When I got my first backyard flock, over 4 years ago, I found a software spreadsheet on the internet that helped me log all my egg collecting and expenses. It was pretty good with a number of graphs and such that you could view. I think it helped me in those first years to get an idea of how much it cost me to have a backyard flock versus how much it would cost me just to buy eggs at the big store.
The software was free, but the person posting the spreadsheet seems to have lost interest in having chickens and stopped updating their software spreadsheet a few years ago. Or, maybe they just did not have a need to track egg collection and expenses any longer. In any case, once the spreadsheets were no longer updated for the current year, I, too, stopped logging my eggs and expenses.
In my case, it would have been less expensive to purchase eggs at the big box stores. I suspect that would be the case for most people with a small backyard flock. Especially in those first years when you invest all that money into building a coop and run. That really skews the cost per egg stats at the start.
I also suspect that most people know that there are many other benefits to having a backyard flock that might not be captured by a simple egg collecting and expense software system. At least, the spreadsheet I was using had no way to capture the value of eggs sold and eaten at home. I forced the system to recognize some of those incomes by entering them as negative expenses - essentially a revenue - and that worked to some degree.
But how do you capture the value of enjoyment of getting fresh eggs from your chickens? What value should I put on all the chicken run compost I harvest every year from my run? What cost should I put on having to care for a flock everyday, which does not allow me to take days of vacation away from home?
Does anyone use a chicken management system that works for them? Computer based, or not? If so, please let me know what you are using and what you like about it. Or, maybe you find that trying to manage your small backyard flock like that is just not worth the time and effort, or maybe even misses the point of having a backyard flock. Part of me thinks I should keep better track of my chicken finances, and part of me does not care all that much. But maybe that is because the spreadsheet I was using was limited in many respects and I need to use a better system?
The software was free, but the person posting the spreadsheet seems to have lost interest in having chickens and stopped updating their software spreadsheet a few years ago. Or, maybe they just did not have a need to track egg collection and expenses any longer. In any case, once the spreadsheets were no longer updated for the current year, I, too, stopped logging my eggs and expenses.
In my case, it would have been less expensive to purchase eggs at the big box stores. I suspect that would be the case for most people with a small backyard flock. Especially in those first years when you invest all that money into building a coop and run. That really skews the cost per egg stats at the start.
I also suspect that most people know that there are many other benefits to having a backyard flock that might not be captured by a simple egg collecting and expense software system. At least, the spreadsheet I was using had no way to capture the value of eggs sold and eaten at home. I forced the system to recognize some of those incomes by entering them as negative expenses - essentially a revenue - and that worked to some degree.
But how do you capture the value of enjoyment of getting fresh eggs from your chickens? What value should I put on all the chicken run compost I harvest every year from my run? What cost should I put on having to care for a flock everyday, which does not allow me to take days of vacation away from home?
Does anyone use a chicken management system that works for them? Computer based, or not? If so, please let me know what you are using and what you like about it. Or, maybe you find that trying to manage your small backyard flock like that is just not worth the time and effort, or maybe even misses the point of having a backyard flock. Part of me thinks I should keep better track of my chicken finances, and part of me does not care all that much. But maybe that is because the spreadsheet I was using was limited in many respects and I need to use a better system?
Frankly, I am wondering if it even makes sense to track the expenses, since the backyard flock is more of a hobby. What value do you find in tracking your stats with your spreadsheet?
It just does not seem worth my time to update the spreadsheet everyday just to find out that I am tracking a hobby. But I wanted to get some feedback from others here on the BYC forum. I remain open to the possibility that there might exist some flock management system out there that is worth using after a number of years. As good as my spreadsheet was, I just don't feel it has much value to me here in year five of owning chickens.
