20 unusual ways to save money: Raise chickens
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Food
I'm not a member and probably won't be unless my wife can talk me into it, but it does seems like a pretty cool club. If you want to save money, raise chickens. It's a unique idea, yes, but it's not as crazy of an idea as one might think.Less than two miles from our house, whenever I drive toward the Interstate, I'm treated to the rather fun sight of some rogue chickens running about in the front lawn of a house. It's not a farm. This is a home in a rural area, yes, but it's flanked by other houses. In other words, in what my mind envisions as the 21st century, chickens in suburbia seems wrong.
But cities around the country have passed laws allowing residents to keep chickens in their backyards, including: Fort Collins, Colorado; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Wake Forest, North Carolina; Oakland, California; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City and even New York City.
It's starting to become an attractive proposition because you can at least theoretically save money on eggs, especially if you're buying the pricier organic kind. Some blogs and articles suggest that you can get started for under $100. Baby chicks are extremely cheap -- $2 to $5 -- to purchase, and after you have a place for them to sleep, it's really a matter of feeding them. Aside from chicken feed , your barnyard buddies will be eating the bugs and weeds on your lawn for free, which is yet another benefit. The chicken manure also makes a nice fertilizer, and of course, if you occasionally find yourself out of food in the refrigerator and pantry, you do have an automatic backup plan for dinner.
But raising chickens isn't just about saving money; it's the idea of knowing that you're eating eggs that are fresh and devoid of any pesticides.
It's a big enough trend that Newsweek recently wrote a feature article about raising backyard chickens, and there are numerous web sites and blogs out there devoted to raising chickens. One of the biggest, according to Newsweek, with 18,000 members, is BackyardChickens.com. But there are also plenty of other chicken raising sites out there like TheCityChicken.com, UrbanChickens.org, which shouldn't be confused with UrbanChickens.net.
But if you are thinking of raising chickens, obviously, there are a few things to consider:
- It may be a growing trend, but not all communities are on board. You should check with your local government office, before buying chickens. For instance, even if you already know that your community allows chickens to be raised in a residential neighborhood, they may limit the number you raise.
- Your pets. We have two very large dogs, which has been my stock answer to whenever my wife says, "We should raise chickens." Sure, we could build a little fenced-in area for the chickens, but I'm still dubious. Old MacDonald, I'm not.
It's a lot of work. Not only do you have to set up the chicken coop, you do have to regularly feed them, clean their living area and make sure that you bring them into their coop at nightfall, to protect them from predators, and will someone look after them while you're on vacation? You probably can't take five hens and some baby chicks to the vet.
Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-17-2008 @ 7:21AM
Lui said...
I have been doing this for over 10 years. Predators are a problem and all the chores listed are correct. Now, a feeder that holds 3 galons and a drip watering system permits me to leave them for a week unattended.
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12-17-2008 @ 10:41AM
Carol said...
How do you get rid of a fox problem?
Thanks,
Carol
12-17-2008 @ 9:00AM
Dad said...
We love to have you visit, but the only way your mother and I will be watching any chickens for you is if they are accompanied by a copy of The Colonel's secret recipe.
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12-18-2008 @ 7:09AM
silverstreak said...
I understand you can take care of the predator problem by covering the top of the coop area too so that it is a completely enclosed coop
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12-19-2008 @ 8:48PM
POPS14 said...
How do you kill 'em? And how about the feather problem? Boiling water or just dry plucking? Tips on butchering would be good too! What do you do with the"Waste"? Compost or Landfill? Can the feathers be used for pillows? The feet can be cooked with an Asian recipe. Lots to think about.
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12-18-2008 @ 3:56PM
Serena said...
I am curious as to how a sqawking chicken gets into the pot for the soup? Does one learn how to use an ax for the head and then how to pluck the feathers etc? Would someone tell me just how hard all of this really is as chickens do not seem to be all that expensive and one can buy them on sale and freeze them. Just how much money does this save and how hard is it?
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12-25-2008 @ 8:22PM
Michael said...
You don't need an axe. All you have to do is wring their necks. Simply grab them by the head and swing them around until their head comes off. Expect them to run around a little bit afterwards.
We used to dunk them in boiling water to facilitate the removal of feathers but some folks I know didn't do that. Once they are plucked, use a sharp knife to cut around the anus and pull the intestines out. You have to reach into the body cavity to get the lungs, heart, and liver out. Save the heart and liver if you like, they are edible as well.
12-18-2008 @ 9:15PM
Di said...
Let me tell you; I've watched my Grandmother kill chickens when I was a little girl, and it ain't a pretty sight. The sound and smell are also terrible. I would rather eat meatless than go through that. God how horrible it is.
Chickens without their heads don't automatically die. They run around headless in the yard till all the blood spurts out of their necks. It's the grossest thing I've ever seen.
Imagine how you're supposed to teach compassion to your children when you've just wrung chicken heads off their bodies; swinging them endlessly till their little heads pop off in your hands.
Absolutely horrible.
Maybe for the eggs, but not for the meat.
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12-19-2008 @ 3:07AM
RJW said...
God gave man dominion over the animals. Animals do not possess souls, so people like the PETA nuts simply do not believe in god. Compassion has nothing to do with preparing your dinner. You are showing more compassion to a child when you teach him or her not to be weak and to be self sufficient enough to take care of themselves.
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12-25-2008 @ 4:24PM
JRS said...
chickens are not allowed in my city ... so i dress them up as bunny rabbits ...
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12-29-2008 @ 10:59PM
Judy said...
I like raising my backyard chickens for those wonderful farm fresh eggs....I would never think of eating one of my chickens.
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1-01-2009 @ 10:17PM
MARK L said...
We have about 10 chickens, raised from eggs... it started out as a school project for my daughter... we've had them for about 5 years, I don't have the heart to kill and eat them, but the eggs are nice.. but it's not cheap.. and we let our's "freerange"...
We go thru about 50lbs of food every 2 weeks... at $15 a bag... each hen lays 1 egg a day... so do the math... now I built the coupe ($200) the incubater ($40) the egg turner, you got to have it ($40)... now it was a learning experience and a lot of fun for the whole family watching the chicks break out of the shells and grow up... but there also is a %50 mortality rate... including some that just kealed over for no apparent reason... also with free ranging expect to step in chicken S**T no matter how hard you try not to.. and it is nasty...LOL...THEY ARE PETS FOR US AND WE TREAT THEM AS SUCH... they all have their own personalities... come when you call them and they go in the coupe every night all by themselves...
so have some fun... teach your kids about life and death... but don't think you'll save money... ain't gunna happen folks!!!!
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1-02-2009 @ 9:10AM
Vermonter said...
You hammer in two nails on a log stump, about 3/4" apart. Put the birds head between them and pull taute. Then one ax chop and let go. A large pot of boiling water assists in removing the feathers and down...cut around neck and butt for easy removal of innards. Becareful cutting organs out with a knife because the temperature of the fresh bird body is similar to yours and it is easy to cut your own fingers off without knowing it til it's too late.
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