Raising chickens has never really been about the cost effectiveness. I have seven chickens. Raising chickens is for self sufficiency. If the economy crashes more then we will need to be responsible for our own food. Although you buy feed for chickens, I think this is greatly over emphasized, afterall, there are wild chickens who are not given feed daily.Feed stores would have you believe that you cannot raise chickens without it. I just feed my chickens the skins from a butternut squash, which they devoured. Eggs may become the new currency.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 <no_re...@...> wrote: > > > * Home <http://www.goodeater.org/> > * Our Mission <http://www.goodeater.org/about/> > * Authors <http://www.goodeater.org/authors/> > * Archives <http://www.goodeater.org/archives/> > * Contact <http://www.goodeater.org/contact/> > A A the GoodEater Collaborative <http://www.goodeater.org/> > Professional Voices on Sustainable Food > > Subscribe: RSS <http://feeds.feedburner.com/goodeaterorg> / Newsletter > <http://goodeater.org/contact/> / Twitter > <http://twitter.com/GoodEaterDotOrg/> / Email > <http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Goodeaterorg&loc=en_US\ > > > > > * Featured <http://www.goodeater.org/category/featured/> > * Food Enjoyment <http://www.goodeater.org/category/food-enjoyment/> > * Food Politics <http://www.goodeater.org/category/food-politics/> > * News <http://www.goodeater.org/category/news/> > * Int'l Development > <http://www.goodeater.org/category/international-development/> > * Sustainability <http://www.goodeater.org/category/sustainability/> > * Recipes» <http://www.goodeater.org/category/recipes/> > * Meat Recipes > <http://www.goodeater.org/category/recipes/meat-recipes/> > * Vegetarian Recipes > <http://www.goodeater.org/category/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/> > > * Farmers <http://www.goodeater.org/category/farmers/> > * Video <http://www.goodeater.org/category/video/> > [RSS] <http://feeds.feedburner.com/goodeaterorg> Backyard Chicken > Economics: Are They Actually Cost-Effective? > <http://www.goodeater.org/2010/05/10/backyard-chickens-running-the-numbe\ > rs/> > Mon, May 10, 2010 > > Farmers <http://www.goodeater.org/category/farmers/> , Sustainability > <http://www.goodeater.org/category/sustainability/> > Line Break > Author: Joshua Levin <http://www.goodeater.org/author/joshua-levin/> > (29 Articles) > > [http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/1b061fd20ca8790bc933915960561f70?s=50&d=\ > http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb652353\ > 6%3Fs%3D50&r=R] > Joshua Levin is a consultant to non-profits and their corporate partners > in sustainable agriculture business development and sustainable food > markets. Joshua holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, > where he was a Catherine B. Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship, > and a BA from Harvard University. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, > NY. > 142Share > <http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodeater.org%2F2\ > 010%2F05%2F10%2Fbackyard-chickens-running-the-numbers%2F&t=Backyard%20Ch\ > icken%20Economics%3A%20Are%20They%20Actually%20Cost-Effective%3F%20%7C%2\ > 0the%20GoodEater%20Collaborative&src=sp> 14 > <http://www.google.com/buzz/post> 1diggdigg > If you haven't noticed, there's a nation-wide underground craze > for backyard and urban chickens, to which I too have fallen prey. Yet > the farmer in me has not yet smothered the MBA. The following is an > objective analysis of whether or not the output of backyard chickens can > ultimately "re-coop" the costs. The answer was surprising, and > I have produced 5 key recommendations for economically raising backyard > chickens. > > Friends frequently ask me whether or not raising my hens is > "cost-effective". Everything I've read on the subject in > blogs and books says NO. Instead, enthusiasts emphasize personal > satisfaction and pet-potential. These are no doubt the true goals of > backyard chicken-raising. Yet I am weary of deflecting this common > question, and I am happy to further study my birds. Not to mention that > my personal flock serves as a wonderful test case. I raise two hens > (the minimum flock size) in New York City (the most costly and crowded > environment). If I can do this cost-effectively, anyone can! > > [IMG 54832 225x300 %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_54832.jpg> > I'll address assumptions as we go, but it is important to note that > I have sought to save money whenever possible, using found objects and > substituting my labor for fancy equipment. The most significant example > is the chicken coop itself. Good wooden chicken coops for small flocks > sell for $300-450. Yet it would take a long time to recoup that money. > I was about to join those ranks, until I found, the dresser. . . > > Returning home from a night on the town, I came across a solid wooden > dresser down the block. With a weekend of work, I turned her into a > chicken mansion NYC-size. The first drawer is filled with bedding > material. The second drawer is a perch. The top right drawer is a > nesting box. Everything else is hollowed out. And after several > iterations, I put the whole thing on stilts. > > Enough fluff. Let's populate the model: > Up-Front Costs > * 3 rolls of Chicken Wire ($17 ea): $51 > * 2 Chickens ($15 ea + $20 gas): $50 > * Feeder: $4.50 > * Water Bottle: $4.00 > * Poultry Grit (5lb, will probably last forever): $8 > * Shipping for above items: $3 > > Total: $121 > Freebies [IMG 54531 300x225 %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_54531.jpg> > * Coop: Built from curbside dresser > * Twist-ties: Stole from supermarket > * 2 more rolls Chicken Wire: Neighbor found in trash > > Note: It may seem unfair that I acquired 2 rolls of chicken wire for > free. However, I used a lot more wire than most urban chickeners, as I > built a large yet narrow U-shaped run all the way around my garden. > Variable Costs per month > * Organic Feed in 25lb bag ($46; used 3/4 of it) + Shipping: $42 > > Note on Bedding Material: What about pine shavings for their bedding and > nesting box? This is a significant cost of raising chickens and can run > up to $7 p/week for two hens. Then, I discovered that one can use > shredded paper! All my office paper now spends its purgatory on the > floor of my chicken coop before its final resting place as the main > carbon source in my compost bin. > Future Variable Cost Options per month > * Organic Feed in 50lb bag + shipping (3/8 of $83): $31.50 > * Non-Organic Feed in 50lb bag + shipping (3/8 of $36): $13.50 > > Note: I bought my first bag of organic feed in a 25lb size, as I had no > idea how much these ladies eat. In the future, you need not repeat my > mistake. Based on the lowest price-points I could find online for home > customers, and including shipping, I consider the two "future > variable cost options" to be the two selections above. > Value Produced per Month > * 40 eggs: $20 > * Fertilizer: $7.66 > > Total: $27.66 > > [IMG 54711 e1273466289227 %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_54711-e12734662\ > 89227.jpg> Note on Eggs: I calculated the egg value based on the fact > that the best eggs I can buy at the market are about $5.50 p/dozen. As > mine are slightly better, I'm assigning them a value of $6 p/dozen. > Seems reasonable, as I would probably pay my neighbor that much for > super-fresh backyard eggs. My hens are producing 5-6 eggs p/week each. > It's summer and egg-laying is seasonal, so we'll assume 5 eggs > p/week. Furthermore, this all assumes a steady rate of laying across > the chicken's lifespan, which is not accurate. But let's see if > we can recoup the costs in the first 2 years anyway, during which time > laying is at its peak. > > Note on Fertilizer: One hen produces about 45lbs of manure p/year. I > assumed 5lbs are lost in the dirt, so we get 40lbs p/annum, or 3.33lbs > p/month. This volume is then reduced by approximately 50% during > composting. At the best price-point for home consumers, you can buy > chicken manure fertilizer online for $3.67lb equivalent. I then assumed > that homemade is 25% better quality, because it's all natural and > more diverse ingredients, as opposed to factory farming. I therefore > value my composted chicken manure at $4.58 p/lb, which, at 1.67lbs of > composted manure p/month, comes to $7.66. > > The geekier ones among you may have already noticed that we face a > serious problem. The value produced by two hens comes to $27.66 p/month, > while the cost of organic feed alone is $31.50! We're losing $4 > p/month, and will certainly never recover the up-front costs. > [urban chicken eating kitchen scraps lobster e1273466176124 %organic > food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/urban-chicken-eatin\ > g-kitchen-scraps_lobster-e1273466176124.jpg> > courtesy BackYardChickens.com > > [trans %organic food] Chicken feed turns out to be the real cost > driver. Unless you are willing to use non-organic feed, the key to > solving this dilemma turns out to be substituting some percentage of > chicken feed with local organic matter. I am referring to a combination > of free-ranged food (insects, seeds, and plant sprouts) and kitchen > scraps. If you have a nice backyard, the former is a great option. > With careful management and a lot of space, chickens can in fact be > almost entirely grass-fed. And the following post on > backyardchickens.com details what kitchen scraps chickens will eat > <http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart> > . > > If you can manage to achieve an ambitious 40% feed replacement with > local organic matter, the following is the result of my break even > analysis (how long it will take to recover all your costs, including > up-front costs) using the input data I described above: > > [Break even point and cost of backyard chickens1 e1273464969475 > %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Break-even-point-an\ > d-cost-of-backyard-chickens1.jpg> > > As you can see, using non-organic feed, the break even point is 6 > months. Using organic feed, you can actually break even with your two > backyard hens in 14 months. This is great news for urban > chicken-lovers. > > However, 40% use of local feed material is pushing it for most busy > urbanites in small spaces. I therefore performed a sensitivity analysis > to determine how much the break even point changes depending on the % of > feed you replace with locally available materials: > > > > [Cost of Backyard Chickens sensitivity of break even point to feed > replacement1 e1273465023908 %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cost-of-Backyard-Ch\ > ickens_sensitivity-of-break-even-point-to-feed-replacement1.jpg> > > What we learn from this sensitivity analysis is that the % of feed > replacement doesn't matter as much for non-organic feed. But for > organic feed, it makes all the difference. At 50% feed replacement, you > recover all of your costs within a year and you will almost be on par > with using non-organic chicken feed not to mention you will have > tastier eggs. Around 18-19% feed replacement is the tipping point, at > which time it will take you over 5 years to recover your costs, yet your > hens will have stopped laying eggs. That's when you know you should > have bought Apple stock instead. > > In conclusion, I find that it is indeed possible to raise only two > chickens in urban environs and recover your costs within 1-2 years. > Furthermore, based on these analyses, I offer the following 6 > recommendations for economical backyard chicken-raising: > > 1. Reduce up-front costs. Whether you build or buy your coop may > determine if you ever recoup your [IMG 5489 300x225 %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_5489.jpg> > investment. > 2. Organic chicken feed is the primary cost-driver. Free-range and > serve kitchen scraps in order to replace at least 20% of your > chickens' food intake. 50% replacement is ideal, after which cost > savings become more marginal. Furthermore, chicken wire is expensive. > If you completely free-range, you save both this fixed cost and feed > costs. > 3. Using non-organic feed while this may be completely contrary > to your mission changes the numbers significantly and ensures cost > recovery within a year. > 4. Adding another chicken doesn't really matter. Because your > gross margin (both # of eggs and cost of feed go up by 50%) remains > about the same, it will still take roughly the same amount of time to > recover your costs. > 5. Collecting and composting your chicken manure is a game changer. > For example, at 50% feed replacement, harvesting your manure reduces > your break even point with non-organic feed from 10 months to 6 months, > and with organic feed from 28 months to 10 months! > > [IMG 53352 e1273465077234 %organic food] > <http://www.goodeater.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_53352.jpg> At > the end of the day, it would be completely irrational to decide whether > or not to acquire backyard or urban chickens based on this financial > analysis. For example, in the first month alone I spent something > approaching 70-80 hours setting up their coop and run, chasing them > through neighbors' yards, and just watching them, none of which I > included in this calculation. Obviously, no one would perform such an > analysis in order to determine whether or not to get a dog and > they don't even lay eggs! But given that you may be coming down > with a case of chicken fever, this analysis can help us to better > understand our own practices and where our energies are best spent when > trying to contain costs. >
