when i was 10 my family was living in Africa (me + brothers = 4 of us ages 8-11)
we received a weekly allowance of 1,000 CFA (equivalent of about $3.50) a week.
Our houseboy was able to buy full grown chickens for 800 CFA each -- but me and my brothers turned out to be expert hagglers and got most of our flock at 500-600 CFA.
We would clip their wings and let them run loose in our yard. Whenever dad felt like he wanted chicken for dinner - he would point out the ones he wanted and me and my brothers would chase them down, catch them and butcher them - we would charge him 800 CFA each for a small profit.
For every 3 chickens we sold we were able to replace them and get an additional chicken. ... but most of the time -- we would just replace our chickens and buy a coke with the profits
..... those were the days ....
20 years later --- and i am just now getting back into it and raising from chicks instead of buying them full grown --- i sincerely hope that my children get as much enjoyment out of it as i did
