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Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

(civileats.com)
310 points greenie_beans | 4 comments | 19 Feb 25 21:46 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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sandboxdev ◴[19 Feb 25 23:16 UTC] No.43109018[source]▶
no, bird flu can still infect your backyard flock
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cmrdporcupine ◴[19 Feb 25 23:19 UTC] No.43109041[source]▶
But the culls are smaller, and so the impact lessened. The problem becomes more distributed.

This is the chief reason why Canada's egg prices have remained sane while the US has exploded. It's not like we don't have bird flu here and we haven't had culls. We just have smaller flocks.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/egg-prices-avian-flu-canada-u...

Still, backyard chickens are a hobby, for if you like chickens. It will always cost more than an egg farm.

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1. abe_m ◴[19 Feb 25 23:46 UTC] No.43109314[source]▶
I think a lot of that is due to eggs being under government supply management. It is very difficult to get a new egg farm going, and it is very difficult to consolidate egg farms. So we have more smaller farms surviving as a result.
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2. cmrdporcupine ◴[19 Feb 25 23:59 UTC] No.43109426[source]▶
That's definitely a part of it.

There was some move some years ago here in Ontario to push for a small flock exemption to allow for egg & pooultry sales outside the quota system for flocks under 300 bird. And I don't mean roadside sales, but market sales. So there has been some accommodation for smaller market players.

https://sustainontario.com/small-flock-exemptions/

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3. abe_m ◴[20 Feb 25 00:21 UTC] No.43109604[source]▶
All the quota systems in Ontario have troubles moving farms generation to generation. You pretty much have to inherit a farm as the quota costs are pretty well impossible to surmount in addition to land and equipment costs, as well as working capital for fuel, fertilizer, seed, etc. Dairy has recognized that and there is a certain portion of quota that needs to go to new producers when quota is bought and sold. I don't know if the chicken meat and egg systems do the same.

From what I understand there is no path for the small flock program to get from 300 birds to full up full time. I'm sure 300 birds/year is still hobby farm. Nobody is earning a living on that.

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4. cmrdporcupine ◴[20 Feb 25 00:25 UTC] No.43109637{3}[source]▶
yeah 300 birds only makes sense as a supplement to some other farming you're doing