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Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

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

#341

Post by erfgh »

somenameforme wrote: post #245
pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

It's just the circle of life. Live in a remotely rural area with animals around and you're going to see pretty regular death. For instance foxes are beautiful, extremely intelligent, and amazing animals. They'll also systematically and sadistically kill literally every single chicken inside a henhouse, one by one, if they get in. In another instance a dog I loved more than anything as a child to young adult was kille…

Ease cannot be used to ethically justify an action. But even so, you ignore that, according to research, people who eat meat have worse health than people who don't.

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

#342

Post by arkey »

koolba wrote: post #297
Yiin wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You write in absolutes when talking about your own opinion as if it's generally accepted to be a fact, which makes even interesting looking bits look suspicious when you encounter something clearly biased.

Cannibalistic behavior in chickens is not an opinion: https://extension.psu.edu/poultry-cannibalism-prevention-and... It’s one of the reasons factory farms clip the beaks. And regarding egg taste, have fun reading this: https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-the-best-eggs

I generally agree with what you are saying, however I'm quite surprised at the pushback about homegrown eggs tasting better than mass-produced.

Send me as many papers as you want, but respectfully, I have empirically tasted the difference. I have no interest on imposing my opinion on anyone, but to me it's pretty obvious and easy to understand and accept that a better fed, better cared for chicken will produce better eggs.

A bit like with Wagyu steak, no?

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

#343

Post by svieira »

addicted wrote: post #263
fragmede wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> purpose of being eaten and spread why do you get to decide that it isn't the purpose of a cow to be eaten? You're arguing on the Internet, it's already a waste of time and space.

Here’s a compromise. Neither you nor I get to decide what the purpose of another sentient being is.

Absolutely. But while I cannot declare its ultimate "final cause", perhaps I have some right to declare a penultimate one? I have my reasons for believing this is the case. What are your reasons for believing it is not (or do you believe that we do have some right to declare penultimate final causes for living creatures, and if so, what are the limits?)

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

#344

Post by s3krit »

bilsbie wrote: post #300

I think if I raised chickens I’d also raise insects to feed them. Wouldn’t that make the eggs way tastier and healthier? And you’d save on feed? Or do they tend to find lots of insects in their own?

You set them free and they’ll find the bugs. You can also give them a huge variety of food waste. This mostly only supplements their feed though

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

#345

Post by nemo44x »

yndoendo wrote: post #331
nemo44x wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know, farmers always had dogs on the farm but they didn’t eat them and continued to eat the chickens. Chicken is really great and succulent. Hard to resist frying one of them up and sucking the meat off the bone. Absolutely no desire to do that with a dog.

I say the smartest hunters are the farmers.

I read about these Hawaiians that would use stones to wall in an area of water but leave gaps big enough to let smaller fish in. They’d create an environment that was safe (appeared so to the fish) and provide food. This would keep most of them reliably inside the wall. Eventually the fish mature and can’t escape due to their size. And now you have ocean fish that are easy to harvest.

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

#346

Post by Propelloni »

JamesLeonis wrote: post #325
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…

My mom has a dozen backyard chickens and I agree with all of these. I'll tack on two bits from my own experience: Good: Fresh unwashed eggs don't need to be refrigerated. They are perfectly safe at room temperature on the shelf for days. Bad: You can't leave them with other pets without supervision. One of the dogs got himself a taste for chicken and already ate at least three. You can't train this out of the dog, un…

> You can't train this out of the dog, unfortunately.

Speaking from experience, I can say "Yes, you absolutely can train this out of a dog." However, it is not easy and it is only marginally more easy if you start at a young age of the dog. Furthermore, there are breeds that have no interest in chickens at all, anyway. LGD may actually even protect them.

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

#347

Post by slothtrop »

ilikecakeandpie wrote: post #340
giantg2 wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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." Or you might find them delicious and need to raise more of them.

Do you know anyone where this has been the case?

* gestures to most of recorded history *

Before the industrial revolution, 80% of us worked the land, most familiar with animal agriculture.

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

#348

Post by conductr »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #162
swarnie wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The quality of the eggs is absolutely miles above what I already considered really good eggs though. I must drive past a dozen (lol) honesty boxes on the way to work offering the sale of eggs and this is my general experience as well. Its amazing how individuals can produce and sell a product as cheap if not cheaper than mega corps with such staggeringly different quality.

I mean if you add everything up - land value, labour, food costs, etc - I'm fairly sure they're selling eggs at a net loss, however, it's not a capitalist endeavour unlike the industrial production. And IMO that is the key difference, that is, they produce for themselves and sell the excess and earn some money off of it, it's not their primary goal to do so.

Exactly, even with it being excess, I think the motivation is to reduce waste versus produce money in these situations. They have uses for the waste, it can be eaten by an animal, but that’s also true if it doesn’t get sold

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

#349

Post by erfgh »

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #268
addicted wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Murder is also part of the “circle of life”, whatever that may mean, given that it’s pablum that means nothing. As is disease. We rightfully find these immoral and don’t engage in them. That’s not a defense of the immoral act. It’s just words to describe the immoral act.

Try this then: every animal eats other living things to survive. We have been doing it for a billion years. Is a basic drive built into it DNA. After that, is just a question of which living things you are going to eat.

That's factually incorrect. You don't have to kill a plant to get the fruit and/or the seeds it produces.

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

#350

Post by s3krit »

wakawaka28 wrote: post #285
GJim wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ummmm.... that is why you clip their wings. (Though clipping one wing is more fun, that way they flap about in circles).

Even if you clipped their wings in such a way as they couldn't fly anymore, they're still short and covered in feathers which are probably not conductive. The electric fence wouldn't work for many reasons. If you're sure they can't fly, you also don't need it.

The electric fence is for keeping foxes out, not chickens in
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