There are people that keep detailed records and there are people that buy a bag of feed because they just ran out -- and all kinds of people in between. Not going to change them either.
I've often found that many we've actually helped and even those we've had discussions with that don't keep track of the feed usage, weights of birds before /after butcher, etc... usually think it costs too much. You've got to keep track of more than just expenses.
We put our software together that originated from spreadsheets. Once we realized that the spreadsheets couldn't give the details and comparisons as easily as software we started working on it. We want something that only required a few minutes each month. One of my favorite reports to look at and review is the monthly summary. It lets me see everything about out chickens, goats, rabbits, etc... It helps a great deal to have facts in front of you while trying to make decisions.
Our meat and eggs are free or close to it when you consider that we sell enough eggs, animals, meat and milk to pay for what we eat -- it's not just an expense. To do this we use milled feed, sometimes we even do this ourselves.
There are intangibles that you cannot assign a value to such as food independence. It's nice being able to provide a meal almost entirely from your own property.
I believe that the one of the best choices is to by feed local -- ground at a local mill. It a good way to provide very fresh feed and 1/2 the cost.
Old saying: "profit is an opinion and cash is a fact"
You have to compare apples to apples too. An "organic" chicken costs more than commercial chicken.
