Today I want to crunch the numbers about raising chickens. We have had laying hens for four months now, but it is still a bit early to tell how the first generation of chickens born in the property will fare. Today, I will look at what I know and maybe update in a few month. We transformed a small thatched beach hut into a hen cage, with wire, more palm tree leaves for the leaking rook and some construction blocks to build nests.

Our lovely handyman helped us and so did another worker for half a day. We chose to have hens that were laying after a week or so of adapting. One of them died tragically , eaten one night by an animal. The main cost is food. They also eat anything you throw at them, vegetable peels, old leftovers … and will eat bugs and worms during the wet season, it is really dry at the moment for them to find more than a few flies to eat on our land.

After 4 months, we are getting an average of 6 eggs per day. When the hen is hatching, she stops laying the usual daily egg, and some lay every other day instead of daily. But we are more interested in raising chickens for meat. We eat 2 eggs each for breakfast, leaving 2 eggs a day to reproduce. There is not way of knowing if the egg has been fertilized by the rooster, and a hen will hatch eggs for 21 days. We throw a lot of eggs. It is a low rate according to my neighbor, you should get at least 12 chicks per bed.

The first bed of 7 had 3 casualties, the second is intact and the last one had 1 dead chick, leaving 13 chickens so far. Early mortality is frequent, although none of ours has died from sickness, they were killed by workers or other animals. You can eat a chick between months, assuming they make it this far. One of the oldest ones is weak at the moment and we doubt he will survive. In 6 months time, if all those chickens survive, an no other is born both things unlikely but should even out we will have.

Things are looking much better when you try to raise chickens and not just eat the eggs. And like a pyramid those chickens will lay eggs and hatch, so if we wait before we eat them we can get a better return.

Raising chickens is fun, but this is a small facility and my salary is free. They would not fit in my beach hut and building more nests is expensive.

The land is expensive to buy or rent. The health rules have to be crazy too, to sell eggs to a local shop. I would always be afraid the egg comes out bad, or someone gets sick, even when I pick the eggs up daily I always smell them before cooking. This post was featured in the Carnival of Wealth and Norwegian Girl , thank you! Financial Independence , Simple Living 85 Comments. April 1, at 9: If you were to raise more chickens would you need to buy more roosters to keep the genetic pool diverse?

I would imagine in-breeding would lead to more problems. Interesting type of investment as always Pauline. Paying Off Credit Cards: The Little Debtor Who Could. At the moment 1 rooster does the job for the 9 hens. April 1, at Do you make Coq au Vin? April 2, at 2: March 16, at 3: My Financial Independence Journey says. All my chicken and eggs comes from the supermarket.

Way less effort, even if I have to pay a bit more. My Financial Independence Journey recently posted.. They do come with problems though, if you leave the house etc.

December 21, at Definitely interested in Chickens though, but we have no room for them, when we get a house with a small garden I am going to try it. Glad to hear it is a smaller time investment than the gardening, that is music to my ears!

We have friends who have chickens and they really enjoy keeping them as well. Interview with a shamFIRE. December 21, at 9: December 22, at 1: I can sell my alarm clock then? I was really interested to see the costs associated with your chickens.

I wrote a similar post a few weeks ago linked in CommentLuv below. Our chickens are for egg production only, and living in the city we are only allowed to have 5.

Sounds like production for meat and reproductive sales is the only real way to turn a profit for a small operation. It was interesting to look at the costs of chickens through your experiences.

How Much Does That Egg Cost??? I have seen articles about people in the US have hens for eggs in the city, on the roof or a small garden, I am happy to have more space though, for the smell. The Norwegian Girl says. When my dad grew up in the 50s, my grandparents had a small farm, so they had a lot of chickens, but I think that was for survival and self sufficiency, rather than to earn money.

I guess if I ever found myself living in the countryside with a big property, having chickens would be a fun thing to do, would be nice to have fresh eggs to breakfast each day!

The Norwegian Girl recently posted.. My grandparents used to have chickens and turkeys. I loved those silly birds: We also love getting fresh eggs from a farm. In fact, that is all we eat now. I Actually Suck and My Blogging Tips: The eggs are much different than what you get in the supermarket, even free range, chances are they are at least a week old when you buy them.

At the farm you can get them fresh and tasty. November 28, at 4: I live up in South Dakota in the summer to escape Las Vegas heat.

We eat chickens ,eggs and beef raised in the property. When I return the food is horrible …no flavor,no taste or desire to continue to eat this processed crap …. Buying land in AZ to raise Chicken,sheep and goats …Cattle wont have the good pasture land that works out best …just shrub so we wont being raising any. I would totally own chickens if I could! When I live in Vermont over the summer we have around 6 acres…I could do it then, but then what??

We have a farm right down the road…we get our eggs there. You are really going for it, Pauline! Maybe you can buy a couple of hens at the beginning of summer and have them for dinner at the end! John S Frugal Rules says. My grandparents rose some chickens as well as a few other birds. How to Get Rich Quickly. Glen Monster Piggy Bank says. You have some really interesting and diverse investment ideas Pauline — I love them all!

I think that a chicken empire may be a little less exciting than your coconut farm, but it still looks like a great way to eat cheaply. Glen Monster Piggy Bank recently posted.. Residential Burglary Prevention — How To Secure Your Home. My take away is that it might be a nice hobby, but not worth the investment to start selling eggs on a small scale. I like to know where my food comes from and it justifies the effort.

My Wealth Desire says. I love your farm business concept. Actually, I am planning to have a farm in the near future.

How about eggs production and meat production? I think this is also viable business. My Wealth Desire recently posted.. Like I explained, the costs would increase considerably to have a small production to sell, but I think it is a good business if you own some cheap land and can have a bigger scale business.

April 1, at 1: Our Biggest Episode Ever!

I spend 5 minutes a day refilling their food stall and giving them water, then leave with the fresh eggs. CF used to own chickens as a kid. March 24 — Exactly, it is a small saving on the grocery bill. We also save on cereals and other breakfast options too since we mainly have eggs to avoid them going to waste. I do have friends who raise a small number of chickens and they love the fresh eggs.

As far as turning this into a profit maker, you need to scale big. But if you are primarily interested in healthier meat and eggs, then you can maintain a small operation and aim at self-sufficiency. You will likely save money in some aspects, though you are giving up time. The primary benefit, however, is healthier and better tasting meat and eggs. There is a nice benefit in that! The Death of the Penny — US Mint to Cease Penny Production in April 2, at 4: April 1, at 2: The only real risk in this situation is your ability to bring these chickens to their untimely demise.

His comments after cooking the chickens: The only lay for 18 months? I thought it was more like years. We have a handyman who will butcher them, and have had a few birds from the village brought to eat, they really are tastier than your average chicken.

But I would like to do it myself, not because I enjoy killing something, but because I want to own my decision to eat meat. April 3, at 3: Our chickens lay fine. They are 6 years old or so. They rest quite a bit in the winter and then POP! They are spring chickens again! Now, if that would only happen to me. Grayson Debt RoundUp says. Thanks for breaking it down Pauline. Grayson Debt RoundUp recently posted.. Have a Small Business?

Here Are a Few Tips to Save Money. Strange they let you have hens but no roosters. Have you thought about bagging the chicken poop to sell as fertilizer or using it yourself? This could be another way to increase your profits. Follow Up From Advice Needed.

I could never do it myself really unless it was just a pet or to just lay eggs. My one cat is enough animal for me. Shannon The Heavy Purse says. April 1, at 4: Our cat, Prince, is about all the pet we can manage at this point. Celebrating National Financial Literacy Awareness Month. DC Young Adult Money says. April 1, at 5: My great-grandparents had chickens but the city has since changed the code, which essentially makes it impossible to have chickens where their house was.

With that being said, in your case I would totally have chickens! Looks like it can pay off, even if the profit is small on a dollar basis, not percentage. DC Young Adult Money recently posted.. If I can ever butcher them! Pop Planting Our Pennies says. April 1, at 6: PoP had experience with chickens growing up and he says the smell is atrocious and definitely not worth trying on property our size. Pop Planting Our Pennies recently posted.. Rebranding — Now Spending Our Pennies.

The smell is quite strong if you have them on a small patch. We site them at least about 60 feet from the house! The meat I can take or leave, and the butchering is hard work. So we are thinking of switching to pure egg production.

It is also GREAT FUN to share eggs with family and friends during the wild egg season, which is beginning here in central Wisconsin! April 3, at I had no idea there was an egg season, I thought it was based on the age of the hen, then they started laying an egg a day then they stopped. For being someone who crunches numbers, I did relatively little before deciding to purchase my baby chicks.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITH CHICKENS

We now have ten hens that lay eggs daily. So far have required little effort and are part of the family. We have enough eggs to eat everyday AND we sell a dozen or so a week so they are self-sustaining at present which we never intended on. Pauline, this sounds more like a way to be self sufficient rather than an investment. Have to say that my grandmother had chickens and she never made much from them — the mortality is too high.

The First Million is the Hardest says. Sometimes we get too caught up in stocks, bonds and real estate and forget that theres a whole world of investment opportunities out there. The First Million is the Hardest recently posted.. They turned out to be white plymouth rocks and are nice and healthy and give us huge brown eggs. They started laying when they were around 6 months old.

Almost one a day per hen. If we invested in an incubator we could probably make our money back in a few months by hatching and selling the chicks One of the pullets turned out to be a rooster.

The Wise Dollars March Favorite Blog Posts. Fresh eggs really make a difference.

I have never lived with animals of any kind, but might consider it once we have our own place. The Happy Homeowner says. April 2, at I think it would be a lot of fun, too! I saw people had some on their balcony in Portland but apparently city rules vary. Kevin Watts Graduatingfromdebt says. April 2, at 1: In my old neighborhood where I lived as a child I used to get woken up the rooster at 6: I used to hate waking up that early but looking now at least I got to school early Kevin Watts Graduatingfromdebt recently posted..

Applying for a student loan post debt settlement — Are you at a risky state? They can be a great alarm clock! Canadian Budget Binder says. Wow, and I thought I was a numbers nerd, lol. A friend of ours has 3 chickens in her back yard in the city. Canadian Budget Binder recently posted.. March CBB Budget Update 3- A Quiet Month With The Budget. A neighbor got all her birds stolen though! April 2, at 3: My grandma used to wring their necks, cook up the chicken and make pillows and mattresses from the feathers.

Times sure have changed. What Can You Do? The village nearby still lives like this, and killing an animal is very serious for them. It took months of effort, they like the bird like a pet, and they have no other choice but to eat it. I like that respect and perspective. Meat is a luxury for them, we just go to the supermarket and buy it without thinking. Digital Personal Finance says.

Definitely not the run of the mill personal finance post, and I learned a few things here. Digital Personal Finance recently posted.. Live Your Best Life Now. You always have the most creative ways to make side income! April 2, at 5: April 3, at 2: Keep sharing with us, and perhaps I can adapt some of them to fit our situation!

April 3, at 1: It is quite cool to have them running around all day, the little chicks are adorable. But they do go everywhere, destroy plants and poop where they please. Pretty sure it is a no from your HOA. You know, you always hear about free range chickens.

We use a dutch door, which is left open at the top. The chickens like their coop. Very, very occasionally, one gets out and all its efforts seem to be to figure out how to get back in with their buddies. I HATE chicken poop underfoot! Do you have a rooster too? I just had to kill my rooster because it was making too much noise and my guests were unable to sleep at 3am when the rooster would start. New plan is to have only hens, until they get old, eat them and buy new ones.

April 5, at 4: My wife pulled an April Fools joke on me recently by sending me a picture of baby chicks at the pet store and saying she bought them. I was actually pretty mad that she would do something like that without talking to me first.

I want to raise chickens, just not right here. Luckily it was just a joke! Edward Antrobus recently posted.. Could You Live on Minimum Wage? April 5, at 5: Jayson Monster Piggy Bank says. January 26, at Pauline, you just brought back the experience I had in our province when I was a kid. We raised chickens, swans, ducks, and a lot more. My grandfather taught us because we had a farm. He used to be one of the major suppliers in the province.

Jayson Monster Piggy Bank recently posted.. How Much to Secure a Home Loan? March 5, at We have raised meat chickens for the past 3 years.

How to Make Money Raising Chickens at Home | Untrained Housewife

March 5, at 6: Your email address will not be published. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. This blog is kept spam free by WP-SpamFree. My name is Pauline and I am thrilled to have you around here!

I blog about money, travel, simple and deliberate living, freedom and choices. Early retirement in the U. Creating a website for extra income. Big city life, is it worth it? Free activities while traveling.

Couchsurfing vs Airbnb, free and cheap accommodation. Reach YOUR goals not mine. Can Online Gaming Pay The Bills? Why I Became a Financially Independent Woman. About Advertise Hire Me Contact Guest post Living in Guatemala Date me? Reach Financial Independence Work Smarter. Raising chickens, another investment? Lovely comments Justin says April 1, at 9: Do you know about floating a egg in water to see if it is fresh? I tried gardening in our tiny patch outside our flat last year and it was an epic fail also!

They do taste incredible! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. NEVER MISS A POST! Enter your email to receive our latests news Your email. Like RFI on FB! Popular Posts Early retirement in the U. Free activities while traveling Couchsurfing vs Airbnb, free and cheap accommodation Reach YOUR goals not mine. Recommended Reading Can Online Gaming Pay The Bills?

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