Older than dirt

[ClaraArvizu]

Both my husband and I are retired educators. We are looking into ways to earn a little extra $ to help pay expenses. We both grew up on farms. I grew up on cherry, dairy, a few chickens, and sheep farm. My husband grew up in bean, sugar beet, corn, etc farming country. We are both from Michigan. It has been a while since we have done in animal type things, but we are willing to learn. We are open to suggestions for raising chickens in the colder part of the US. Currently we are trying to avoid having to sell the farm I grew up on near Traverse City by keeping the land in agriculture and fighting the zoning changes and regs.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

Hello! Welcome to Byc! Glad you joined the flock!

 

[cassie123]

Welcome To Backyard Chickens!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. Whilst I don’t live in the US, I’m fairly sure that making money from the meat or egg business is difficult without doing so on a large scale. There may be niche opportunities in your locality that could do a little more than pay for feed - good luck in finding such an opportunity.

This is a useful link relating to guides to read through - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/website-announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/?prefix_id=3

You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find your State's thread.

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[BreanneRN]

Well, if you can grow your own food for the chickens, you might be able to make a little money... If you plan to feed from the feedstore, don't think it will happen...

 

[HuskerHens18]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens!! We are all happy you decided to join our little community If you ever have questions, be sure to ask, we are here for eachother every step of the way.

 

[snow5164]

Welcome !! We sell our eggs and that covers the cost of the feed. You have to be creative , this year I sold my saskatoons as a you pick . We sold 12 Pails at $10 each , money I didn’t have before .

We are going to advertise out dexter cow compost when it’s ready , $5.00 a bucket .

Good luck and have fun

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Welcome! The best advice I can give you is to invest in a brooder heating plate like this one: (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y1FBEKA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1), make your coop and run a LOT bigger than you think you’ll need, and, if you have the land, fence in an area so your girls can free range. The brooder plate gives you the option of brooding your chicks in the coop and you don’t have to worry about starting a fire with a heat lamp. Building a larger coop than you need right now gives you the option to add to your flock as your egg-selling picks up, and allowing your girls to free range will cut down on your feed costs as they will be eating grass and bugs to their little hearts’ content.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Welcome To Fantasy Island!
oooops! I meant Backyard Chickens!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Both my husband and I are retired educators. We are looking into ways to earn a little extra $ to help pay expenses. We both grew up on farms. I grew up on cherry, dairy, a few chickens, and sheep farm. My husband grew up in bean, sugar beet, corn, etc farming country. We are both from Michigan. It has been a while since we have done in animal type things, but we are willing to learn. We are open to suggestions for raising chickens in the colder part of the US. Currently we are trying to avoid having to sell the farm I grew up on near Traverse City by keeping the land in agriculture and fighting the zoning changes and regs.

Clara Welcome to Backyard Chickens we are both retired living in Washington state I also went back into chicken after a 50 years to supplement our income some months it does other month barely pays their feed you have to be able to enjoy them even then