Tracking Costs

[Mtnboomer]

We have 28 ac of mountain land. Our house is a "fixer upper" to say the least. Chickens are our first livestock until I get the house remodeled. I work on the house from "post coffee" in the morning until the kids wake up. Then again after they go to bed for as long as I can.
We are planning on getting goats this fall that we would breed and sell, horses in another 5yrs. Possibly raise a few hogs for sale as well.
I put out a 100' x 50' garden, planting in March-May and harvesting through October. My landscape is "edible." I plant as many trees and shrubs as I can afford each spring. All produce edible nuts or berries. I propagate or grow from seed as much as i can to save money. All giving us delicious jams, jellies, apple butter, wine, etc.
I raise our birds for meat and eggs. At any given time we have about 30-40 birds of various ages, most of which rarely see their 1st birthday.
As for setting up the spreadsheet, it takes a little time depending on how detailed of records you want to keep and how many items you have (maybe 30min-1hr). Once it is set up though, it takes only a min to record the data thereafter.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Can I ask...without sounding like a jerk...how much time does it take for you to do these figures? Are the birds your only farm animals or do you have livestock? If so, do you track them as well? Do you breed the livestock and sell the offspring? I have a farm..hobby farm. We are breeding now. Selling now. I try and try to track my expenses, but I am so bogged down with 35 acres of work and 200+ animals, that I forget. I would love to know how you manage.

I have also tracked our finances since 2011. Every penny we spend is recorded in a spreadsheet under groceries, fuel, individual bills, etc. We only use a debit card so theres no cash purchases to worry about. We keep all receipts and at the end of the month i go through them. Again initial set up took maybe an hour, but monthly recording takes about 15 min. You would be AMAZED or SHOCKED to see where your money is really going. Or at least I was. Makes it very easy to see where savings can be made. I set it up to provide an average per month under each category and an annual avg that can be compared to previous years.
By doing this, it was already set up for "farm" expenses. Those receipts are recorded generally in the financial sheet but broken down in detail on my harvest sheet.
When we had ducks, there was a significant increase in feed. Hence the only ducks we have now are in my freezer.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I just started keeping track of chicken expenses recently. Aside from the cost of the coop and run build (those costs are likely not retrievable) I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't losing too much money on the chickens. Currently I only keep 5 hens for eggs, however I'm considering raising meat birds as well. I use an excel spreadsheet for that as well as one for my vegetable garden planning. If for nothing else, seeing where your money is going to support your "hobby" can be uplifting.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I just started keeping track of chicken expenses recently. Aside from the cost of the coop and run build (those costs are likely not retrievable) I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't losing too much money on the chickens. Currently I only keep 5 hens for eggs, however I'm considering raising meat birds as well. I use an excel spreadsheet for that as well as one for my vegetable garden planning. If for nothing else, seeing where your money is going to support your "hobby" can be uplifting.

Its how i justify the cost to my wife. Its essential for me. Our finances are stretched to the dollar and if we are "losing money" on something it would have to go. I included the cost of coops (i built most from salvaged materials to keep down costs). If you start harvesting birds for meat, your supermarket savings will eventually cover the coop expenses. In our area, you see "Eggs for Sale" on every rd. They go for about $2/doz. I dont sell ours but use them ourselves or give them to friends and family. The local Walmart sells "cage free" chickens at $2.69/lb. The nicer grocery stores can be nearly $3/lb. or more. I keep the lower number for my records. Harvest 10 6lb (after processing) birds and you have about $160 in meat.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Its how i justify the cost to my wife. Its essential for me. Our finances are stretched to the dollar and if we are "losing money" on something it would have to go. I included the cost of coops (i built most from salvaged materials to keep down costs). If you start harvesting birds for meat, your supermarket savings will eventually cover the coop expenses. In our area, you see "Eggs for Sale" on every rd. They go for about $2/doz. I dont sell ours but use them ourselves or give them to friends and family. The local Walmart sells "cage free" chickens at $2.69/lb. The nicer grocery stores can be nearly $3/lb. or more. I keep the lower number for my records. Harvest 10 6lb (after processing) birds and you have about $160 in meat.

I converted a large shed that came with the house into my chicken coop so that helped. However building the run and securing it with HC because of our local predators was a little expensive. I'm retired and living off Social Security and a small pension so money is tight as it is for most folks these days. I only have one regular egg customer right now and get $4 per dozen from them, the excess right now I sell to the feed store in exchange for a discount on feed. I really need another egg customer to help cover the expenses. But it's a little tough when you live in a semi-rural area and there are chickens everywhere. I picked up on the idea of selling a couple of chickens. If I do start raising meat birds I would take them to the sort of local processor so I wouldn't have to deal with all the leftover waste. If I sold a couple of pullets or laying hens that would cover the costs of the processing. I do have enough room for a couple of small goats, but the winters are really harsh here and shoveling through a 2 - 3 foot snowfall to tend to the goats is a bit too much for me.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I have goats..they are wonderful!! Best animals on my farm!! We have 3 types of pigs too...many more animals. You should consider rabbits...they are easy, good food, easy to sell and make great compost. We have a very large garden and we have a vegetable stand at the end of our drive way...honor system. This year we are planting 1 acre of pumpkins and 1 acre of sunflowers...great feed for animals, natural dewormer, and everyone buts pumpkins! We made a ton of pumpkins last year! My brother has always done the spreadsheet for his family. I’m more of a notebook girl, even though I have a computer degree. Ugh. It’s outdated. Have you seen the thread on here, ‘are ducks ever NOT hungry?’ I started that one. I used have 51. I now have 17. They eat too much and now I prefer my livestock. We buy our feed by the 1/2 ton. We get a great deal at our local feed store that way. Saves us a ton of money that way. Not sure if you have the room, but it might be something you could consider? Once you get your goats...do the same thing with hay. We buy 10-20 bales at a time and get a big discount that way too. Also, you can buy hay at livestock auctions often times. Our farm is simply a hobby. We have 35 rental units so it affords us the time to work a farm. It’s very addictive.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I converted a large shed that came with the house into my chicken coop so that helped. However building the run and securing it with HC because of our local predators was a little expensive. I'm retired and living off Social Security and a small pension so money is tight as it is for most folks these days. I only have one regular egg customer right now and get $4 per dozen from them, the excess right now I sell to the feed store in exchange for a discount on feed. I really need another egg customer to help cover the expenses. But it's a little tough when you live in a semi-rural area and there are chickens everywhere. I picked up on the idea of selling a couple of chickens. If I do start raising meat birds I would take them to the sort of local processor so I wouldn't have to deal with all the leftover waste. If I sold a couple of pullets or laying hens that would cover the costs of the processing. I do have enough room for a couple of small goats, but the winters are really harsh here and shoveling through a 2 - 3 foot snowfall to tend to the goats is a bit too much for me.

How much can you get for a laying hen? Pullet? Or rooster? We are beyond rural and everyone has some type of animal they raise. So there isn't much of a local market unless we sold in town (farmer's market). I saw roosters on a local farm exchange site for $25 and hens for $10-30. Is that a good price? We hatch our own and our first ones were given to us, so i have never bought a chicken before.
Are snowfall has really gone down. but once in awhile we get a foot or two. You just never know. But i have 6ac of pasture that has been left to secession that i wa t to clear back off for horses in a few yrs. So enter the goat!

 

[Mtnboomer]

I have goats..they are wonderful!! Best animals on my farm!! We have 3 types of pigs too...many more animals. You should consider rabbits...they are easy, good food, easy to sell and make great compost. We have a very large garden and we have a vegetable stand at the end of our drive way...honor system. This year we are planting 1 acre of pumpkins and 1 acre of sunflowers...great feed for animals, natural dewormer, and everyone buts pumpkins! We made a ton of pumpkins last year! My brother has always done the spreadsheet for his family. I’m more of a notebook girl, even though I have a computer degree. Ugh. It’s outdated. Have you seen the thread on here, ‘are ducks ever NOT hungry?’ I started that one. I used have 51. I now have 17. They eat too much and now I prefer my livestock. We buy our feed by the 1/2 ton. We get a great deal at our local feed store that way. Saves us a ton of money that way. Not sure if you have the room, but it might be something you could consider? Once you get your goats...do the same thing with hay. We buy 10-20 bales at a time and get a big discount that way too. Also, you can buy hay at livestock auctions often times. Our farm is simply a hobby. We have 35 rental units so it affords us the time to work a farm. It’s very addictive.

I hunt wild rabbits and our family loves them for dinner. 5 days a week we eat some sort of wild game. The other 2 are usually, you guessed it, chicken! On good years the local farmers (professionals) usually have extra hay for sale that you can get cheap but dry years it can be tough.
As a new comer to goats may i ask you how much hay do you need? I intend to fence mine off in 1 ac tracts at a time and rotate as they eat down the weeds etc. I expect to keep up to 10 goats but i hear you always end up with more than you plan. In winter is when i expect them to need the hay and was wondering how many bales per goat you think i should plan for?
Goats would be standard size. 1 ac tracts were cow pastures 5 yrs ago and our now a mix of grass, weeds, and brush.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

How much can you get for a laying hen? Pullet? Or rooster? We are beyond rural and everyone has some type of animal they raise. So there isn't much of a local market unless we sold in town (farmer's market). I saw roosters on a local farm exchange site for $25 and hens for $10-30. Is that a good price? We hatch our own and our first ones were given to us, so i have never bought a chicken before.
Are snowfall has really gone down. but once in awhile we get a foot or two. You just never know. But i have 6ac of pasture that has been left to secession that i wa t to clear back off for horses in a few yrs. So enter the goat!

Laying hens run about $20. No one will buy a rooster. They usually end up in the freezer or are given away. Some people drop them off at the MSPCA. Goats are a great idea for clearing brush and weeds.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Laying hens run about $20. No one will buy a rooster. They usually end up in the freezer or are given away. Some people drop them off at the MSPCA. Goats are a great idea for clearing brush and weeds.

We used to use them at my grandmother's house to "mow" the banks. She had 2 she kept and we would move them inside a portable electric fence about 50yrds at a time. By the time they got to the end we would go back to the beginning and start all over.