Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

civileats.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 879 posts

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#131

Post by kruffalon »

eleveriven wrote: post #116

Backyard chickens are great if you have the space, time, and patience, but they're hardly a solution to systemic issues... The real fix is a more diversified, resilient supply chain... And not just pushing food production onto individuals

Well, I agree with your premise of needing more diverse and resilient food production but I fail to see how backyard chickens (and homegrown vegetables) can't be a part of it.

I say this while I'm also - on principle - extremely wary of pushing systemic change on individuals.

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#132

Post by throwaway2037 »

qq99 wrote: post #93

As someone who once built a large coop [1] then just bought a pre-built shed for the 2nd coop, it's definitely _not_ the _monetary_ solution. You will probably lose money overall for quite some time. I'm still probably underwater. BUT, there are definite upsides: - Chickens are very sweet animals, and are quite intelligent. You will grow to love all the silly things they do. You can pet them, they are super soft, and…

You make no mention of feed cost. Do you just depend upon free range "pecking" in the grass, or kitchen scraps... or what? 13 chickens is a lot of daily feed!

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#135

Post by sergers »

pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #106
qq99 wrote: post #93

As someone who once built a large coop [1] then just bought a pre-built shed for the 2nd coop, it's definitely _not_ the _monetary_ solution. You will probably lose money overall for quite some time. I'm still probably underwater. BUT, there are definite upsides: - Chickens are very sweet animals, and are quite intelligent. You will grow to love all the silly things they do. You can pet them, they are super soft, and…

> If you really like eating chicken, you may end up finding it difficult to eat them again in the future after you develop a bond with them. I used the believe the same, but as I found out on HN, there are a lot of people who won't bat an eye killing animals raised on their own land. Maybe they just never develop a bond with these animals. But then the question should be is it just the "bond" which is holding someone…

My wifes family was wicked as they would let the children bond with the animals, without letting them know they gonna be dinner.

She tells a story of a wonderful pet goat. Until one day it was "gone to another farm", and they enjoyed goat curry for dinner.

The older siblings knew... and now they dont talk lol.

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#136

Post by arkey »

pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #106
qq99 wrote: post #93

As someone who once built a large coop [1] then just bought a pre-built shed for the 2nd coop, it's definitely _not_ the _monetary_ solution. You will probably lose money overall for quite some time. I'm still probably underwater. BUT, there are definite upsides: - Chickens are very sweet animals, and are quite intelligent. You will grow to love all the silly things they do. You can pet them, they are super soft, and…

> If you really like eating chicken, you may end up finding it difficult to eat them again in the future after you develop a bond with them. I used the believe the same, but as I found out on HN, there are a lot of people who won't bat an eye killing animals raised on their own land. Maybe they just never develop a bond with these animals. But then the question should be is it just the "bond" which is holding someone…

One needs to decide if an animal is a product or a pet. It's difficult to have them be both.

Having them as a product does not mean you don't care for them, on the contrary, but I would say it's a completely different type of bond.

> But then the question should be is it just the "bond" which is holding someone back from killing animals? Why can't we just not kill without relying on bonds?

I would argue it's about the purpose, not the bond. You don't kill a pet, but you do kill food. And you should never kill for the sole sake of killing.

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#137

Post by niemandhier »

Backyard chicken farming is a great hobby, and surprisingly tech heavy.

My Coop controller, which is hand build by grumpy bearded East Germans, even has modules to integrate into a smart home system and supports remote monitoring via cellular network.

https://jost-technik.de/PHB2.0-Klappensteller%20+%20Steuerun...

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#138

Post by arkey »

eleveriven wrote: post #118
qq99 wrote: post #93

As someone who once built a large coop [1] then just bought a pre-built shed for the 2nd coop, it's definitely _not_ the _monetary_ solution. You will probably lose money overall for quite some time. I'm still probably underwater. BUT, there are definite upsides: - Chickens are very sweet animals, and are quite intelligent. You will grow to love all the silly things they do. You can pet them, they are super soft, and…

Sounds like a classic case of -not the cheapest option, but definitely the most rewarding-. The ethical aspect is a huge plus: knowing exactly how your eggs are produced and giving the chickens a good life.

> not the cheapest option, but definitely the most rewarding

It's not that much more expensive if you were to compare with store-bought eggs that actually match the quality.

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#139

Post by burnished »

qq99 wrote: post #93

As someone who once built a large coop [1] then just bought a pre-built shed for the 2nd coop, it's definitely _not_ the _monetary_ solution. You will probably lose money overall for quite some time. I'm still probably underwater. BUT, there are definite upsides: - Chickens are very sweet animals, and are quite intelligent. You will grow to love all the silly things they do. You can pet them, they are super soft, and…

I used to get tipped in eggs by this wonderful human at a bar I worked at and while I'm not sure I could tell them apart in a blind taste test I can say that the variety of pretty colors the egg shells came in and the richness of the yolk combined to make them noticeably more satisfying. I have a lot of experience tasting things though, I could absolutely see someone having a similar experience to mine and chalking it up to a superior taste. Or maybe there is a regional component to basic grocery store eggs and I live in a high quality zone, idk.

Re: Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

#140

Post by pests »

kupopuffs wrote: post #97
trod1234 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nominal human diet requires a certain minimum amount of protein, and related essential amino acids, and vitamins. Eggs have until very recently been a cheap source of protein as an inferior good compared others. The problems in shortage are when the prices of all necessities are being driven up across the board to the point where you can't afford food, where government SNAP programs cannot keep up. This is the poin…

it sucks but you can live without eggs

You can't live without food. Eggs are a food.

So you can live without eggs, but when you have no other food, you can't.

Post reply on HN