As of right now, our "farm" consists of:

one dairy heifer
three pigs
six goats
twenty six broiler chickens
probably a couple dozen laying hens and associated roosters.
Two cats

They are expensive to feed. I'm embarrassed to admit how expensive.

Our county fair will end two weeks from Sunday. The three pigs, two of the goats, and twelve of the broilers will be sold at the fair. The rest of the broilers will be slaughtered shortly after that.

The dairy heifer, Poppy is on loan from my brother-in-law, so DD1 can show her at the fair. Poppy will be returned to her home farm within a few days or a week after the fair ends. Heck, we might put her in the trailer after the fair is over, and drive her straight to the farm.

And really, the breeding goats and laying hens aren't *that* expensive to feed.

Of course, we do this for our kids. Lots of parents spend lots of money sending their kids to camps, or gymnastics, or for band instruments. Or maybe I'm just trying to justify the expenses.

The major expense is the grain, but hay is not cheap, either. The hay is for the goats, and heifer. The other day I was looking through a magazine, and I saw an ad for a walk-behind hay baler. It makes round bales. I don't know how much it would cost. It looked kind of like a walk-behind lawn mower.

That got me to wondering if we should rent 10 acres from my dad, and plant some hay. But, we'd still need the hay mower, hay rake, a small tractor to pull the equipment. We could probably get a short-term lease on the tractor.

We'd probably custom hire someone to plant the seeds.

The last load of hay cost $4.50 for each bale. We usually buy enough bales each time to last 3-4 months. We're going through 2 - 2 1/2 bales per week, with the heifer and all six goats. Is $11.25 per week - at maximum usage - really worth it? Especially when you figure the expense of all the equipment, and the work to raise and harvest the crop? Probably not.