Comments on The Greening of Gavin: Chickens - Return On Investment

Thanks for the link Gavin, now I want to keep an e...

2012-01-10T13:23:28.477+11:00

Thanks for the link Gavin, now I want to keep an eye on my costs and see if I can improve on $300/yr profit. We really want to get better and breeding and have some extra to sell, so it will be interesting to play with the calculator to find our optimum numbers. The calculator didn't include the benefit of homekilled pasture-fed organic chicken, which is pretty difficult to buy. For us this would add savings of at least 6 birds x $20/bird = $120.

oops. I should add that the pellets and straw are ...

2012-01-08T23:03:56.383+11:00

oops. I should add that the pellets and straw are the only things we really ~buy~ (sounds like that's all they have otherwise!). They have no shortage of kitchen offerings, scraps from the neighbours and friends (organic and not), plus stuff grown specially for them in the vege garden, plus whatever they find when they're out foraging round the place. Plus, we have a toddler. The chooks are never hungry lol

Neat find Gavin! I've done the sums and althou...

2012-01-08T22:01:22.630+11:00

Neat find Gavin! I've done the sums and although it's saying we're making a small profit, I'm thinking we're maybe breaking even. It's always expensive when you start. I'm sure it gets cheaper as time goes on. (At least, that's what I keep telling myself!)

Ours are a bit spoilt too and get lots of organic ...

2012-01-08T21:45:29.307+11:00

Ours are a bit spoilt too and get lots of organic goodness and kefir porridge etc. Although our gorgeous neighbor is constantly bringing us huge bags of leftover bread which helps keep the costs down too. I think the return on investment is higher when you factor in that the straw laid in the coop is then turned into garden fertilizer saving more money. :)
Hugs
D

Ours works out for 6 chooks 374.752 AUD profit/ROI...

2012-01-08T20:26:20.754+11:00

Ours works out for 6 chooks
374.752 AUD profit/ROI

the yard was built from scrap
the only upkeep costs are pellets and straw/hay - which then the hay goes on the garden after it comes out of their run.

olive oil for their legs, garlic in their water and so far that's all we've needed.

My flock of 50 laying hens gives an annual net pro...

2012-01-07T13:08:41.741+11:00

My flock of 50 laying hens gives an annual net profit on average of about $12-1300 CAD per year. Farmstand eggs locally (including mine) sell for $4/doz. The ladies, as we call them, definitely earn their keep!

Oh, there's no WAY I'm trying this out! My...

2012-01-07T06:47:15.579+11:00

Oh, there's no WAY I'm trying this out! My two girls are spoilt rotten, probably eat better than I do, and I just don't want to know how much I fritter away on them, buying them treats! Though to be fair, I am a vegan, and I will only eat eggs that they produce, so their eggs are pretty much worth their weight in gold!

Over $500 profit for the year. Thank goodness we l...

2012-01-06T22:00:08.943+11:00

Over $500 profit for the year. Thank goodness we like eggs!
I use shredded newspaper from work for their bedding and source free bread as a supplemental feed for them, so i guess that keeps the prices down.
We have 6 hens.