True Costs on a Farm Part 1

It’s late winter at Mezzacello. I am always eager to get a jump on the next crop of animals. Invariably I order them too early and I regret it. I bought these chicks (and a stud breeding rabbit) on a whim on Valentines Day. It was probably two weeks too early.I have been working with my niece, Sarah to start itemizing costs and opportunities around the farm. I am starting here. What is the TRUE COST of these chicks? Well, I had to purchase them. I have to feed them special food. I have to give them vitamins. I have to keep them under a heat lamp. I find they waste fully 1/8 of their feed. So when you factor in the feed and supplement costs, and then the heat lamp plugged into a thermoregulatory device I use for the crickets and that is in turn plugged into a Kill-a-Watt device to track energy; I have a pretty clear picture.In the next coming weeks, I will have chickens nesting. It will be interesting to track opportunity costs for these naturally produced chicks as well. Follow along.