Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[Alis girls]

Did anyone see this in today's Mail? - Think living the Good Life will cut your food bills? Don't count your chickens (Going to the supermarket will save you a FORTUNE!)

 

By Jenny Stocks

 

Link to article

 

I was insenced as it is very one sided. And as usual we see a fluffly blond in yes Dungarees - apologies if you wear them (only ones I know are under 5) porbably doesnt know a cow from a sheep.I know the inital outlay is a lot but if you buy a shed or do garden up it is then as well. i have only 3 hens - feed lasts ages, bedding buy a big bag and that lasts ages too. The eggs are wonderful and I suppose if you buy your hens now you may not get an egg till much later. One of mine laid on day of arrival so I was lucky. I hate the one sidedness - oh and I'm blond and not fluffy

[Alis girls]

There were piccies but I somehow didnt copy as not very good at this

[Looney]

Well, I guess most people will read and make up their own minds. We used to joke that our eggs should be gold plated due to the amount of money we spent buying the eglu etc! But, most people that keep chickens, grow their own veg etc do it for reasons other than just trying to save cash. The food (in my opinion) tastes nicer, you get that lovely feeling knowing you have produced what you are eating and I think you have a greater appreciation for food and are less likely to waste things.

[Alis girls]

i quite agree - but to bad mouth it so much - and I bet she didnt try any of the above is wrong. Makes a good read for those interested - but unless you;ve tried it - keep quiet.

[Looney]

My mum and dad have managed to keep themselves, my family and my brother's family stocked up on veg from their allotment and they have no where near spent what the food would have cost from a supermarket. In fact, they often walk around the supermarket looking at the prices and laughing at how much things cost! There are always going to be things that are cheaper to buy because they are mass-produced (economies of scale?) but I suppose so long as people go into things with their eyes open then there should be no surprises re cost. Those that don't do their homework in advance are those that could be caught out by the 'real' cost.

 

(Off to put the butternut squash soup in the fridge now - squash courtesy of my mum )

[Redwing]

Its pretty tongue in cheek really - I found it funny reading

[Charlottechicken]

I can't believe they pay people to write stuff like that!

[patsylabrador]

The article doesn't take into account the satisfaction of collecting eggs, making your own bread or pickles from crops you've grown from seed. I'm not a good enough gardener to save money but I'm happy to still be picking kale from my garden for the chickens or for our tea.

[Alis girls]

Exactly

[Guest]

I had to chuckle, there's a lot of truth in what she says...

 

I blogged about the cost of starting out with chooks here

 

http://liverpoolpoet.blogspot.com/2009/10/honeyi-shrunk-bank-balance.html

 

 

The outlay for any new hobby is bound to be high, even with the allotment we bought new garden tools, a shed and obviously the cost of seeds etc

 

I think perhaps it's good to point out to people that it's not as easy as some articles/tv progs make it seem.

 

We still wouldn't change a thing though!

[C&T]

I agree the initial outlay can be more than expected (chicken coops being a good example) but agree with one of the comments on the website saying you really shouldn't be trying to recoop (sorry for the punn!) the full costs over the first year, but should be over the life span of the product. They don't need to be replaced each year!! My coop should last years and years (I hope!) and then the overall costs start to come down drastically.

 

And if you are going to keep pigs, then yes of course buying them, feeding them and slaughtering/butchering is not for free. But you keep a few pigs, sell the excess, which (if you are lucky) then means that actually the outlay for the meat you keep (excluding setup costs) can be pretty good - and the quality will far exceed any of the supermarket rubbish!

 

I feel a bit sorry for her really... And very blinkered outlook!

[Couperman]

I think some of the figures don't really add up

 

5 x 10 ft rows of spuds £120. I didn't know Harrods did seed potatoes

 

We planted 6 x 5 metre rows for about £16 and we are still eating them now.

 

Who would have thought that pigs might make a bit of a mess of your garden

 

I think the whole article is a bit silly really but I have also read rather silly articles tilted in the opposite direction claiming that growing your own veg will save the planet etc, etc.

 

We keep chickens because we like them, and we like fresh eggs, supermarkets cannot match them.

We sell surplus eggs which covers the cost of the feed and will eventually pay for the coup (in a hundred years or so) so the eggs we use are essentially free and we get free fertilizer. We grow our own veg because we like to, it tastes miles better than anything you can buy but probably isn't cheaper for things like spuds and carrots. Certain things are miles cheaper to grow yourself. I couldn't believe the price of curly kale, I have been giving the hens about ten quids worth every week for ages

 

Four sticks of Rhubarb from the supermarket is about £4. I must have brought home hundreds of pounds worth this summer.

 

If I were to count up the cost of my time spent digging, weeding, planting and harvesting our home grown veg it would be dearer than the supermarket. But I enjoy it especially after a long boring day sat in front of a computer.

 

Kev

[chickencam]

It depends on what you grow. We have a great diet and save a fortune on things like strawberries, and other soft fruit which we use for jams and loads of other things. We grow asparagus, which was expensive initially, but saves us a fortune now. Things like leeks, purple sprouting, etc are expensive too. I wonder if she has ever bought cooking apples too

 

We don't grow our own to save money, we do it so that we know what is going into our mouths and because it tastes great.

 

Ignorant articles are best ignored.

[..lay a little egg for me]

I would also say that they are not comparing like with like. After all home made bread, biscuits, cake etc is not full of palm oil, chalk etc; proper free range eggs are high in omega-3 oils unlike supermarket eggs (ditto home-produced chicken meat); many/most people who grow their own veg don't use pesticides so you should compare the prices with organic veggies; the prices quoted for pork were for the battery-farmed pork whereas the home produced pigs were free-range; they forgot that the cost of the raspberry canes, for example, is spread over several years as you don't have to buy more each year; also the compost used for them won't cost you anything if you have your own livestock etc etc.

 

Totally misleading article.

[squidsin]

Typical Daily Mail! It was obvious that the article was written from a desk in London and the closest the journalist had ever been to living 'The Good Life' was posing in those dungarees! My veg plot (plus quite a lot of foraging) saved me quite a bit in fruit and veg over the summer, but it's the satisfaction of rearing plants and animals and making jams and chutneys that far outweights any financial benefits.

 

I love Sue and Giles - but they were USELESS weren't they?!

[jill the potter]

We don't grow our own to save money, we do it so that we know what is going into our mouths and because it tastes great.

 

I totally agree, Chickencam, although I think we did save money this year. We have been picking sprouting broccolli since end of June (probably pick last lot today) and getting on average 1lb a week. Reckon that would equate to about 40 M&S packs at £1.20 a pop!!!!! Never mind the pounds and pounds of strawberries, raspberries, apples, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers (just finished the last one last week - had two a week from two plants cost £3.00!!! )

 

The problem is that many people want instant results and it takes time to get to know what to grow and when etc to get the best out of a plot.

 

The only good thing the article will do is put off people so the list for allotment spaces will be shorter so that people who really understand the whole thing will get one quicker!!!

[Valkyrie]

She's missed the point hasn't she! We like to be relatively self sufficient because we know what we're eating. None of the 8 plus chemicals sprayed on the spuds - and the weedkiller that goes on at the end to kill the vegetation so that the machinery doesn't get clogged up - was never necessary on our spuds. So it may cost more - I'm happier eating my own stuff fresh from the garden - unlike supermarket veg that has been all around the country before being stacked on the shelves. Sweetcorn in particular springs to mind here - and peas. Out of 8 hens only one little one was laying regularly (until yesterday when one of the fat ladies obliged) - she has been forgiven her persistent broodiness in the summer!