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Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

(civileats.com)
310 points greenie_beans | 1 comments | 19 Feb 25 21:46 UTC | HN request time: 0.225s | source
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bell-cot ◴[19 Feb 25 22:11 UTC] No.43108419[source]▶
It would be interesting to know the actual economics and legalities of franchising "Farmer McEgg" setups, to rural folks who wanted a side gig. Once someone had (say) 150 chickens set up and going, what would be spread between their weekly operating expenses, and weekly gross sales? How many hours/day would that typically take?

EDIT: Please read the article, especially the Feb. 19th update note at the beginning of it. Bird flu may not be so bad as it's been portrayed. And if the costs for comparatively tiny chicken farms were low enough, then their economics don't need to look good to Wall St. They're may-be-profitable little hobby farms which help local communities, while putting pressure on the greedy Big Egg oligopoly.

replies(2): >>43108961 #>>43108975 #
1. throwaway5752 ◴[19 Feb 25 23:12 UTC] No.43108975[source]▶
Eggs are a cyclical commodity largely controlled by an oligopoly with far lower production costs than any individual could touch. This would be unlikely to succeed at scale. And as the sibling commenter notes, the reason for egg costs is avian influenza, and small producers will be unable to isolate their flocks from wild bird populations. In aggregate it might be more resilient but it would be a tough sell as a franchise.