11-08-2009, 04:33 AM
"...nothing but mainland eggs for instance at any of our local chain grocers. We have lots of people raising chickens for eggs on a small level..."--Devany
And remaining quite a small level is probably the only way it would work unless the farmers would grow their own chicken feed. The necessity of shipping in the feed was the piece of the economic picture that did in the Big Island commercial egg operations. It apparently cost more to ship the bulky feed than it costs to ship the eggs, even though the eggs are refrigerated. Nobody in Hawaii grows grain on a significant scale to my knowledge, and grain is the main base of typical commercial chicken feed. Grain is not, however, the only thing that chickens will eat, and it surprises me that no farmer, even on a relatively small scale, has thought outside the box and tried growing other feed crops for chickens. There are probably reasons, though.
It is possible to grow things that chickens will eat in a home vegetable garden, and it is also possible to let them forage if there is enough space and security from dogs, etc. I trade leaf trimmings, spent veggie plants, and sub-par produce from my garden to a neighbor lady for fresh eggs. Her chickens happily gobble up my offerings, and we are happy with our arrangement.
Cheers,
Jerry
And remaining quite a small level is probably the only way it would work unless the farmers would grow their own chicken feed. The necessity of shipping in the feed was the piece of the economic picture that did in the Big Island commercial egg operations. It apparently cost more to ship the bulky feed than it costs to ship the eggs, even though the eggs are refrigerated. Nobody in Hawaii grows grain on a significant scale to my knowledge, and grain is the main base of typical commercial chicken feed. Grain is not, however, the only thing that chickens will eat, and it surprises me that no farmer, even on a relatively small scale, has thought outside the box and tried growing other feed crops for chickens. There are probably reasons, though.
It is possible to grow things that chickens will eat in a home vegetable garden, and it is also possible to let them forage if there is enough space and security from dogs, etc. I trade leaf trimmings, spent veggie plants, and sub-par produce from my garden to a neighbor lady for fresh eggs. Her chickens happily gobble up my offerings, and we are happy with our arrangement.
Cheers,
Jerry