Chickens… They are the “gateway” animal. That’s how our farm started. It seems every homesteader and wannabe farmer starts with a flock of hens.
But should they be? Do egg layers make financial sense in a world of $2 per dozen eggs? Listen to this months episode to find out!
First time listening (heard about it on Spilled Milk) and love the show! We have just shy of one acre in Olympia, WA and have raised chickens for eggs for about 11 years and for the last two, raised meat chickens, and this year, turkeys. We raise heritage breeds and it takes longer but they are sooo delicious! I have been afraid to actually crunch the numbers on how cost effective it is, so thanks for doing that for me! Now can you do it for meat birds? That makes me truly afraid. But also I don’t really want to know because i love knowing where my food comes from and how it was raised, and then sharing that with our kids. Yesterday they helped process our turkeys and what a biology lesson it was – they dug it – until they go too cold that is…oh well, it was sad but amazing and we will do it again. Thanks for inspiring folks to connect with their land and their food. And to look beyond the dollar sign!
Amy, glad you liked the show! And great to hear your doing a ton with under an acre! Awesome job! Don’t worry, meat birds is coming, and I’ll tell you now, it’s not as bad as you may think! 🙂 have you always done heritage breeds? Ever tried Cornish? Don’t forget to join the email list, they are going to get lots of special behind the scenes stuff coming down the pike!
Just listened to this podcast, this was my first. We raise chickens that are good for both eggs and meat– when they stop laying, we eat them– and they’re delicious! Another thing you guys forgot as far as benefits: we have young kids, and unlike their classmates, they actually know where the food comes from, how to treat the chickens, etc. They love having the chickens in the backyard, and when we cull them, they kinda looked at ’em hanging headless from the shed, and just went, “huh,” and that was it– no one was traumatized. A minute later they asked if I would play a game of bocce ball, so I’m pretty sure I scarred them for life. 🙂
Plus, I’m admittedly one of those $3/dozen sellers to friends, but we’re not doing it to make money anyway.
Loved the podcast, am looking forward to listening to more!
Great point Nikki! We have had similar dead chicken moments with our own kids. Children raised on a homestead seem to be much more aware and accepting of these facts of life. Big thanks for listening to the show, do you only have chickens… or are there more animals on Nikki’s farm?
Chicken raising is my daily job, I love chickens and like this job. I always try to find out more information for better chicken care.